Modern Environmental Science and Engineering (ISSN 2333-2581)

January 2019, Volume 5, No. 1, pp. 60-66

Doi: 10.15341/mese(2333-2581)/01.05.2019/007
Academic Star Publishing Company, 2019
www.academicstar.us

Similarity Solution of Heat and Mass Transfer for the

Falling Film Flow on a Porous Medium in Presence of
Heat Generation or Absorption

Md. Hasanuzzaman1, and Akio Miyara2,3

1. Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saga University, Saga-shi, 840-8502, Japan
2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Saga University, Saga-shi, 840-8502, Japan
3. Kyushu University, International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research, Fukuoka-shi, 819-0395, Japan

Abstract: In this research work, similarity solution of heat and mass transfer for the falling film flow on a porous medium in presence
of heat generation or absorption has been modeled by Darcy-Brinkman equations and solved by using similarity technique. Heat
generation, thermal radiation and chemical reaction effects are considered. By using appropriate transformations, the governing
nonlinear partial equations are transformed into coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations. Graphs are decorated to explore the
influence of physical parameters on the non-dimensional velocity, temperature and concentration distributions. The local Nusselt
number and the local Sherwood number are computed and analyzed numerically.

Key words: similarity solution, heat generation, absorption, falling film, porous medium

it is important to study the means of enhancing the heat

1. Introduction
and mass transfer rates of an absorption process. The
There are many applications in heat pumps, chillers absorption process for an absorption process is taking
and air-conditioners which is the gas absorption place on a falling film flow in a porous medium which
process taking place on a falling liquid film has is considered by Yang and Jou [2]. The application of
received much attention. In these absorption machines, porous media in a falling film absorption process is
the refrigerant vapor from evaporator is absorbed by a mainly to enhance the wetting conditions which are
falling film of an absorbent solution in an absorber, and also discussed by Yang and Jou [3].
then the absorbent solution is regenerated by releasing Gebhart and Pera [4] and Chen and Yuh [5] treated
the refrigerant vapor in a regenerator (boiler). Since the vaporizing liquid film as the boundary condition for
these absorption machines are driven mainly by the gas stream and Shembharkar and Pai [6] and
low-grade energy, heat (Jones and Hawkins, 1986), Baumann and Thiele [7] assumed the temperature
rather than by high-grade energy, electricity, their distribution across the film to be linear. Recently,
application is especially interesting in areas where the researches with more rigorous treatments of the
electric power supply is limited. The performance of equations governing the liquid film and liquid–gas
the absorption machine is controlled by the heat and interface have been published. Yan and Lin [8] studied
mass transfer rates of the absorption process. Therefore, the evaporative cooling of liquid film through
interfacial heat and mass transfer in a vertical channel.
Corresponding author: Md. Hasanuzzaman, Master of
A. Miyara [9] investigated the flow dynamics and heat
Philosophy; research areas/interests: thermal engineering.
E-mail: hasan82_kuet@yahoo.com. transfer characteristics of wavy liquid films. Leu et al.
 Similarity Solution of Heat and Mass Transfer for the Falling Film Flow on a Porous Medium in Presence 61
of Heat Generation or Absorption

[10] analyzed the liquid film evaporation flow along a

vertical isothermal plate covered with a thin
liquid-saturated porous layer.
Khader and Megahed [11] are presented a numerical
technique which is the implicit finite difference method
to the search for the numerical solutions for the given
equations. Their technique reduces the problem to a
system of algebraic equations. Recently, M.
Hasanuzzaman and A. Miyara [12] have been studied a
possible similarity solution of unsteady natural
convection laminar boundary layer flow of viscous
incompressible fluid caused by a heated (or cooled) Fig. 1 Physical model and coordinate system.
axi-symmetric slender body of finite axial length
immersed vertically in a viscous incompressible fluid. (3)
The basic theme of the present study is to investigate
the effect of heat generation or absorption, thermal (4)
radiation and chemical reaction on the velocity,
where u and v are the velocity components along the x
temperature and concentration fields in the thin liquid
and y directions, respectively. ρ is the fluid density, T is
film on a porous medium. Mathematical modelling is
the temperature and C is the concentration of the fluid,
developed under the considerations of heat generation
υ is the kinematic viscosity, h is the thickness of porous
or absorption, thermal radiation and chemical reaction
médium, K is the permeability of the porous medium, g
stratification effects. The effects of various emerging
is the gravitational acceleration, α is the thermal
parameters on velocity, temperature as well as
diffusivity, Q0(T-TS) are heat generated or absorbed per
concentration fields are presented graphically. The
unit volume (Q0 is constant), qr is the radiation heat
local Nusselt number and the local Sherwood numbers
flux, D is the mass diffusivity and Kr ′ is the chemical
are computed and analyzed both numerically and
reaction rate of species concentration.
graphically.
3. Boundary Conditions
2. Governing Equations
Subject to the following boundary conditions are:
The physical model and coordinate system are
shown in Fig. 1. Two-dimensional wavy film on a 0, 0, and at 0 (5)
vertical wall is considered. With the usual boundary
layer approximations, the gas flow is assumed as 0, and at → (6)
laminar and steady.
where Tw is the wall temperature, TS and CS are the
The two-dimensional laminar continuity equation,
surface temperature concentration, respectively.
momentum equation, energy equation and mass
According to Rossel and approximation [13], the
balance equations are the governing equations.
radiation heat flux qr is given by
0 (1) * 4
4σ ∂T
qr = −
*
(2) 3k ∂y (7)
62 Similarity Solution of Heat and Mass Transfer for the Falling Film Flow on a Porous Medium in Presence
of Heat Generation or Absorption

