Abstract
Free convection is studied for porous medium-filled enclosures that are open for fluid flow at the top. For such setups a mixed boundary condition for the transport variable at the top is examined, which is different from the classical approach (Lapwood problem) in systems where flow is governed by Darcy's law. While the latter led to open and to closed paths within each convection cell, the mixed boundary condition induces open convection cells only. By numerical means, the onset of convection, total heat and mass transfer, and the transition from the first to the second mode are examined. At 16.5, the critical Rayleigh number for the onset of convection in the system with mixed boundary condition is much lower than the classical value.