Role of thermal diffusion on heat and mass transfer in porous media

in this paper, thermal diffusion phenomena in a porous cavity are investiga ted. The Brinkman model, coupled with the energy and the mass balance equat ions was solved numerically using a finite element techniques. A two-compon ent system was included in the model. Different models were investigated to demonstrate the importance of the Soret effect with the presence of gravit y vector. We do not take into consideration the pressure effect in the ther mal diffusion. Even with such simplification to the problem, results reveal that the thermal diffusion is important and drives a strong convection. A series of convection cells are observed and steady-state solutions are obta ined. Asymmetric solutions are obtained for various cases of dual-porosity porous media. Variations in the gravity vector indicated that the convectio n patterns, as well as the role of Soret coefficient, are profoundly impact ed. Finally, the importance of including thermal diffusion in petroleum res ervoir simulation is discussed.