Numerical simulations of fluid flow and convection heat transfer through fluid/porous layers

An unstructured-grid characteristics upwind finite volume method is employed for numerical simulation of incompressible laminar flow and forced convection heat transfer in 2D channels containing simultaneously fluid layers and fluid-saturated porous layers. Hydrodynamic and heat transfer results are reported for two configurations: the first one is a backward-facing step channel with a porous block inserted behind the step, and the second one is a partially porous channel with discrete heat sources on the bottom wall. The effects of Darcy numbers on heat transfer augmentation and pressure loss were investigated for low Reynolds laminar flows. The results demonstrate the accuracy and robustness of the numerical scheme proposed, and suggest that partially porous insertion in a channel can significantly improve heat transfer performance with affordable pressure loss.