He

osalymaalyor

adsel(s)gey pt oplic, and ud,nanma0.1

are well established to visualize two-dimensional conductive heattransfer in isotropic media 2. In this case, the heat flux lines are

melts 14,15. The heatline concept was also used for visualizationand analysis of unsteady convective heat transfer, assuming that,normal to the isotherms, and each one can be easily obtained fromthe other, and both are routinely used when dealing with conduc-tive heat transfer.

When dealing with convective heat transfer, the isotherms arenot the most adequate tools for visualization and analysis, and theheat flux lines are not necessarily perpendicular to them. Takeninto consideration the total energy flux enthalpy advection andheat diffusion, the heat flux lines, referred to as the heatlines, canalso apply. The heat function and heatline concepts and formula-tion were originally introduced by Kimura and Bejan 3 in the1980s, and they appeared for the first time in a book on convec-tive heat transfer by Bejan in 1984 4. Before that, convectiveheat transfer processes were analyzed using mainly the isotherms.But, the adequate visualizing tools in fluid dynamics are thestreamlines and not the isobars, the same occurring in the field ofconvective heat transfer, where the adequate visualizing tools arethe heatlines and not the isotherms.

A natural extension of the method was made to the field ofconvective mass transfer, through the introduction of the massfunction and massline concepts by Trevisan and Bejan 5 in1987.

If the heat function and/or the mass function are made dimen-sionless in an adequate way, their numerical values are closelyrelated to the overall Nusselt and/or Sherwood numbers. In this

at a given instant of analysis, the steady state version of the energyconservation equation is satisfied, as set forth by Aggarwal andManhapra 16,17.

Application of the method to polar cylindrical coordinate sys-tems was made firstly by Littlefield and Desai 18 to study thenatural convection in a vertical cylindrical annulus, and later ap-plied to some convection problems in circular annuli 1921. Inthe referred studies, the visualization using the heatlines is madein the r- plane 19,20, or in the r-z plane 18,21. The methodwas also applied to polar spherical coordinate systems by Chatto-padhyay and Dash 22, using the r- plane for visualization ofthe heatlines, where is the azimuthal angle.

The heatlines were also applied to some forced convectionboundary layers, both in open 23 or fluid-saturated porous media24, by developing the similarity expressions for the heatfunctioncorresponding to different heating or cooling wall conditions.Similarity expressions for the heat function were also obtained forlaminar natural convection boundary layers adjacent to a verticalwall, considering different heating or cooling wall conditions 25.

The heatline concept was also applied when dealing with heattransfer in turbulent flows through the consideration of the turbu-lent fluxes into the heat function differential equation 26. If theheat transfer problem under analysis occurs in the turbulentboundary layer near a wall, the heatline concept can be applied ina simpler way, by using an effective diffusion coefficient for heat,which includes the eddy diffusivity effect of the turbulent trans-port 27.

The heatline and massline methods evolved in a natural way,Transmitted by Assoc. Editor E. Dowell.

126 / Vol. 59, MAY 2006 Copyright 2006 by ASME Transactions of the ASMEV. A. F. CostaDepartamento de Engenharia Mecnica da

Universidade de Aveiro,Campus Universitrio de Santiago,

3810-193 Aveiro, Portugale-mail: vcosta@mec.ua.pt

Bejansfor ConvAnalysisHeatlines were propvisualization and anapply to convectionvisualization and anconvective heat and/mass function are mrelated with the Nustablished in the 1980the applicability rantheir use in unsteadsystems, developmenboundary layers, apstreamline, heatlineand the extension annow well establishetools for visualizatiofor numerical heat trof the heatlines andthe present. DOI: 1

1 IntroductionWhen dealing with fluid flow, streamlines are well established

as the most adequate and very useful tools to visualize two-dimensional incompressible flows from a long time ago cf. 1,and they are present in virtually any study or textbook on fluiddynamics. In a way similar to the streamlines, the heat flux lineseatlines and Masslinesction Visualization and

ed in 1983 by Kimura and Bejan (1983) as adequate tools forsis of convection heat transfer. The masslines, their equivalent toss transfer, were proposed in 1987 by Trevisan and Bejan. Thesesis tools proved to be useful, and their application in the fields ofmass transfer is still increasing. When the heat function and/or thee dimensionless in an adequate way, their values are closelyt and/or Sherwood numbers. The basics of the method were es-, and some novelties were subsequently added in order to increaseand facility of use of such visualization tools. Main steps includedroblems, their use in polar cylindrical and spherical coordinatef similarity expressions for the heat function in laminar convectiveation of the method to turbulent flow problems, unification of thed massline methods (involving isotropic or anisotropic media),nification of the method to apply to reacting flows. The method is

and the efforts made towards unification resulted in very usefuland analysis, which can be easily included in software packagessfer and fluid flow. This review describes the origins and evolutionsslines as visualization and analysis tools, from their first steps to115/1.2177684

way, they are very useful tools not only for visualization purposesbut also for the analysis of the overall heat and/or mass transferprocesses.

Once established the heatlines and masslines have been used asvisualization and analysis tools of many and varied convectiveheat and mass transfer problems 3,513. Some studies using theheatlines include thermomagnetic convection in electroconductive

and they appeared in a mature form in convection books, both inopen fluid domains 27,28 and in porous domains 29. In therecent book on convection heat transfer by Bejan 28, the method

is used extensively. Once the method was established, some nov-elties were introduced in order to enlarge its applicability rangeand to ease its inclusion into computational fluid dynamics CFDcodes and packages. The unification of the streamline, heatline,and massline methods, which are treated in a common way, wasmade by Costa 30, thus resulting in a general tool that can beeasily included in CFD software codes and packages. This in-cludes, for the first time, the possibility of variable diffusion co-efficient for the function used for visualization purposes. Somecontroversy was associated with the treatment of such diffusioncoefficients 10, but the adequate treatment is now well estab-lished 31. The unified version of the streamline, heatline, andmassline methods to apply to convective heat and mass transfer inanisotropic fluid-saturated porous media was also derived byCosta 32, which is of crucial importance when dealing withmany natural or manufactured products, and it is a valuable toolthat can be easily included in CFD codes and packages.

The last remarkable improvement of the method was made inorder to apply it to reacting flows. As the method applies todivergence-free problems, special care should be taken when se-lecting the conserved variables to consider, without source termsin the governing differential equations. This was done by Mukho-padhyay et al. 33,34, by selecting as variables the normalizedelemental mass fractions and the total enthalpy formation en-thalpy plus sensible enthalpy, with very encouraging results.

In what follows, presentation is made of the authors vision onthe most important issues related with the development and appli-cation of the heatline and massline methods, and some illustrativeexamples of their application are also presented. A visit is made tothe references involving the heatlines and masslines, both in whatconcerns new developments of the method or just its application.This is a work started before by Costa 35, but that, fortunately,needs to always be updated.

2 Origins of the Heat Function and Heatlines2.1 Stream Function and Streamlines. The stream function

and the streamlines are very useful tools when dealing with 2Dfluid flow visualization and analysis, or even when dealing with2D fluid flow calculations using a vorticity-stream functionformulation.

For such situations, the mass conservation equation for an in-compressible fluid reads

xu +

yv = 0 1

Noting that u and v are the mass fluxes in the x and y direc-tions, respectively, the stream function x ,y can be introducedand defined through its first-order derivatives as

y= Jm,x = u 2a

x= Jm,y = v 2b

Equation 1 is identically obtained evaluating and invoking theequality of the second-order crossed derivatives of x ,y.

