%0 Journal Article %A Kayhani, Mohammad Hassan %A Nazari, Mohsen %A Shakeri, E. %D 2012 %I Begell House %K porous medium, free convection, biochemical heat source, Monod model %N 4 %P 383-392 %R 10.1615/JPorMedia.v15.i4.60 %T NATURAL CONVECTION HEAT TRANSFER IN A POROUS CAVITY IN THE PRESENCE OF A BIOCHEMICAL HEAT SOURCE WHICH IS DEPENDENT ON SOLUTE CONCENTRATION GENERATION RATE %U https://www.dl.begellhouse.com/journals/49dcde6d4c0809db,3083834126e17635,4e25030914519de6.html %V 15 %X This paper is concerned with natural convection in a square cavity filled with a porous medium in the presence of an internal heat source. The transient biochemical heat source which is dependent on a solute concentration generation rate is studied completely. The Darcy model is used for the momentum equation and the source term in the energy equation is proportional to the average generation rate of solute concentration, governed by a Monod model. The effects of variable porosity on heat transfer, biochemical heat source, flow pattern, and mass transfer are investigated thoroughly. The obtained results in the case of variable porosity are compared with a constant porosity condition. Results show that the assumption of variable porosity has a significant effect on the flow pattern, temperature contours, and the value of the biochemical heat source. %8 2012-03-30