Thermo-Solutal convection in water isopropanol mixtures in the presence of soret effect

In the present study, the onset of thermo-solutal convection in a liquid layer overlaying a porous layer where the system is being laterally heated is investigated. The non-linear two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations, the energy equation, the mass balance equation and the continuity equation are solved for the liquid layer and the Brinkman model is used for the porous layer. The partial differential equations are solved numerically using the finite element technique. Two different cases are analyzed in this study. In the case of the thermo-solutal convection without thermodiffusion or Soret effect, multi-convective cells appear in the liquid layer and as the thickness of the liquid layer decreases (i. e. higher thickness ratio), the flow covers the entire cavity. In the presence of Soret effect, it has been found that the isopropanol component goes either towards the hot or cold walls depending on the Soret sign.