The differential of the stream function x ,y can be expressedas

d =

xdx +

ydy = Jm,ydx + Jm,xdy 3

or

Applied Mechanics Reviewsd = Jm ndA 4

where n is the outward normal of segment ds crossed by the fluxJm, and dA=ds1, as shown in Fig. 1 for a 2D system with a unitdepth. If there is no mass flow crossing segment ds it is d=0,and a line of constant , a contour plot of , is thus a line that isnot crossed by mass. Mass flows between such constant linesand, over such lines, it flows only tangentially to them. The constant lines, the streamlines, thus define well bordered corri-dors, of impermeable walls, where mass flow occurs, which arevery useful tools for flow visualization and analysis. As given byEq. 4, the difference between the values of corresponding totwo lines of constant is the mass flow rate that, by unit depth,flows between such lines.

Assuming that x ,y is continuous to its second-order deriva-tives, Eq. 2a can be differentiated with respect to y and Eq. 2bcan be differentiated with respect to x, and the results added togive

0 =2

x2+2

y2+

xv

yu 5

This is the second-order partial differential equation a Poissonequation, from which the stream function field is obtained. Equa-tion 5 can be solved once the flow field is known, evaluatedusing any available technique, a situation for which the sourceterm of Eq. 5 the symmetric of one-half of the vorticity isalready known, and, in this case, the stream function field is usedto obtain the streamlines, the useful tools for 2D flow visualiza-tion and analysis. This same equation can, however, be solved aspart of a vorticity-stream function formulation 36, and thestream function field is a primary field from which the velocityfield can be obtained. In this case, from the stream function field itcan also be directly obtained the streamlines used for flow visu-alization and analysis.

The streamlines have been used as visualization and analysistools for a long time, and they are present in virtually every 2Dflow study.

2.2 Heat Flux Lines for Heat Conduction Visualization.The analog of the stream function was also developed to apply topure conduction heat transfer 2. The steady energy conservationequation for a 2D situation without source term, and where onlyheat conduction in an isotropic medium of constant thermal con-ductivity is present, reads

0 =

xkTx +

ykTy 6Identifying the energy fluxes as kT /x and kT /y, in thex and y directions, respectively, the stream function for heat trans-fer, Qx ,y, can be defined through its first-order derivatives as

Qy

= Je,x = kTx

7a

Fig. 1 Elementary segment ds=dx2+dy2 crossed by themass flux Jm

MAY 2006, Vol. 59 / 127

Je,y = vcpT T0 kTy

11b

Qx

= Je,y = kTy

7b

Equation 6 is identically obtained by adding the second-ordermixed derivatives of Qx ,y.

Assuming that Qx ,y is continuous to its second-order deriva-tives, Eq. 7a can be differentiated with respect to y and Eq. 7bcan be differentiated with respect to x, and the obtained resultsadded to give

0 =2Qx2

+2Qy2

8

From this Laplace equation one obtains the Qx ,y field and,from it, the heat flux lines for visualization and analysis. Heatflows in such a way that the constant Qx ,y lines, the contourplots of Qx ,y, are not crossed by heat.

For an isotropic medium of constant thermal conductivity, tak-ing Eqs. 7a and 7b, it is

grad T grad Q = 0 9

that is, the heat flux lines are perpendicular to the isotherms, asillustrated in Fig. 2. Temperature acts like the potential for heattransfer, and heat flows as the current imposed by that potential.

In this way, the visualization and analysis of conduction heattransfer can be made using the isotherms, as the heat flux lines canbe easily obtained or visualized as being perpendicular to the iso-therms. However, when the medium is anisotropic or of variablethermal conductivity, or convection is present, the heat flux linesare not perpendicular to the isotherms, and new heat flux lines, theheatlines, need to be obtained following another way.

2.3 Heat Function and Heatlines. The heatlines were firstproposed by Kimura and Bejan 3 in 1983, as the adequate toolsfor visualization and analysis of 2D convection heat transfer,through an extension of the heat flux line concept to include theadvection terms.

The steady energy conservation equation for a 2D problem,without source term, reads

xucpT T0 kTx + yvcpT T0 kTy = 0

10

where T0 is the reference temperature used for enthalpy referenc-ing, and the constant pressure specific heat is used for gases orreplaced by the specific heat, c, for incompressible liquids. In Eq.10 are identified the energy flux components

Je,x = ucpT T0 kTx

11a

Fig. 2 Perpendicularity between the isotherms and the heatflux lines in heat conduction

128 / Vol. 59, MAY 2006and the heat function, Hx ,y, can be defined through its first-order derivatives as

Hy

= Je,x = ucpT T0 kTx

12a

Hx

= Je,y = vcpT T0 kTy

12b

Equation 10 is obtained identically by adding the second-ordercrossed derivatives of Hx ,y obtained from Eqs. 12a and 12b,assuming that it is a continuous function to its second-orderderivatives.

Similarly to what was explained for the streamlines and for theheat flux lines, a line of constant H, a contour plot of H, is a linethat is not crossed by energy that is being transferred due to thecombined effects of conduction and convection. The region be-tween two lines of constant H behaves as a well bordered channelfor energy transfer, or as a thermal energy tube. The differencebetween the values of H corresponding to two lines of constant His the total energy flow rate that, by unit depth, flows betweensuch lines. In this case, the isotherms and the heatlines are notperpendicular, and isotherms alone are only a poor tool for heattransfer visualization and analysis. When dealing with 2D fluidflow, it is not the isobars but the streamlines that are the best toolsfor visualization and analysis, as fluid flows not in the directionperpendicular to the isobars.

Similarly, when dealing with 2D convection heat transfer, it isnot the isotherms but the heatlines that are the best tools for visu-alization and analysis, as energy does not flow in the directionperpendicular to the isotherms. Isotherms are still important asidentifying the temperature levels in the domain, but they are poorand inadequate for heat transfer visualization and analysis.

From Eqs. 12a and 12b one obtains the second-order deriva-tives of the heat function, which can be added for a medium ofconstant thermal conductivity, to give the second-order differen-tial equation a Poisson equation whose solution gives the heatfunction field

0 =2Hx2

+2Hy2

+ x

vcpT T0

yucpT T0

13

The boundary conditions for this equation are obtained from theintegration of the expressions for the H derivatives as given by thedefinition equations, Eqs. 12a and 12b. For example, for arectangular domain, over a vertical boundary the values of H arespecified, using Eq. 12a, as

HxB,y = HxB,yref +yref

y ucpT T0 kTx xBdy 14yref being a point where the H value is known by any way. Itshould be noted that, given the way in which the heat function isdefined, through its first-order derivatives, only the differences inthe H values are important and not the H level itself. If the verticalboundary under analysis is such that the velocity is zero there, Eq.14 simplifies to give

HxB,y = HxB,yref +yref

y kTx

xB

dy 15

The reference temperature, T0, used in the H definition equa-tions, Eqs. 12a and 12b, arises from the fact that the energyfluxes include two distinct components: Fourier conduction andenthalpy flow. As the enthalpy property needs to be referenced to

Transactions of the ASME

a given state, this is chosen as the one corresponding to tempera-ture T0. Selection of T0 is arbitrary, but it has an influence on theobtained heatlines, given that different values of T0 lead to differ-ent slopes of the H field, as given by Eqs. 12a and 12b. Thevalue of T0 is irrelevant in what concerns the energy conservationequation; once invoked the mass conservation equation, the termsinvolving T0 vanish in the energy conservation equation. This isdifferent, however, in the differential equation governing the Hfield, Eq. 13, whose source term depends on T0. In order to solvethis problem, a unified treatment has been proposed by Bejan 27,by setting T0 as the minimum temperature level in the domainunder analysis.

The first heatline patterns were published by Kimura and Bejan3 for the natural convection problem in a differentially heatedsquare enclosure presented in Fig. 3, whose top and bottomboundaries are perfectly insulated. Some of such results, in theform of heatlines are presented in Fig. 4a for RaY =140 and inFig. 4b for RaY =1.4105, where RaY =gTHTCY3 / isthe Y-based Rayleigh number.

