Investigation of thermal dispersion and intra-pore turbulent heat flux in porous media

In the present study, the importance of the thermal dispersion and the turbulent heat flux in porous media and their effects on the macroscopic distribution of thermal energy are investigated. To this end, turbulent flow and heat transfer within five unit-cells mimicking porous media are solved using large eddy simulation. It is shown that the thermal dispersion and the turbulent heat flux are negligible as compared to the convection term in the macroscopic energy equation. When further scrutinizing this equation, it is revealed that except for the longitudinal components of the thermal dispersion, the other components of thermal dispersion and turbulent heat flux may be neglected away from the boundaries as compared to the interfacial heat transfer. Visualizations of vortices show that the size of the turbulence structures within the cells is of the same order as the size of the pores; therefore, the turbulent heat flux is limited to the intra-pore level. Finally, a discussion is provided on the accuracy of the gradient type diffusion model commonly used for turbulent heat flux in porous media in the absence of macroscopic turbulence. It is shown that the intra-pore turbulence does not affect the macroscopic transport of thermal energy within the porous media studied.