A Paradox of Heat Conduction in Porous Media Subject to Lack of Local Thermal Equilibrium

Author(s):  
Peter Vadasz

Based on the traditional formulation of heat transfer in porous media it is demonstrated that Local Thermal Equilibrium (Lotheq) applies generally for any boundary conditions that are a combination of constant temperature and insulation. The resulting consequences raising an apparent paradox are being analyzed and discussed.

Author(s):  
Peter Vadasz

Spectacular heat transfer enhancement has been measured in nanofluid suspensions. Attempts in explaining these experimental results did not yield yet a definite answer. Modeling the heat conduction process in nanofluid suspensions is being shown to be a special case of heat conduction in porous media subject to Lack of Local thermal equilibrium (LaLotheq). The topic of heat conduction in porous media subject to Lack of Local thermal equilibrium (LaLotheq) is reviewed, introducing one of the most accurate methods of measuring the thermal conductivity, the transient hot wire method, and discusses its possible application to dual-phase systems. Maxwell’s concept of effective thermal conductivity is then introduced and theoretical results applicable for nanofluid suspensions are compared with published experimental data.


Author(s):  
S. Negin Mortazavi ◽  
Fatemeh Hassanipour

This study presents an analysis of forced convection in a porous triangular channel. The flow is laminar, fully developed and assumed to have constant properties. The porous channel has an isotropic matrix and the boundary conditions are fixed with a constant temperature. In this paper, accurate analytical solutions are presented to determine the effects of apex angle and porous media properties on the temperature distribution in a triangular channel along with the Nusselt number NuT.


2005 ◽  
Vol 127 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Vadasz

The approximate equivalence between the dual-phase-lagging heat conduction model and the Fourier heat conduction in porous media subject to lack of local thermal equilibrium suggested the possibility of thermal oscillations and resonance. The present investigation demonstrates that the physical conditions necessary for such thermal waves and, possibly resonance, to materialize are not attainable in a porous slab subject to constant temperature conditions applied on the boundaries.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (8) ◽  
pp. 2478-2500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunyang Wang ◽  
Moghtada Mobedi ◽  
Fujio Kuwahara

Purpose The purpose of this study is to validate whether the local thermal equilibrium for unsteady state is an appropriate assumption for the porous media with closed pores. It also compares the transient temperatures between the pore scale and volume averaged approaches to prove that the volume averaged method is an appropriate technique for the heat transfer in closed-cell porous media. The interfacial heat transfer coefficient for the closed-cell porous media is also discussed in details. Design/methodology/approach The governing equations for the pore scale and continuum domains are given. They are solved numerically for the pore scale and volume-averaged domains. The results are compared and discussion was done. The performed discussions and explanations are supported with figure and graphics. Findings A local thermal non-equilibrium exits for the closed-cell porous media in which voids are filled with water during the unsteady heat transfer process. Local thermal non-equilibrium condition exists in the cells under high temperature gradient and it disappears when the heat transfer process becomes steady-state. Although a local thermal equilibrium exists in the porous media in which the voids are filled with air, a finite value for heat transfer coefficient is found. The thermal diffusivity of air and solid phase are close to each other and hence a local thermal equilibrium exists. Research limitations/implications The study is done only for the closed-cell porous media and for Rayleigh number till 105. Two common working fluids as water and air are considered. Practical implications There are many applications of porous media with closed pores particularly in the industry, such as the closed-cell metal foam or the closed cells in porous materials such as foods and plastic-based insulation material. The obtained results are important for transient heat transfer in closed-cell porous materials. Social implications The obtained results are important from the transient application of heat transfer in the closed-cell material existing in nature and industry. Originality/value The authors’ literature survey shows that it is the first time the closed-cell porous media is discussed from local thermal non-equilibrium point of view and it is proved that the local thermal non-equilibrium can exist in the closed-cell porous media. Hence, two equations as solid and fluid equations should be used for unsteady heat transfer in a closed-cell porous medium.


2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. H. Hsieh ◽  
W. T. Wu

Abstract An experimental investigation is conducted to determine the flow and heat-transfer parameters of porous media with the consideration of density-variation effect of the working fluid. The permeability (K), inertial coefficient (F), and local convective heat transfer coefficient (hloc) are determined for two types of metal screens at Reynolds numbers ranging from 20 to 400. A single-blow transient technique combined with a compressible non-local-thermal-equilibrium model determines the hloc. The compressible non-local-thermal-equilibrium model is also adopted in a Levenberg-Marquardt optimization technique for deducing the K and F from measured steady-state pressure drops at different flow rates. Results show that the permeability increases with the increase of the porosity. A set of empirical correlations is obtained for calculating the Nusselt number. Results also show that, under the test condition of this study, consideration of the density-variation effect would improve the accuracy in deducing the K, F, and hloc.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (23) ◽  
pp. 8114
Author(s):  
Gazy F. Al-Sumaily ◽  
Amged Al Ezzi ◽  
Hayder A. Dhahad ◽  
Mark C. Thompson ◽  
Talal Yusaf

Local thermal equilibrium (LTE) is a frequently-employed hypothesis when analysing convection heat transfer in porous media. However, investigation of the non-equilibrium phenomenon exhibits that such hypothesis is typically not true for many circumstances such as rapid cooling or heating, and in industrial applications involving immediate transient thermal response, leading to a lack of local thermal equilibrium (LTE). Therefore, for the sake of appropriately conduct the technological process, it has become necessary to examine the validity of the LTE assumption before deciding which energy model should be used. Indeed, the legitimacy of the LTE hypothesis has been widely investigated in different applications and different modes of heat transfer, and many criteria have been developed. This paper summarises the studies that investigated this hypothesis in forced, free, and mixed convection, and presents the appropriate circumstances that can make the LTE hypothesis to be valid. For example, in forced convection, the literature shows that this hypothesis is valid for lower Darcy number, lower Reynolds number, lower Prandtl number, and/or lower solid phase thermal conductivity; however, it becomes invalid for higher effective fluid thermal conductivity and/or lower interstitial heat transfer coefficient.


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