Where σ∗ is termed as Stafan-Boltzman constant and 5. Flow Parameters

k∗ is as the mean absorption coefficient, Following
The physical quantities of interest the local Nusselt
Raptis (1998) [13], we assume that the temperature
number and the local Sherwood number
difference within the flow is small such that may be
which are given by
expressed as a linear function of the temperature.
Expanding T4 in a Taylor series about T0 and 0 , 0 (16)
neglecting higher order terms, we have:
4 3 4 6. Results and Discussion
T ≅ 4T T − 3T (8)
0 0
By using the similarity solution technique in
In this paper, we used the relation between the
MATLAB, the set of ordinary differential Eqs.
velocity components as well as the stream functions
(11)-(13) with the boundary conditions (14)-(15) are
which are given by:
solved numerically. Here the velocity, temperature and
, ,
, (9) concentration are determined as a function of
coordinate η. We have adopted a numerical procedure
4. Similarity Transforms based on MATLAB for getting the solution of the
differential Eqs. (11)-(13) with the boundary
The similarity transformations which are given by:
conditions (14)-(15). The fundamental parameters that
, √ , , (10) governed the flow are the dimensionless film thickness,
Froude number, Darcy number, Prandtl number,
Using the Eqs. (5)-(10), the problems defined in Eqs.
thermal radiation parameter, heat
(1)-(4) are then transformed into the following set of
generation/absorption parameter, Schmidt number and
ordinary differential equations:
chemical reaction parameter. According to study their
0 (11) effects, a MATLAB programe is written to enumerate
and produce the graphs for the velocity, temperature
∆ 0 (12)
and concentration for different values of these
parameters. Few delegate results are given in Figs. 2-9.
0 (13) Figs. 2(a), (b) and (c) are shown the effect of the
with the boundary conditions Froude number Fr on the velocity, temperature and
0 0, 0 0, 0 1, 0 0 (14) concentration profiles. From Fig. 2(a), it is observed
that in all cases the velocity is started at 0 (zero) and
1 0, 1 0, 1 0 (15) then the velocity increase with the increase of η. After
where primes denote differentiation with respect to η , η = 0.5 again the velocity decrease with the increase in
the similarity variable η. Also, the velocity increases
Da = υ/K is the Darcy number, γ = h υ is the
with the increase of the Froude number Fr along the
dimensionless film thickness, Fr = ρ gh /μ2 is the 2 3
similarity variable η. The dimensionless temperature
Froude number, Pr = υ/α is the Prandtl number,
profiles shown as in Fig. 2(b) for different values of
R = 16σ *T 3 k *k is the radiation parameter, ∆ Froude number Fr. It is clearly seen that the
0
is heat generation/absorption coefficients, Sc = υ/D is temperature at any point decreases with the increase in
Fr. The concentration increases with increase in
the Schmidt number, Krx = Kr ′ a is the local
Froude number Fr along the similarity variable η
chemical reaction. which as shown in Fig. 2(c). This is due to fact that
 Similarity Solution of Heat and Mass Transfer for the Falling Film Flow on a Porous Medium in Presence 63
of Heat Generation or Absorption

influence of the gravitation force enhancing the Figs. 3(a), (b) and (c) demonstrates the effect of the
velocity and concentration as well as reduce the dimensionless film thickness on the velocity,
temperature of the fluid. temperature and concentration profiles, respectively. It
is clearly observed from Fig. 3(a) that the fluid
increases with the increase in dimensionless film
(a) thickness along the similarity variable η.