In Fig. 4a, for a low Rayleigh number, flow intensity is verylow, and heat transfer occurs mainly by conduction. Isotherms arenearly vertical, and the heatlines are nearly horizontal, as expectedfor a conduction dominated problem. It is also observed that heatleaves the hot wall in an almost uniform way, and reaches the coldwall also in an almost uniform way. However, for a high Rayleighnumber, as presented in Fig. 4b, the flow intensity is observedand the isotherms are far from the vertical form. It is observed thatheat transfer is more intense at the lower-left and upper-right re-gions of the enclosures vertical walls, and that their upper-leftand lower-right regions only have a poor contribution for heattransfer. This is typical for this problem, as shown by the localNusselt number results presented by Costa 9. In this case, theheatlines are the adequate tools for visualization and analysis ofthe heat transfer process, giving well defined corridors where en-ergy transfer occurs from the hot wall towards the cold wall. Nearthe vertical walls, where velocity is low and conduction is domi-nant, the heatlines have a markedly horizontal profile. When deal-ing with heat transfer visualization and analysis, the heatlinesshow thus to be the effective tools to do that, and the picture givenby the isotherms is only of minor relevance for that.

For a problem like the natural convection in a differentiallyheated square enclosure, the overall Nusselt number is usuallydefined as

Nu =Q convectionQ conduction

=

0

Y kTx

x=0dy

kYTH TC/Y16

Making the heat function dimensionless as H*=H / kTHTC,and taking into account Eq. 15, Eq. 16 can be expressed as

Nu = H*xB,Y H*xB,yref 17

If yref=0 and it is set that H*xB ,yref=0, the overall Nusselt num-ber becomes equal to the maximum value of the heat function, animportant result when visualizing and analyzing heat transfer pro-

Fig. 3 Physical model and geometry for the work of Kimuraand Bejan 3 reprinted with permission from 3

Applied Mechanics Reviewscesses using the heat function and heatlines. It should be referredthat for a situation where pure conduction heat transfer is presentand fluid flow subsides, the heat function coincides with thestream function for heat flow, Qx ,y, as explained in Sec. 2.2.

3 Mass Function and MasslinesThe concept of heat function and heatlines was extended to the

field of convective mass transfer by Trevisan and Bejan 5 in1987, thus coining the terms of mass function and masslines.

The 2D steady mass conservation equation for a given particu-lar chemical species i, without source term, reads

Fig. 4 Heatlines in the work of Kimura and Bejan 3, for Pr=7 and a Ra=140 and b Ra=1.4105 reprinted with permis-sion from 3

MAY 2006, Vol. 59 / 129

xuCi Ci,0 DiCix + yvCi Ci,0 DiCiy = 018

where Ci,0 is the minimum value of the mass concentration ofcomponent i, similarly to what was made for the reference tem-perature T0 in Eq. 10. Identifying the mass flux components ofspecies i as

Jmi,x = uCi Ci,0 DiCix

19a

Jmi,y = vCi Ci,0 DiCiy

19b

the mass function for this particular chemical species, Mix ,y,can be defined through its first-order derivatives as

Miy

= Jmi,x = uCi Ci,0 DiCix

20a

Mix

= Jmi,y = vCi Ci,0 DiCiy

20b

The second-order derivatives of Mix ,y can be obtained fromEqs. 20a and 20b, and the results added, for a medium withconstant Di, to give the second-order partial differential equationa Poisson equation from which the mass function field is evalu-ated

0 =2Mix2

+2Miy2

+ x

vCi Ci,0

yuCi Ci,0 .

21

This equation is formally similar to Eq. 13, obtained for the heatfunction. The boundary conditions for the mass function are set ina way similar to that explained for the heat function.

The first results involving the mass function and the masslineswere presented by Trevisan and Bejan 5 for the double-diffusivenatural convection problem in a square enclosure subjected toconstant wall heat and mass fluxes. Some of these results arepresented in Fig. 5. As referred to in the paper of Trevisan andBejan 5, the particular reference value Ci,0 was taken as theenclosure-averaged quantity measured at the center of the enclo-sure, in search of centrosymmetric massline patterns. In this case,as the wall mass flux is constant, the masslines are equally spacedat the left and right vertical walls of the enclosure. Once again,and similarly to what happened with the heatlines for heat transfervisualization, it is observed that the masslines define well bor-dered corridors where mass flows, and that they are the effectivetools for mass transfer visualization and analysis, and not the iso-concentration lines.

Also in this case, the mass function can be made dimensionlessin such a way that its maximum value equals the overall Sher-wood number relative to the particular chemical species underanalysis.

As a limiting situation, consider the case when the fluid is asingle component medium, for which there is no mass diffusion,the mass conservation equation reduces to the global mass con-servation equation, Eq. 1, the mass function is the same as thestream function, and the masslines are the same as the streamlines.

4 Heat Function and Heatlines in Polar CoordinateSystems

4.1 Cylindrical Coordinate Systems. The mass conservationequation in the cylindrical coordinate system, when the phenom-ena under interest occur in the r- plane, reads 37

130 / Vol. 59, MAY 20061r

rrvr +

1r

v = 0 22

and the corresponding energy conservation equation reads1r

rrvrcpT T0 +

1r

vcpT T0

=

1r

rkrT

r + 1

r

k

r

T 23

This last equation can be rewritten as1r

rrvrcpT T0 krTr + 1r vcpT T0 kr T = 0

24

From Eq. 24 it can be identified the energy fluxes in the r and directions, and the heat function Hr , can be defined through itsfirst-order derivatives as

H

= rvrcpT T0 krTr

25a

Fig. 5 Masslines for the double-diffusive natural convectionproblem in a square enclosure subjected to constant wall heatand mass fluxes for Ra=3.5105, Le=1, Pr=7 and a N=4and b N=0.9 reprinted with permission from 5

Transactions of the ASME

Hr

= vcpT T0 kr

T

25b

Evaluating the second-order crossed derivatives of Hr , fromEqs. 25a and 25b, Eq. 24 is identically obtained.

If, instead, the plane of interest is the r-z plane, the mass con-servation equation reads 37

1r

rrvr +

zvz = 0 26

and the corresponding energy conservation equation reads1r

rrvrcpT T0 +

zvzcpT T0

=

1r

rkrT

r +

zkT

z 27

which can be rewritten as1r

rrvrcpT T0 krTr + zvzcpT T0 kTz = 0

28

From this last equation it can be identified the energy fluxes in ther and z directions, and the heat function Hr ,z can be definedthrough its first-order derivatives as

Fig. 6 Streamlines right and heatlines leftgravitational convection in concentric and eccnumber reprinted with permission from 19

Applied Mechanics ReviewsHz

= rvrcpT T0 krTr

29a

1r

Hr

= vzcpT T0 kTz

29b

Evaluating the second-order crossed derivatives of Hr ,z fromEqs. 29a and 29b, Eq. 28 is identically obtained.

The second-order differential equation, from which the Hr ,or the Hr ,z field is evaluated, is obtained adding the second-order derivatives of H obtained from the first-order derivativesdefining it, similarly to what was made for the Cartesian coordi-nate system.

Results, in the form of streamlines and heatlines in the r-plane, were obtained by Ho and Lin 19,20 for air/water layersenclosed in horizontal annuli, some of which are presented in Fig.6.

Results, in the form of streamlines and heatlines in the r-zplane, were obtained by Littlefield and Desai 18 and by Ho andLin 21 for a vertical cylindrical annulus.

