Local thermal non-equilibrium effects on thermal convection in a rotating anisotropic porous layer

Effects of local thermal non-equilibrium (LTNE) on thermal convection in a rotating fluid-saturated anisotropic porous layer are investigated. The analysis has been carried out by constructing a simplified model consisting of six coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations. The study reveals the equivalence of linear and nonlinear stability boundaries indicating the linearized instability theory captures completely the physics of the onset of convection. Results show that the presence of rotation is to introduce oscillatory convection once the Taylor number exceeds a threshold value. The preferred mode of instability is found to be influenced significantly by the mechanical anisotropy parameter as well and it is demonstrated that it has both stabilizing and destabilizing effects on the steady onset in the presence of rotation. Besides, asymptotic analyses for small and large values of the interphase heat transfer coefficient are presented. Heat transport is calculated in terms of Nusselt number. Also, the coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations are solved numerically using Runge-Kutta method and the transient behavior of Nusselt number is demonstrated for various values of physical parameters. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.