Soret-driven convection and separation of binary mixtures in a porous horizontal slot submitted to a heat flux

The onset of Soret-driven convection in a shallow porous horizontal layer filled with a binary mixture and submitted to a vertical heat flux on the two horizontal walls is investigated. We study the species separation between the two vertical ends of the cell, which appears for low values of the Rayleigh number and for positive separation ratio. An analytical solution is performed and the separation is expressed in terms of thermal Rayleigh number, Lewis number, separation ratio and aspect ratio of the cell. These analytical results are corroborated by direct non-linear numerical simulations. Then, the results are compared with those obtained in a differentially heated vertical cavity. (C) 2011 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.