4.2 Spherical Coordinate Systems. When the system underanalysis is better described using the spherical coordinate system,in the r- plane, where is the azimuthal direction, the massconservation equation reads 37

otherms are the dashed lines for the thermo-tric annuli, for different values of the Rayleigh

MAY 2006, Vol. 59 / 131isen

1r2

rr2vr +

1r sin

v sin = 0 30

and the energy conservation equation reads1r2

rr2vrcpT T0 +

1r sin

v sin cpT T0

=

1r2

rr2kT

r + 1

r sin

k

rsin

T 31

which can be rewritten as1r2

rr2vrcpT T0 r2kTr + 1r sin v sin cpT T0

kr

sin T = 0 32

From this last equation it can be identified the energy fluxes in ther and directions, and the heat function Hr , in the sphericalcoordinate system can be defined through its first-order deriva-tives as

1sin

H

= r2vrcpT T0 r2kTr

33a

1r

Hr

= v sin cpT T0 kr

sin T

33b

Evaluating the second-order crossed derivatives of Hr , fromEqs. 33a and 33b, Eq. 32 is identically obtained.

The second-order differential equation, from which the Hr ,field is evaluated, is obtained adding the second-order derivativesof H obtained from the first-order derivatives defining it, similarlyto what was made before for the Cartesian coordinate system.

Results, in the form of heatlines, were obtained by Chatto-padhyay and Dash 22 for the study of convective heat transferfrom a sphere. Some of these results are presented in Fig. 7.

The presented results, concerning the use of the heatlines forvisualization and analysis of convective heat transfer occurring insystems that are naturally adapted to polar coordinate systems,also emphasize the usefulness of such visualization tools, whichare the adequate tools for energy path identification and globalquantification in convection heat transfer.

5 Heatlines and Masslines in Fluid-Saturated PorousMedia

When dealing with fluid-saturated porous media, the steadyglobal mass conservation equation is still Eq. 1, the steady en-

Fig. 7 Heatlines in a solid sphere subjected to cooling re-printed with permission from 22

132 / Vol. 59, MAY 2006ergy conservation equation, without source term, is still Eq. 10,and the steady mass conservation equation for the particularchemical species i is still Eq. 18. In this case, the thermal con-ductivity results from the combination of the thermal conductivi-ties of both fluid and porous matrix, and the effective mass diffu-sivity results from the combination of the diffusivities of bothfluid and porous matrix. The velocity components are volume av-eraged values, usually referred to as Darcy velocity components29, which are evaluated using any reasonable physical model29, always under the condition that mass must be satisfied.

In this way, the streamlines, heatlines and masslines, as pre-sented before, also apply for 2D steady heat and mass transferconvective problems in fluid-saturated porous media.

6 Use of Heatlines in Unsteady ProblemsStrictly, heatlines and masslines can be used only for 2D

divergence-free situations, that is, for 2D steady problems withoutsource terms.

The energy conservation equation for an unsteady problem,without source term, reads

tcpT +

xucpT T0 kTx + yvcpT T0 kTy

= 0 34

which is not a divergence-free equation. However, consideringthat, at a given instant, the differential energy conservation equa-tion without the unsteady term can be taken to describe the heattransfer problem, the heatline concept can be applied withoutproblems to such an equation. This has been made successfully byAggarwal and Manhapra 16,17 to analyze the unsteady heattransfer process in cylindrical enclosures subjected to natural con-vection.

It should be refereed, however, that such a procedure is accept-able in problems with small unsteady terms when compared withthe diffusive and/or convective terms, for which the steady energyconservation equation gives a good description at a given instant.Otherwise, if the unsteady term is not so small, the steady energyconservation equation is only a poor, or even unrealistic, descrip-tion of the involved heat transfer process at a given instant. Fromthe viewpoint of the energy conservation equation, the unsteadyterm can be interpreted also as a source volumetric term.

The considerations made about the use of the heatlines for un-steady problems apply equally to the use of masslines for un-steady problems.

7 Heat Function and Heatlines in Boundary LayerProblemsSimilarity Solutions

7.1 Forced Convection. Once verified some conditions, thesteady flow and energy problems near a flat plate, like that in Fig.8, for a fluid of constant properties, can be described by the massconservation equation, Eq. 1, by the momentum boundary layer

Fig. 8 Boundary layer in forced convection near a flat plate fora fluid with Pr1 bottom

Transactions of the ASME

equation, and by the boundary layer energy conservation equation.These equations read, respectively, as given by Bejan 27 H* =

HcPUT TwL ReL

1/2 43u

x+vy

= 0 35

uu

x+ v

u

y=

2u

y236

cPuTx + vTy = k2Ty2

37

A similarity solution can be obtained for the flow problem, andalso for the heat transfer problem. As the flow is forced, and it isnot influenced by the temperature field, the similarity solution forthe flow problem is obtained first. The developments that followare essentially due to Al Morega and Bejan 23.

Making the Cartesian coordinates dimensionless as x*=x /L andy*= y /LReL

1/2, where ReL=UL / as is the L-based Reynolds

number, it can be defined as the dimensionless similarity variableas

x*,y* = y/xRex1/2

= y*x*1/2 38

where Rex=Ux / is the x-based Reynolds number. The streamfunction is made dimensionless as *= / UL, and it can beexpressed as

*x*, = ReL1/2 x*

1/2f 39where f is the dimensionless similarity function.

The dimensionless velocity components u* ,v*= u ,v /U areobtained from the dimensionless stream function as

u* = ReL1/2*/y* = f 40a

v* = */x* =12 ReL

1/2 x*1/2f f 40b

where f=df /d and it should be noted that the reference lengthsused to make the space coordinates dimensionless are related byReL

1/2. Thus, once the solution of the similarity function is known,

the stream function is known and the velocity components are alsoknown.

Substitution of the dimensionless velocity components, as givenby Eqs. 40a and 40b, into the momentum boundary layer equa-tion, Eq. 36, leads to

2f + f f = 0 41an ordinary differential equation subjected to the boundary condi-tions f0= f0=0 and f+=1. Equation 41 depends onlyon the variable, and the main advantage of the similarity trans-formation is the reduction of the number of independent variablesfrom two, x ,y, to one, . The solution of the boundary layer flowproblem is evaluated from the solution of Eq. 41.

Once the flow solution is known, the heat transfer problem canalso be solved using the similarity transformation. Substitution ofthe velocity components as given by Eqs. 40a and 40b into theboundary layer energy conservation equation, Eq. 37, makingthe temperature dimensionless as x ,y= Tx ,yTw / TTw,one obtains

+ Pr/2f = 0 42where it can be made Tx ,y=T, and = only. The heattransfer problem is solved once the solution of Eq. 42 is known,subjected to the boundary conditions 0=0 and +=1.

The heat function for this problem is defined using the expres-sions given by Eqs. 12a and 12b, noting that, in this case, thediffusive term in Eq. 12a does not exist. The heat function ismade dimensionless using the convective term and not the diffu-sive term as made before, through the expression

Applied Mechanics Reviewswhere TTw=TTw for an isothermal cold wall and TTw=TwT for an isothermal hot wall.

It should be noted that the global heat transfer between the wallof length L and the stream can be obtained, in a scale sense, froman energy balance made to the thermal boundary layer. Such en-ergy balace gives Q mcPTTw=ucPTTwT, where T isthe thickness of the thermal boundary layer and u is the velocity atthe leading edge of the thermal boundary layer. For a fluid withPr1 it is TL Pr1/2 ReL

1/2 and uU, and it is QUcPTTwL ReL

1/2 Pr1/2. For a fluid with Pr1 it is TL Pr1/3 ReL

1/2 and uUT /, and it is Q UcPTTwL ReL

1/2 Pr2/3. In this way, as Q hLTTw and Nu=hL /k, it is NuQ / kTTw. The overall Nusselt number isproportional to Re1/2 Pr1/2 for a fluid with Pr1, and the overallNusselt number is proportional to Re1/2 Pr1/3 for a fluid with Pr1. These proportionalities have been explored in depth by AlMorega and Bejan 23.

