A Conditionally Stable Scheme for a Transient Flow of a Non-Newtonian Fluid Saturating a Porous Medium

The problem of thermal dispersion effects on unsteady free convection from an isothermal horizontal circular cylinder to a non-Newtonian fluid saturating a porous medium is examined numerically. The Darcy-Brinkman-Forchheimer model is employed to describe the flow field. The thermal diffusivity coefficient has been assumed to be the sum of the molecular diffusivity and the dynamic diffusivity due to mechanical dispersion. The simultaneous development of the momentum and thermal boundary layers are obtained by using finite difference method. The stability conditions are determined for each difference equation. Using an explicit finite difference scheme, solutions at each time-step have been found and then stepped forward in time until reaching steady state solution. Velocity and temperature profiles are shown graphically. It is found that as time approaches infinity, the values of friction factor and heat transfer coefficient approach the steady state values.