EFFECT OF INCLINED GRADIENTS ON THERMOHALINE CONVECTION IN POROUS-MEDIUM

Onset of convection in a thermohaline fluid staturating a porous medium subjected to inclined temperature as well as salinity gradients of finite magnitude is analysed using Galerkin technique. Due to unequal horizontal gradients of heat and salt the basic state fluid density varies horizontally also. It is found that (i) when the horizontal temperature gradient is greater than salinity gradient the system becomes unstable and stationary convection is possible in the stable quadrant, (ii) when the horizontal salinity gradient is greater than temperature gradient the stable region extends to the basically unstable quadrant, (iii) in the case of compensating horizontal gradients also the region of stationary convection gets extended to the stable quadrant when horizontal gradient increases, (iv) if only one of the horizontal gradients (heat or salt) is present the point where stationary convection changes over to oscillatory pattern is shifted to the region conducive to stationary convection; the effect of salinity gradient being more than that of temperature gradient.