Natural convection from a buried pipe with a layer of backfill is numerically examined in this study. The objective of the present study is to investigate how a change in the permeability of the backfill would affect the flow patterns and heat transfer results. Numerical calculations have covered a wide range of the governing parameters (i.e., 10 ≤ Ra_1 ≤ 500 and 0.1 ≤ K_1/K_2 ≤ 10) for various backfill thicknesses (0.5 ≤ t/r_i ≤ 2). The results suggest that a more permeable backfill can minimize the heat loss and confine the flow to a region close to the pipe.
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