The dimensionless first-order derivatives that define the heat-function near an isothermal cold wall become

H*y*

= f 44a

H*x*

=

12

x*1/2f f 1

Pr

y*44b

and it is assumed that H*x* ,y* is given by an expression of theform

H*x*,y* = x*1/2gx*,y* 45

Function g is found to be

g = f + 2Pr 46

which gives, for the similarity solution for the heat function

H*x*, = x*1/2 f + 2Pr 47

under the assumption that H*0,0=0.Similarly it can be obtained the similarity solution for the heat

function near an isothermal hot wall as

H*x*, = x*1/2 f 1 + 2Pr 48

also under the assumption that H*0,0=0.At the wall it is =0 and f0=0, and is a function of the

Prandtl number only, as given by Bejan 27, and the heat functionincreases with x*

1/2 along the cold wall and decreases with x*1/2

along the hot wall.Some of the results obtained by Al Morega and Bejan 23 are

presented in Fig. 9a for an isothermal hot wall and in Fig. 9bfor an isothermal cold wall.

Heatlines give a very good picture about how heat leaves thehot wall towards the free stream in Fig. 9a, and how heat leavesthe hot stream towards the cold wall in Fig. 9b. It is also clear inthese figures that the heat transfer process occurs in a region, thethermal boundary layer, which is thinner than the velocity bound-ary layer, as expected and explained by Bejan 27 for a fluid withPr1. For a fluid with Pr=0.02, the thermal boundary layer isthicker than the velocity boundary layer, as shown in Fig. 10afor a hot isothermal wall and in Fig 10b for a cold isothermal

MAY 2006, Vol. 59 / 133

wall.The similarity solution for the heat function can also be ob-

tained for the situation of a hot wall with uniform heat flux. In thiscase, the temperature in the boundary layer changes as

Tx,y = T +qk xU

1/2 49

and the similarity version of the heat transfer problem is given bythe equation

+Pr2

f f = 0 50

satisfying the boundary conditions 0=1 and +=0.In this case, the heat function is made dimensionless as

H*x*,y* =Hx,y

qL51

noting that qL is the global heat transfer exchange between thewall and the fluid, and the first-order derivatives that define theheat function are

H*y*

= Pr x*1/2f 52a

Fig. 9 Heatlines obtained from the similarity solution of theheatfunction for the forced convection near a flat plate, for Pr=7 a near a hot isothermal wall and b near a cold isothermalwall reprinted with permission from 23

134 / Vol. 59, MAY 2006

H*x*

=12 Prf f 52b

Following a similar procedure as for the isothermal wall, the simi-larity solution for the heat function becomes

H*x*, = x*12 Pr f + 53also with H*0,0=0. In this case, as f0=0 and 0=1 it isH*x* ,0=x* and the heat function value at the wall decreaseslinearly with x* along the wall length, as expected due to theconstant heat flux there.

Similar studies were conducted by Al Morega and Bejan 24for the forced convection boundary layer in porous media. This isthe first reported study where heatlines were applied to fluid-saturated porous media. The development is similar but simpler,as the v velocity component was taken as zero in the thermalboundary layer inside the porous medium. In this study, AlMorega and Bejan 24 considered the situations of isothermal hotand cold wall, and the situation of uniform heat flux hot wall. Theobtained results are similar in form to those corresponding to theopen fluid domain, and equally rich in what concerns the picturegiven by the heatlines about the heat transfer process.

In this same work, Al Morega and Bejan 24 considered theinternal convection in a confined porous medium inside a parallelplate channel. The fluid is assumed to flow uniformly inside theporous domain, with u=U and v=0. Assuming fully developed

Fig. 10 Heatlines obtained from the similarity solution of theheat function for the forced convection near a flat plate, forPr=0.02 a near a hot isothermal wall and b near a cold iso-thermal wall reprinted with permission from 23

Transactions of the ASME

alm ireconditions, closed analytical solutions were obtained for the heatfunction, for situations where the channel walls are isothermal andcold or hot. The obtained results are presented in Fig. 11, where aclear and rich picture is obtained about the heat transfer processtaking place.

For comparison purposes, closed analytical expressions for theheat function were also obtained by Al Morega and Bejan 24 forthe pure fluid in slug flow inside the channel, with u=U and v=0, and constant heat flux at the wall. The obtained results arepresented in Fig. 12.

7.2 Natural Convection. A similar treatment was made byCosta 25 to the natural convection heat transfer problem adja-cent to a vertical wall like that presented in Fig. 13. In this casethe flow and heat transfer problems are linked, and the solution ofboth problems need to be obtained simultaneously.

The mass conservation equation is still Eq. 35, and the mo-mentum and energy conservation boundary layer equations are

uvx

+ vvy

= 2vx2

gT T 54

cPuTx + vTy = k2Tx2

55

The plus sign in Eq. 54 applies to the hot wall situation and theminus sign applies to the cold wall situation. Variables are madedimensionless in a different way, and the dimensionless governingparameters are the Prandtl number, Pr, and the Grashof number,GrY =gTHTCY3 /2, retaining that the characteristic length fornatural convection is the wall height, Y.

The similarity variable is defined as

Fig. 11 Heatlines obtained from the analyticconvection in a fluid-saturated porous mediuwall and bottom near a cold isothermal wall

Applied Mechanics Reviews = xyGry4 1/4 g1Pr 56

and the stream function is

x,y = 4Gry4 1/4 f g2Pr 57

where g1= 4 Pr2 / 4+Pr1/4 and g2= 2/2Pr1 g1 are func-tions of the Prandtl number, in an attempt to obtain a better fitover the overall Prandtl number range. The dimensionless tem-perature is defined as

x,y,Pr =Tx,y T

Tw T

58

The similarity flow and heat transfer problems to solve are

f = 3f f 2f2 g2/g1 g13g21 59

subjected to f0= f0=0 and f+=0, and

= 3 Pr f g2/g1 60subjected to 0= 1 and +=0.

The heat function is defined through its first-order derivativesas

Hy

= ucpT Tc kTx

61a

solution of the heat function for the forcednside a channel. Top Near a hot isothermalprinted with permission from 24.

MAY 2006, Vol. 59 / 135

lytiw ierm

Hx

= vcpT Tc 61b

The space coordinates are made dimensionless as y*=y /Y andx*= x /YGrY /41/4g1, and the similarity variable can be ex-pressed as x* ,y*=x*y*

1/4. The heat function is made dimen-

sionless as H*=H / kT0T.When the vertical wall is isothermal and hot, the dimensionless

similarity solution for the heat function is obtained as

H*y*, =43GrY4

1/4y*

3/43 Pr g2f g1 62

When the wall is isothermal and cold the similarity solution forthe heat function is

Fig. 12 Heatlines obtained from the anaforced convection of a pure fluid in slug flobottom near a cold wall reprinted with p

Fig. 13 Boundary layer in natural convection near a verticalflat plate

136 / Vol. 59, MAY 2006H*y*, =43GrY4

1/4y*

3/43 Pr g2f 0 g1 63

The results obtained by Costa 25 for the heatlines are pre-sented in Figs. 14a and 14b for the situations of isothermal hotand cold wall, respectively.

When the hot wall is under constant heat flux, the governingparameters are the Prandtl number, Pr, and the modified Grashofnumber, Gry

*=gqy4 / kv2, retaining once again that the charac-

teristic length for natural convection is the wall height.The similarity variable is defined as

= xyGry*

5 1/5 g1Pr 64

and the stream function is

x,y = 5Gry*5 1/5 f g2Pr 65

where

g1 = 5 Pr2/7 + Pr1/5

and g2= 1570.9/15Pr1 g1 are functions of the Prandtlnumber, once again in an attempt to obtain a better fit over theoverall Prandtl number range. The dimensionless temperature inthis case is defined as

x,y,Pr = Tx,y T kq1yGry*

5 1/5 g1 66

The similarity flow and heat transfer problems to solve are

f = 4f f 3f2 g2/g1 g14g21 67subjected to f0= f0=0 and f+=0, and

= Pr4f f g2/g1 68

cal solution of the heat function for thenside a channel. Top Near a hot wall andission from 24.

