EFFECT OF AN ELECTROMAGNETIC-FIELD ON NATURAL-CONVECTION IN AN INCLINED POROUS LAYER

An investigation is conducted to study the effect of an electromagneti c field on free convection of in inclined rectangular porous cavity sa turated with an electrically conducting fluid. The enclosure has the l ong side walls heated isothermally, while the short ends are thermally insulated. A uniform magnetic field is applied normal to the heated w alls. The porous medium, modeled according to Darcy's law, is assumed to be isotropic. The dimensionless governing equations are derived in terms of the characteristic dimensionless parameters; namely, the Rayl eigh number R, the magnetic Hartmann number Ha, the cavity aspect rati o A, and the inclination angle theta. An approximate analytical soluti on is presented for the boundary-layer flow regime within a vertical c avity. A linear stability analysis is made to determine the effect of the magnetic field on the onset of convection in a horizontal layer he ated from below. A numerical study is performed to assess and extend t he results of the analytical solutions. It is found that with applicat ion of an external magnetic field, the temperature and velocity fields are significantly modified.