NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF FORCED CONVECTION HEAT TRANSFER IN POROUS PLATE CHANNELS USING THERMAL EQUILIBRIUM AND NONTHERMAL EQUILIBRIUM MODELS

Abstract

A numerical study of fluid flow and convection heat transfer in a plate channel filled with metallic or nonmetallic particles using both the local thermal equilibrium model and a nonlocal thermal equilibrium model is presented in this paper. The numerical simulation results are compared with our experimental data, and a new modified thermal dispersion conductivity model is presented. The effects of the assumption of local thermal equilibrium versus nonlocal thermal equilibrium and the thermal dispersion effect on the convection heat transfer are investigated. The nonlocal thermal equilibrium model is appropriate for either nonmetallic or metallic porous media. The velocity distribution and the temperature fields are presented.