Enhancement of forced convection in an asymmetrically heated duct filled with high thermal conductivity porous media

Forced convection of a fluid through a porous structure bounded by heated surfaces has been shown in a number of studies to enhance heat transfer from the heated surface over that of flow and heat transfer in an open duct. Heat transfer enhancement from a heated surface using porous structures has a potential application in electronics cooling. In this work closed form analytical solutions to the problem of thermally-developing forced convection through an asymmetrically heated duct filled with an isotropic high thermal conductivity porous medium is reported. The analytical solutions can be used as first approximation to the heat transfer problem and as a means for checking numerical codes. The results are compared against the available experimental data to validate the model. Results of parametric calculations are reported to illustrate the potential convective heat transfer enhancement using high thermal conductivity porous materials.