Natural convection and radiation in a radial porous fin with variable thermal conductivity

In this study, the effects of radiation and convection heat transfer in a radial porous fin are considered. The geometry considered is that of a rectangular profile fin. The porous fin allows the flow to infiltrate through it and solid-fluid interaction takes place. This study is performed using Darcy’s model to formulate the heat transfer equation. The thermal conductivity is assumed to be a function of temperature. The effects of the natural convection parameter Nc , radiation parameter Nr and thermal conductivity parameter m on the dimensionless temperature distribution and heat transfer rate are discussed. The results suggest that the radiation transfers more heat than a similar model without radiation.