Transactions of the ASME

subjected to 0= 1 and +=0.The heat function is defined through its first-order derivatives

by Eqs. 61a and 61b, and the space coordinates are now madedimensionless as y*=y /Y and x*= x /YGrY

* /51/5g1, and thesimilarity variable can be expressed as x* ,y*=x*y*

1/5. The heat

function is made dimensionless as H*=H / qY.When the vertical wall is hot and under constant wall heat flux,

the dimensionless similarity solution for the heatfunction was ob-tained by Costa 25 as

H*y*, = y*4 Prg2/g1f 69

Fig. 14 Heatlines obtained from the similarity solution of theheat function for the natural convection near a vertical isother-mal hot flat plate left and vertical isothermal cold flat plateright reprinted with permission from 25

Applied Mechanics ReviewsThe results obtained by Costa 25 for this situation are pre-sented in Fig. 15. As the vertical wall is under constant heat flux,the heatlines are equally spaced along the height of the verticalwall.

In all the figures, it is evident the importance of the heatlines asvisualization tools. The heatlines give a clear and complete pictureof the heat transfer processes occurring in the natural convectionboundary layers adjacent to vertical walls under different heatingor cooling conditions. The existing relationship between the ex-treme values of the heatfunction and the overall Nusselt numberwere explored by Costa 25.

It should be noted that the cold wall subjected to a constant heatflux cannot be treated through the similarity solution, as explainedby Costa 25.

8 Use of Heatlines in Turbulent FlowIt is well known that when flow takes place in the turbulent

regime, additional terms need to be considered into the momen-tum and energy transport equations. The instantaneous value ofeach dependent variable is taken as the sum of an average part ina time sense and a fluctuation, that is =+, where is theaverage value and its fluctuation. As the fluctuation is random,its average value is null.

Substituting the instantaneous values of all the dependent vari-ables in the energy conservation equation, Eq. 10, and taking theaverage over a sufficiently long period yields

xucpT T0 kTx + cpuT T0 + yvcpT T0

kTy

+ cpvT T0 = 0 70where it is assumed that the relevant fluctuations occur in thedependent variables u, v, and T. When comparing with the origi-nal differential equation, Eq. 10, new terms were introduced bythe averaging procedure, which include the crossed relationshipbetween the averaged variables. These additional terms, of the

Fig. 15 Heatlines obtained from the similarity solution of theheat function for the natural convection near a vertical hot flatplate under constant wall heat flux reprinted with permissionfrom 25

MAY 2006, Vol. 59 / 137

Table 1 The physical meaning of , and coupling with , for frequent situations 30.Physical principle contour plots

Mform Fi=cpuiTT0, are known as the turbulent fluxes, andthey are evaluated using a turbulence model 27.

Once these additional terms are evaluated using an availableprocedure, the heatfunction in turbulent convective heat transfercan be defined through its first-order derivatives, using Eq. 70,as

Hy

= ucpT T0 kTx

+ cpuT T0 71a

Hx

= vcpT T0 kTy

+ cpvT T0 71b

The differential equation for the heatfunction field is evaluated inthe same way as for the laminar case, but now using Eqs. 71aand 71b, and it results in

0 =2Hx2

+2Hy2

+

xvcpT T0 + cpvT T0

yucpT T0 + cpuT T0 72

From this point forward, the turbulent situation is treated in thesame way as the laminar situation.

Dash 26 used that formulation to obtain the heatlines corre-sponding to the turbulent heat transfer near a heated vertical plate.

If the heat transfer problem under analysis occurs in the turbu-lent boundary layer near a wall, the heatline concept can be ap-plied in a simpler way, by using an effective diffusion coefficientfor heat. In this case, the heat function is defined through itsfirst-order derivatives as usually for the boundary layer adjacent toa flat plate 27

Hy

= ucpT T0 73a

Hx

= vcpT T0 k + cpHTy

73b

where the turbulent flux has been expressed as cpvTT0=cpHT /y. Some results involving the heatlines were ob-tained by Bejan 27, using such an approach for turbulent bound-ary layers near hot and cold isothermal walls.

9 Unification of the Streamline, Heatline, andMassline Methods

The streamline, heatline, and massline methods were unified byCosta 30, in order to be subjected to a common treatment, and inorder to be easily included, through a common procedure, intoCFD packages.

The differential conservation equation for the general variableF, whose specific value is =F /m, can be written as

Overall mass conservation 1 0Energy conservation T k /cPi species mass conservation Ci Di

138 / Vol. 59, MAY 2006

xu 0 x + yv 0 y = 0

74

where 0 is a reference value for , taken as its lower value in theentire domain under analysis. In Eq. 74 are identified the fluxcomponents of the total flux J as

J,x = u 0

x75a

J,y = v 0

y75b

Function x ,y, associated with the variable , and whose con-tour plots will be used for visualization and analysis purposes, isdefined through its first order derivatives as

y= u 0

x76a

x= v 0

y76b

Equation 74 can be identically obtained by equating the secondorder crossed derivatives of evaluated from Eqs. 76a and76b, being implicitly assumed that x ,y is a continuous func-tion to its second order derivatives.

Assuming now that is a continuous function to its secondorder derivatives, one can establish the equality of its second or-der crossed derivatives through the expressions obtained from theright-hand sides of Eqs. 76a and 76b, leading to

0 =

x 1

x +

y 1 y + x v 0

y u 0 77This is the second-order partial differential equation a Poissonequation from which it is evaluated in the field, for any par-ticular corresponding meaning of . It is an equation correspond-ing to a conduction-type problem, with source term if the fluidflow subsists, and without source term if the fluid flow subsides,with the diffusion coefficient for verifying

= 1/ 78

The diffusion coefficient =1/ is maintained within parenthe-ses in Eq. 77 because it is, in the general case, a variable and nota constant. To the authors knowledge, this was the first formula-tion considering a variable diffusion coefficient for .

For =1, 0=0, and =, a small constant number, one ob-tains the well-known partial differential equation for the streamfunction, Eq. 5. The particular meaning of and its respective, whose contour plots are used for visualization and analysispurposes, for some usual situations, are summarized in Table 1.

In what concerns the boundary conditions for Eq. 77, they canbe specified as

, stream function StreamlinesH, heat function Heatlines

i, i species mass function i species masslines

Transactions of the ASME

xref,y =xref,yref +y

y u 0 x dy 79

ref

along a boundary with constant x, or as

x,yref =xref,yref xref

x v 0 y dx 80along a boundary with constant y.

Some of the results obtained by Costa 30, for the double-diffusive natural convection in a square enclosure with heat andmass diffusive walls, with opposed buoyancy effects, are pre-sented in Fig. 16.

At the fluid-solid walls interface it is observed as a markedchange in the inclination of the heatlines and masslines, which isdue to the different heat and mass diffusion coefficients in thefluid and in the solid walls. The so unified streamline, heatline,and massline method can be easily implemented in CFD packagesthrough a common procedure for all the used variables for visu-alization and analysis.

The definition of the diffusion coefficient for , as given by Eq.78, generated debate 10; the work by Costa 31 proving thatEq. 78 is, in fact, the correct equation for the diffusion coeffi-cient of the function used for visualization purposes.

Due to their physical nature, and must be continuous at thesolid-fluid interface. From Fig. 17, at each point of the interface sit is

1 = 2 1 =2 81

The condition that 1=2 guarantees the conservation of through the interface.

At the solid-fluid interface s of Fig. 17, where only the diffusivetransfer is present, it is

J n = sin x cos y = n 82aJ s = cos x + sin y = s 82b

The conservation principle of implies that, at the interface,

,1 n 1 = ,2 n 2 83where it is /n1 /n2 if ,1,2.

