Thermosolutal natural convection of viscoplastic fluids in an open porous cavity

In this paper, thermosolutal natural convection in an open porous cavity filled with Bingham fluids has been simulated numerically. Fluid flow, heat and mass transfer, and yielded/unyielded parts have been conducted for certain pertinent parameters of Rayleigh number (Ra = 10⁴-10⁶), Darcy number (Da = 10^-2-10^-6), porosity (&episilon; = 0.1-0.9), Lewis number (Le = 2.5-100), the Buoyancy ratio (N = 0.1-20), and Prandtl number (Pr = 1-100). Moreover, the Bingham number (Bn) is studied in a wide range of different studied parameters. Results indicate that the heat and mass transfer increases and the unyielded section diminishes as Rayleigh number rises. For specific Rayleigh and Darcy numbers, the increase in the Bingham number decreases the heat and mass transfer. However, the decreases in heat and mass transfer due to Bingham number becomes stronger as Darcy number drops from Da = 10-2 to 10-6. The growth of the Bingham number expands the unyielded sections in the cavity generally in different Darcy numbers and porosities. The increases in Darcy number changes the size and shape of the unyielded section while heat and mass transfer drop gradually. For fixed Rayleigh, Darcy and Bingham numbers, the unyielded region is decreased by the augmentation of the porosity. In addition, heat and mass transfer augments gradually as the porosity increases. The enhancement of buoyancy ratio increases heat and mass transfer for the studied parameter. The rise of Lewis number has a marginal effect on heat transfer, but the mass transfer rises considerably.