Double-diffusive natural convection in a porous enclosure partially heated from below and differentially salted

This paper reports numerical results of two-dimensional double-diffusive natural convection in a square porous cavity partially heated from below while its upper surface is cooled at a constant temperature. The vertical walls of the porous matrix are subjected to a horizontal concentration gradient. The parameters governing the problem are the thermal Rayleigh number (Ra = 100 and 200), the Lewis number (Le = 0.1, 1 and 10), the buoyancy ratio (-10 less than or equal to N less than or equal to 10) and the relative position of the heating element with respect to the vertical centerline of the cavity (delta = 0 and 0.5). The effect of the governing parameters on fluid characteristics is analyzed. The multiplicity of solutions is explored and the existence of asymmetric bicellular flow is proved when the heated element is shifted towards a vertical boundary (delta = 0.5). The solutal buoyancy forces induced by horizontal concentration gradient lead to the elimination of the multiplicity of solutions obtained in pure thermal convection when N reaches some threshold value which depends on Le and Ra. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.