Numerical solution of the three-dimensional fluid flow in a rotating heterogeneous porous channel

A numerical solution to the problem of the three-dimensional fluid flow in a long rotating heterogeneous porous channel is presented. A co-ordinate tr ansformation technique is employed to obtain accurate solutions over a wide range of porous media Ekman number values and consequent boundary layer th icknesses. Comparisons with an approximate asymptotic solution (for large v alues of Ekman number) and with theoretical predictions on the validity of Taylor-Proudman theorem in porous media for small values of Ekman number sh ow good qualitative agreement. An evaluation of the boundary layer thicknes s is presented and a power-law correlation to Ekman number is shown to well -represent the results for small values of Ekman number. The different thre e-dimensional fluid flow regimes are presented graphically, demonstrating t he distinct variation of the flow field over the wide range of Ekman number s used. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.