(a)

f( )
(b)

(b)

(c)

(c)

Fig. 2 (a) Velocity, (b) Temperature and (c) Concentration

profiles for different values of Fr with fixed values of Pr =
10, R = 1, Da = 0.6, Sc = 50, γ = 0.5 and Krx = 0.5. Fig. 3 (a) Velocity, (b) Temperature and (c) Concentration
profiles for different values of γ with fixed values of Pr = 10,
R = 1, Da = 0.6, Sc = 50, Fr = 0.5 and Krx = 0.5.
64 Similarity Solution of Heat and Mass Transfer for the Falling Film Flow on a Porous Medium in Presence
of Heat Generation or Absorption

Temperature of the fluid decreases with the increase temperature increases with the increase of the Prandtl
in along the similarity variable η which is shown in number. This is due to fact that a fluid with large
Fig. 3(b). Also, the concentration behavior is opposite Prandtl number possesses large heat capacity, and
for increasing dimensionless film thickness . With hence augments the heat transfer.
an increase of dimensionless film thickness the The effect of the radiation parameter R on the
concentration increases along the similarity variable η. dimensionless temperature is shown in Fig. 6. It is
The influence of the Darcy number Da on the observed that with an increase in the radiation
velocity profile is shown in Fig. 4. The results show parameter the temperature decreases along the
that the velocity decreases as the Darcy parameter similarity variable η. This is because the increase in the
increases. This is because that the porous medium radiation parameter implies higher surface heat flux and
produces a resistive type of force which causes a there-by decreasing the temperature of the fluid.
reduction in the fluid velocity. Fig. 7 represents the effect of heat generation (∆ 0)
Fig. 5 illustrates the effect of the Prandtl number Pr and a heat absorption generation ( ∆ 0 ) on the
on the temperature profiles. It is observed that the temperature profile. It is clearly observed that with an

Fig. 4 Velocity profiles for different values of Darcy Fig. 6 Temperature profiles for different values of
number Da with fixed values of Pr = 10, R = 1, γ = 0.5, Sc = radiation parameter R with fixed values of Da = 10, Pr = 10,
50, Fr = 0.5 and Krx = 0.5. γ = 0.5, Sc = 50, Fr = 0.5 and Krx = 0.5.

Fig. 5 Temperature profiles for different values of Prandtl

Fig. 7 Temperature profiles for different values of heat
number Pr with fixed values of Da = 10, R = 1, γ = 0.5, Sc =
generation and absorption with fixed values of Da = 10, R =
50, Fr = 0.5 and Krx = 0.5.
1, γ = 0.5, Sc = 50, Fr = 0.5 and Krx = 0.5.
 Similarity Solution of Heat and Mass Transfer for the Falling Film Flow on a Porous Medium in Presence 65
of Heat Generation or Absorption

increase the heat generation the temperature increases.

This increase in the fluid temperature causes more
induced flow towards the plate through the thermal
buoyancy effect. For the case of absorption, the
temperature decreases with an increase the absorption.
The variation of the dimensionless concentration
against the similarity variable η for various values of
the Schmidt number Sc are displayed in Fig. 8. It is
seen that the increase of the Schmidt number leads to
decrease in the concentration. Schmidt number is
inversely proportional to the diffusion coefficient.
Hence with an increase in Schmidt number
Fig. 9 Concentration profiles for different values of
corresponding to a smaller diffusion coefficient. Such chemical reaction parameter Krx with fixed values of Pr =
smaller diffusion coefficient creates a reduction in the 10, R = 1, Da = 0.6, γ = 0.5, Fr = 0.5 and Sc =50.
concentration.
The influence of the chemical reaction rate constant 8
on the concentration profile within the boundary Δ = -2
6
Δ = -1
layer is given in Fig. 9. An increase in the chemical 4 Δ=0

reaction effects increases the concentration within the 2

thermal boundary layer region. This is because Nux
0
increasing the chemical reaction rate causes a -2 0.5 1.5 2.5 3.5 4.5
thickening of the mass transfer boundary layer. -4
Δ=1
Fig. 10 is shown the variation of local Nusselt -6
Δ=2
number Nux versus thickness of porous medium h for -8
selected values of heat generation and absorption Δ. -10
With an increase the heat generation parameter the h
Fig. 10 Variation of local Nussult number Nux with h for
local Nusselt number decrease within the boundary
various heat generation and absorption parameter Δ.
along h. Also, increases the absorption the local
0.25
Sc = 50
0.2
Shx

0.15
Sc = 15
( )

Sc = 10
0.1

0.05

0
0.5 1.5 2.5 3.5 4.5
Fig. 11 Variation of local Sherwood number Shx with h for
Fig. 8 Concentration profiles for different values of various Schmidt number Sc.
Schmidt number Sc with fixed values of Pr = 10, R = 1, Da
= 0.6, γ = 0.5, Fr = 0.5 and Krx = 0.5.
66 Similarity Solution of Heat and Mass Transfer for the Falling Film Flow on a Porous Medium in Presence
of Heat Generation or Absorption

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