A numerical study of interfacial convective heat transfer coefficient in two-energy equation model for convection in porous media

A numerical experiment has been conducted to determine the interfacial conv ective heat transfer coefficient in the two-energy equation model for conve ction in porous media, which is needed when the local thermal equilibrium b etween the fluid and solid phases breaks down. The similarity of periodical ly fully developed temperature profiles allows one to perform a numerical e xperiment using only a single structural unit for determining the fully dev eloped heat transfer coefficient without any empiricism. A universal correl ation for the Nusselt number, which agrees well with available experimental data, has been established using the results obtained for a wide range of porosity, Prandtl and Reynolds numbers. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.