Abstract
The transient hydrodynamics and thermal behaviors of the free convection fluid flow in open-ended vertical parallel-plate channels partially filled with porous material are investigated. The role of the local macroscopic inertial term in the porous domain momentum equation is studied. It is found that the effect of the local inertial term on the channel behavior is insignificant when the Darcy number is less than 1E−4 for all operating conditions. Also, the effect of the macroscopic inertial term is insignificant at large values of the viscosity ratio >1.0, and over the entire ranges of diffusivity ratio, conductivity ratio, and Prandtl number.