Brinkman ferroconvection Effects of vertical heterogeneity in permeability and local thermal non-equilibrium

Purpose - The simultaneous effects of local thermal non-equilibrium (LTNE) and vertical heterogeneity in permeability on the onset of ferromagnetic convection in a Brinkman porous medium are analyzed in the presence of a uniform vertical magnetic field. The eigenvalue problem is solved numerically using shooting method for isothermal rigid-ferromagnetic boundaries for various forms of vertically stratified permeability function γ(z). The effect of vertically stratified permeability is found to either hasten or delay the onset of ferromagnetic convection. The deviation in the critical Rayleigh number between different forms of γ(z) is found to be not so significant with an increase in the Darcy number. It is observed that the general quadratic variation of γ(z) has more destabilizing effect on the system when compared to the constant permeability porous medium case. Besides, the influence of LTNE and magnetic parameters on the criterion for the onset of ferromagnetic convection has been assessed in detail. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach - Ferroconvection in a porous medium has been analyzed considering heterogeneity in the permeability of the porous medium. The resulting eigenvalue problem has been solved numerically using shooting method as well as Galerkin method for realistic boundary conditions. Findings - The novelty of the present study lies in understanding the effect of heterogeneity in the permeability of the porous medium on control of ferroconvection in a porous medium. In analyzing the problem, realistic boundary conditions are considered and the resulting eigenvalue problem is solved numerically using shooting method as well as Galerkin method. Originality/value - Control of ferroconvection in a porous medium is an important feature in heat transfer-related problems and many mechanisms are being used to understand this aspect in the literature. The novelty of the present study lies in recognizing the effect of heterogeneity in the permeability of the porous medium on control of ferroconvection. This fact has been analyzed in detail for various forms of heterogeneity functions using numerical techniques by considering realistic boundary conditions. © Emerald Publishing Limited