The counterpart of Eq. 83 for , at the interface, taken as aconserved variable, is

,1 n 1 = ,2 n 2 84Similarly to Eqs. 82a and 82b for , it can be obtained for that

n= sin

x cos

y85a

s= cos

x+ sin

y85b

Substituting /x and /y, as given by Eqs. 76a and 76b,on the right-hand sides of Eqs. 85a and 85b, it results in themost general spatial form of Eqs. 76a and 76b for the solediffusive situation

n=

s86a

Applied Mechanics Reviews

s=

n86b

From Fig. 17 it can be observed that /s1= /s2 andthat /s1= /s2. In the limit situation, when s0, itresults then in

s

1=

s

287a

Fig. 16 Streamlines top, heatlines center, and masslinesbottom for the double-diffusive natural convection in a squareenclosure with heat and mass diffusive walls, and opposedbuoyancy effects reprinted with permission from 30

MAY 2006, Vol. 59 / 139

J,y = v 0 ,l1m1 + ,l2m2x

ien

k

K s

1=

s

287b

Joining together Eqs. 87b and 86a, it can be stated that

1,1

n

1=

1,2

n

288

Comparing this result with Eq. 84 it is evident that, in fact, it is=1/.

The change in direction of the contour plots used for visualiza-tion and analysis, due to the existence of adjacent media withdifferent diffusion coefficients, can be referred to as the refractionof the heatlines and/or masslines. In fact, a similar situation occurswith the streamlines when analyzing fluid flow in adjacent mediaof different permeabilities, what is referred to as the refraction ofthe streamlines in the groundwater bibliography 38,39.

10 Unification of the Streamline, Heatline andMassline Methods for Anisotropic Media

The streamline, heatline, and massline methods have been uni-fied by Costa 32 to apply to anisotropic media, which are ofgreat and increasing practical interest. Recognizing that, in thiscase, the flux transport components are

J,x = u 0 ,l12 + ,l22x+ ,l1m1 + ,l2m2

y 89a

Fig. 17 Lines of constant and lines of constant , normal toeach other at any point, near the interface s between media 1and 2 of different diffusion coefficients reprinted with permis-sion from 31

Table 2 Physical principles, diffusion coefficmeanings of 32Physical Principle ,xx

Overall mass conservation 1 0i species mass conservation Ci Di,xxEnergy conservation T kxx /cP

Overall mass conservationDarcy flow model p Kxx /

140 / Vol. 59, MAY 2006+ ,m12 + ,m2

2

y 89bwhere u and v are the area averaged Cartesian velocity compo-nents 29, , and , are the principal diffusion coefficientsfor along the , principal Cartesian directions, which are re-lated with the x ,y Cartesian coordinate system through the direc-tion cosines l1 , l2 and m1 ,m2. With ,xx=,l1

2+,l22, ,yy

=,m12+,m2

2, and ,xy =,yx=,l1m1+,l2m2, Eqs.

89a and 89b become

J,x = u 0 ,xxx + ,xyy 90aJ,y = v 0 ,xyx + ,yyy 90b

Inserting these fluxes into the general conservation equation, it isobtained the general convection-diffusion differential transportequation for in two-dimensional anisotropic media

xu ,xxx + ,xyy + yv ,xyx

+ ,yy

y = 0 91When dealing with fluid-saturated anisotropic porous media,

the velocity components are usually related to the pressure gradi-ent and the body force in this case only the gravitational accel-eration, being the x ,y coordinate system placed such that gx=0and gy =g through the Darcy flow model, which is sufficientlyaccurate for many practical applications 29

u = 1Kxxpx + Kxy py + g 92a

v = 1Kxypx + Kyy py + g 92b

However, if there are interfaces between fluid saturated porousmedia and pure fluids the latter governed by the Navier-Stokesequations, or the Reynolds number is high enough such that in-ertial effects must be taken into account, more detailed and com-plete models usually the Brinkman and Forchheimer modifica-tions, respectively are needed 29.

Different physical meanings of and its associated transportcoefficients can be found in Table 2.

The function x ,y, whose contour plots are used for visual-ization purposes, is defined from Eqs. 90a and 90b through itsfirst order derivatives as

ts, and source terms for different particular

,yy ,xy S

0 0 0Di,yy Di,xy 0yy /cP kxy /cP 0

yy / Kxy /

x2gKxy

+

y2gKyy

Transactions of the ASME

Table 3 Coupling of and and the diffusion coefficients for for some usual situations 32Physical principle ,xx ,yy ,xy contour plots

ion

y= J,x = u 0 ,xxx + ,xyy 93a

x= J,y = v 0 ,xyx + ,yyy 93b

Equating the second-order mixed derivatives of , being implic-itly assumed that it is a continuous function to its second orderderivatives, Eq. 91 is identically obtained.

From Eqs. 93a and 93b it can be obtained that

x=

,yy

2

y

,xy

2

x+,yy

2u 0

,xy

2v 0

94a

y=

,xx

2

x

,xy

2

y+,xx

2v 0

,xy

2u 0

94b

where

2 = ,xx,yy ,xy2 0 95

Assuming now that is a continuous function to its secondorder derivatives, it can be established that the equality of itssecond order crossed derivatives, obtained from Eqs. 94a and94b, lead to the equation

0 =

x,xx2

x +

y,yy2 y + x,xy2 y +

y,xy2 x + x 02 ,xxv ,xyu

y 02 ,yyu ,xyv 96This is the diffusion equation for in anisotropic media, with thesource term present in the second and third rows. It is evidentfrom Eq. 96 that the diffusion coefficients for in anisotropicmedia are

,xx =,xx

2,yy =

,yy

2,xy =

,xy

297

If the x ,y coordinate system is coincident with the principal sys-tem, it is ,xx=,=1/, and ,yy =,=1/,, i.e., theprincipal diffusion coefficients for are the inverse of the diffu-sion coefficient for in the perpendicular directions. For isotropicmedia, it comes that =1/, as given by Eq. 78.

Overall mass conservation 1 stream function

i species mass conservation Ci Mi, i species mass funct

Energy conservation T H, heat function

K2=KxxKyy Kxy2

, Di2=Di,xxDi,yy Di,xy

2, and k2=kxxkyy kxy2

Applied Mechanics ReviewsSimilarly to what was made to obtain the differential equationfor , defining the stream function overall mass functionthrough its first order derivatives as given by Eqs. 2a and 2b itis obtained the diffusion equation for in anisotropic media,

0 =

xKxxK2

x +

yKyyK2 y + xKxyK2 y +

yKxyK2 x x g 98where K2=KxxKyy Kxy

2, which is formally similar to Eq. 96. It is

evident that the diffusion coefficients for are

,xx =KxxK2

,yy =KyyK2

,xy =KxyK2

99

The most common meaning of and its associated functionused for visualization and analysis purposes is summarized inTable 3.

In what concerns the boundary conditions for variable , theycan be stated as

P,B =ref,B +ref,B

P,B

J ndsB 100

Due to their physical nature, and are C0 continua. Thus, ateach point of any interface between contiguous portions 1 and 2of the domain, even with different properties as it is the case ofconjugate heat and/or mass transfer problems, it is

1 = 2 101a

1 =2 101b

Also due to its physical nature, 1=2 or 1=2 guarantees theconservation of through such an interface.

This unified method has been successfully applied to some se-lected problems by Costa 32, and some of the obtained resultsfor the configuration presented in Fig. 18 are presented in Fig. 19.

From this figure the rich picture given by the heatlines aboutthe heat transfer process is clear. It is also clear that the unifiedmethod can be easily used to obtain, in a common basis, thestreamlines, the heatlines and, eventually, the masslines. The uni-fied method can be easily incorporated into CFD software pack-ages, and the case of isotropic media is just a particular case of thegeneral method as developed to apply to anisotropic media.

