NATURAL-CONVECTION IN A HORIZONTAL POROUS LAYER WITH ANISOTROPIC THERMAL-DIFFUSIVITY

The present paper is concerned with free convection in a horizontal porous layer with anisotropic thermal diffusivity. It is assumed that the diffusivity has rotational symmetry, with a symmetry axis making an arbitrary angle against the vertical. The critical Rayleigh number and wave number at marginal stability are calculated and the steady motion occurring at convection onset is examined. It is found that there are two different types of convection cells, depending on whether the longitudinal diffusivity is larger than the transverse diffusivity or not. In the former case, the convection cells are rectangular with vertical lateral walls. In the latter case, however, the lateral cell walls are tilted as well as curved.