Published 6 issues per year
ISSN Print: 1940-2503
ISSN Online: 1940-2554
Indexed in
COMPUTING COUPLED DENSITY-DRIVEN FLUID FLOW AND HEAT FLUX IN POROUS MEDIA
ABSTRACT
The problem of unsteady, coupled density-driven fluid flow and heat transport in a 2-D domain is numerically simulated for the first time using a network model whose design is based on the network simulation method. The problem is formulated according to the stream function and temperature variables, which have inherent advantages. The proposed model, which is formed of two separated networks, one for the fluid flow and one for the heat flux, is very simple since each network contains very few electrical devices, one for each of the terms of the finite-difference differential equations derived from the mathematical model. Time remains as a continuous variable in the model. Coupled and nonlinear terms are also implemented by simple devices which are programmed by software. Three different devices are required to implement the whole network, so that very few programming rules are needed for the design. The model is run on a circuit simulation code which provides the results both in graphic or tabulated form, without any other mathematical manipulation by the user. As a sample application, the Elder short-heated problem is solved and the solutions compared with those of other authors. Computing times are of the order of seconds for grids of 800 volume elements.
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