KxxK2

KyyK2

KxyK2 Streamlines

Di,xxDi

2Di,yyDi

2Di,xyDi

2 i species masslines

cPkxxk2

cPkyyk2

cPkxyk2 Heatlines

MAY 2006, Vol. 59 / 141

11 Extension and Unification of the Heatline andMassline Concepts to Reacting Flows

The heatline and massline concepts were also extended to beapplied to reacting flows. As such methods apply to situationswithout source terms divergence-free problems, special careneeds to be taken when selecting the variables used for visualiza-tion.

In the work of Mukhopadhyay et al. 33, the selected con-served scalars used for visualization and analysis are the elemen-tal mass fractions of the involved chemical species, and the totalenthalpy enthalpy of reaction plus sensible enthalpy. Specialand involved forms of the conservation equations and of theirtransport coefficients need to be taken. In a more recent workMukhopadhyay et al. 34 presented a unified heatline andmassline formulation to deal with reacting flows, using the samescalars for visualization, which is summarized here.

The equations for conservation of species and energy can bewritten, respectively, as

rrpvrZj rpi DiN2wi,jYir + zrpvzZj rp

iDiN2wi,j

Yiz = 0 102

rrpvrh rpkTr + i DiN2hiYir +

zrpvzh rpkTz + i DiN2hiYiz = 0103

where p=0 in the case of Cartesian coordinates, and p=1 in thecase of cylindrical coordinates.

In the search of a unified method, the differential conservationequations are written in a common form as

rrpvr rpr + zrpvz rpz

+ rp Srr

+Szz = 0 104

The specific forms of , , Sr, and Sz are presented in Table 4.Making use of the global mass conservation, Eq. 104 can berewritten as

Fig. 18 Physical model and geometry for the analyzed prob-lems involving anisotropic media. The left and right parts of thedomain are under different conditions, and they have differentproperties reprinted with permission from 32.

142 / Vol. 59, MAY 2006

r

rpvr ref r + Sr

+

z

rpvz ref z + Sz = 0 105

Fig. 19 Streamlines top, isotherms center, and heatlinesbottom, for natural convection in a rectangular porous enclo-sure left-half of the domain and pure conduction on the right-half of the domain, for different properties and anisotropiccharacteristics of the involved media reprinted with permis-sion from 32

Transactions of the ASME

Table 4 Scalar functions for visualization of mass, energy, and species transport 34Function Sr Sz

D

kFrom that equation it can be identified the flux components ofthe conserved variable . Its counterpart, , used for visualizationand analysis purposes can then be defined through its first-orderderivatives as

z= rpvr ref r + Sr 106a

r= rpvz ref z + Sz 106b

Equation 105 can be identically obtained by equating the secondorder crossed derivatives of , assuming that it is a function con-tinuous to its second order derivatives.

Mukhopadhyay et al. 34 obtained results both for nonreactingand for reacting flows, some of which are presented below. In Fig.20 are presented the results, in the form of enthalpy lines andstreamlines, corresponding to a planar hot air jet issuing into anambient at a lower velocity, under normal or absent gravity con-ditions. Results for reacting flows, for a nonpremixed methane-airflame, established in a slot burner, under normal or absent gravityconditions, are presented in Fig. 21.

The presented results clearly show the high potential of theheatline and massline methods to also apply to reacting flows. Theunified method, as proposed by Mukhopadhyay et al. 34, can beeasily incorporated into CFD packages, with the possibility of

Stream function 1

Elemental mass function MjZj = Wj

i

j,iYiMWi

Enthalpy function H H=iYihf ,i+Tref

T cp,idT

Fig. 20 Enthalpy lines solid lines and streamlines dashedlines for a planar hot jet of air issuing into an ambient at lowervelocity, under normal gravity conditions left and absentgravity conditions right reprinted with permission from 34

Applied Mechanics Reviewsdealing with both nonreacting or reacting flows. The case of non-reacting flows is only a simple case of the more general formula-tion.

12 ConclusionsHeatlines and masslines are, in fact, the most adequate tools for

visualization and analysis of two-dimensional convective heatand/or mass transfer. They give the paths followed by energyand/or mass, which is a picture that cannot be directly obtainedfrom the isotherms and/or isoconcentration lines in convectionproblems.

When made properly dimensionless, the numerical values ofthe heat function and/or mass function are closely related to theoverall Nusselt and/or Sherwood numbers, which characterize theoverall heat and/or mass transfer processes.

The method was invented two decades ago. It has evolved, andis now mature and ready to be used as a systematic analysis tool.The streamline, heatline, and massline methods can be treatedthrough common procedures, which can be easily implemented inCFD packages, both for convective heat and/or mass transfer inisotropic or in anisotropic media. The last is the application of themethod to reacting flows, which considerably enlarges the appli-cability range of these useful tools.

0 0 0

1N2

ii1

D1N2 DiN2wj,iYir

ii1

D1N2 DiN2wj,iYiz

/cp i kcp

DiN2 Yir i kcp

DiN2 Yiz

Fig. 21 Mixture fraction lines for nonpremixed planarmethane-air jet flames superposed on heat release rate con-tours, under normal gravity left, and absent gravity right.Solid lines for the H element, and dotted lines for the C ele-ment. The heat release contours enable the finding of the posi-tion of the flame reprinted with permission from 34.

MAY 2006, Vol. 59 / 143

Nomenclature

A surface area

kinematic viscosity densityC mass fractioncp constant pressure specific heatD channel widthD diffusion coefficient

DiN2 binary diffusion coefficient of species i in N2f similarity functiong auxiliary functiong gravitational acceleration

grad gradient vectorGr grashof number

h mixture enthalpyhi enthalpy of species iH heat function

i , j unit Cartesian vectorsJe energy flux vectorJm mass flux vector

Jm,i mass flux vector of chemical species iJ flux vector of

k thermal conductivityK permeability

l ,m director cosinesL length

Le Lewis numberM mass functionm mass flow raten outward normal unit vectorN buoyancy factor

Nu Nusselt numberp pressure

Pe Pclet numberPr Prandtl numberq heat fluxQ heat flowr radial coordinate radial and spherical systems

Ra Rayleigh numberRe Reynolds number

s length segmentS source termt time

T temperatureU free stream or mean velocity

u ,v Cartesian velocity componentswi,j number of atoms of element element j

in species ix ,y Cartesian coordinates

Y mass fractionY total heightz longitudinal coordinateZ elemental mass fraction

Greek Symbols thermal diffusivity volumetric expansion coefficient diffusion coefficient difference value

boundary layer thicknessH eddy diffusivity for heat , principal directions similarity variable tangential coordinate cylindrical system azimuthal coordinate spherical system dimensionless temperature dynamic viscosity ji number of atoms of element j in 1 molecule

of species i

144 / Vol. 59, MAY 2006 generic variable generic variable, used for visualization stream function

SubscriptsB at the boundaryC cold wallH hot walli Chemical species i

L based on length LQ heat conductionr radial

ref reference point or reference valueT thermal boundary layerw at the wallxx tensor component in the x directionxy crossed tensor componentyy tensor component in the y directionY based on height Yz longitudinal direction tangential or azimuthal direction generic variable generic variable0 reference value free stream value* dimensionless

Superscriptsp index for coordinate system shifting

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V. A. F. Costa is Associate Professor at the Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal. He received his M.Sc. andPh.D. in Mechanical Engineering (heat transfer branch) from the University of Coimbra (Portugal) in 1989and 1996, respectively. His main research and teaching activities include numerical heat transfer and fluidflow, convection heat transfer, engineering thermodynamics and drying. He uses several methods, includingcontrol volume finite element methods, with equal order interpolation for velocity and pressure. Some ofrecent work concerns the unification of the streamline, heatline, and massline methods, in order to havethem ready to be treated in a common basis and ease to be implemented in CFD packages. He is author orco-author of 20 refereed archival papers in journals, and 30 papers in refereed conference proceedings inthe aforementioned fields.