ABSTRACT
The topic of buoyancy-driven convection in fluid-saturated porous media has received significant research interest motivated by a wide range of geophysical and engineering applications including geothermal energy extraction, groundwater resource management, nuclear waste disposal, building thermal insulation, grain storage, enhanced oil recovery, metal casting (alloy solidification), and heat transfer in electronic equipment, among many others. Reviews of several topics within this broad research area can be found in earlier books presented by Kakac et al. [1]. Nield and Bejan [2], Kaviany [3] and more recently Ingham and Pop [4], An earlier extensive review of relevant studies related to thermal convection in porous media was also reported by Tien and Vafai [5].
