Entropy generation for natural convection in an inclined porous cavity

The issue of entropy generation in a tilted saturated porous cavity for laminar natural convection heat transfer is analysed by solving numerically the mass, momentum and energy balance equations, using Darcy's law and Boussinesq-incompressible approximation. As boundary conditions of cavity, two opposite walls are kept at constant but different temperatures and the other two are thermally insulated. The parameters considered are the angle of inclination and the Darcy-Rayleigh number. When available, present solutions are compared with known results from the previous researches. Excellent agreement was obtained between results that validate the used computer code. The results show that the calculation of local entropy generation maps are feasible and can supply useful information for the selection of a suitable angle of inclination. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.