Lie symmetry group analysis of magnetic field effects on free convective flow of a nanofluid over a semi-infinite stretching sheet

We investigate the steady two-dimensional flow of an incompressible water based nanofluid over a linearly semi-infinite stretching sheet in the presence of magnetic field numerically. The basic boundary layer equations for momentum and heat transfer are non-linear partial differential equations. Lie symmetry group transformations are used to convert the boundary layer equations into non-linear ordinary differential equations. The dimensionless governing equations for this investigation are solved numerically using Nachtsheim–Swigert shooting iteration technique together with fourth order Runge–Kutta integration scheme. Effects of the nanoparticle volume fraction ϕ, magnetic parameter M, Prandtl number Pr on the velocity and the temperature profiles are presented graphically and examined for different metallic and non-metallic nanoparticles. The skin friction coefficient and the local Nusselt number are also discussed for different nanoparticles.     

Unsteady convective boundary layer flow of a viscous fluid at a vertical surface with variable fluid properties

In this paper we present numerical solutions to the unsteady convective boundary layer flow of a viscous fluid at a vertical stretching surface with variable transport properties and thermal radiation. Both assisting and opposing buoyant flow situations are considered. Using a similarity transformation, the governing time-dependent partial differential equations are first transformed into coupled, non-linear ordinary differential equations with variable coefficients. Numerical solutions to these equations subject to appropriate boundary conditions are obtained by a second order finite difference scheme known as the Keller-Box method. The numerical results thus obtained are analyzed for the effects of the pertinent parameters namely, the unsteady parameter, the free convection parameter, the suction/injection parameter, the Prandtl number, the thermal conductivity parameter and the thermal radiation parameter on the flow and heat transfer characteristics. It is worth mentioning that the momentum and thermal boundary layer thicknesses decrease with an increase in the unsteady parameter.     

Flow and heat transfer of a nanofluid over a nonlinearly stretching sheet: A numerical study

Steady, laminar boundary fluid flow which results from the non-linear stretching of a flat surface in a nanofluid has been investigated numerically. The model used for the nanofluid incorporates the effects of Brownian motion and thermophoresis. The resulting non-linear governing equations with associated boundary conditions are solved using variational finite element method (FEM) with a local non-similar transformation. The influence of Brownian motion number (Nb), thermophoresis number (Nt), stretching parameter (n) and Lewis number (Le) on the temperature and nanoparticle concentration profiles are shown graphically. The impact of physical parameters on rate of heat transfer (−θ′(0)) and mass transfer (−?′(0)) is shown in tabulated form. Some of results have also been compared with explicit finite difference method (FDM). Excellent validation of the present numerical results has been achieved with the earlier nonlinearly stretching sheet problem of Cortell [16] for local Nusselt number without taking the effect of Brownian motion and thermophoresis.     

Heat transfer in MHD viscoelastic boundary layer flow over a stretching sheet with thermal radiation and non-uniform heat source/sink

An analysis has been carried out to study the flow and heat transfer characteristics for MHD viscoelastic boundary layer flow over an impermeable stretching sheet with space and temperature dependent internal heat generation/absorption (non-uniform heat source/sink), viscous dissipation, thermal radiation and magnetic field due to frictional heating. The flow is generated due to linear stretching of the sheet and influenced by uniform magnetic field, which is applied vertically in the flow region. The governing partial differential equations for the flow and heat transfer are transformed into ordinary differential equations by a suitable similarity transformation. The governing equations with the appropriate conditions are solved exactly. The effects of viscoelastic parameter and magnetic parameter on skin friction and the effects of viscous dissipation, non-uniform heat source/sink and the thermal radiation on heat transfer characteristics for two general cases namely, the prescribed surface temperature (PST) case and the prescribed wall heat flux (PHF) case are presented graphically and discussed. The numerical results for the wall temperature gradient (the Nusselt number) are presented in tables and are discussed.     

Combined effects of non-uniform heat source/sink and thermal radiation on heat transfer over an unsteady stretching permeable surface

The present paper is concerned with the study of flow and heat transfer characteristics in the unsteady laminar boundary layer flow of an incompressible viscous fluid over continuously stretching permeable surface in the presence of a non-uniform heat source/sink and thermal radiation. The unsteadiness in the flow and temperature fields is because of the time-dependent stretching velocity and surface temperature. Similarity transformations are used to convert the governing time-dependent nonlinear boundary layer equations for momentum and thermal energy are reduced to a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations containing Prandtl number, non-uniform heat source/sink parameter, thermal radiation and unsteadiness parameter with appropriate boundary conditions. These equations are solved numerically by applying shooting method using Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg method. Comparison of numerical results is made with the earlier published results under limiting cases. The effects of the unsteadiness parameter, thermal radiation, suction/injection parameter, non-uniform heat source/sink parameter on flow and heat transfer characteristics as well as on the local Nusselt number are shown graphically.     

Similarity solution of boundary layer stagnation-point flow towards a heated porous stretching sheet saturated with a nanofluid with heat absorption/generation and suction/blowing: A Lie group analysis

In this paper, heat and mass transfer analysis for boundary layer stagnation-point flow over a stretching sheet in a porous medium saturated by a nanofluid with internal heat generation/absorption and suction/blowing is investigated. The governing partial differential equation and auxiliary conditions are converted to ordinary differential equations with the corresponding auxiliary conditions via Lie group analysis. The boundary layer temperature, concentration and nanoparticle volume fraction profiles are then determined numerically. The influences of various relevant parameters, namely, thermophoresis parameter Nt, Brownian motion parameter Nb, Lewis number Le, suction/injection parameter S, permeability parameter k₁, source/sink parameter λ and Prandtl parameter Pr on temperature and concentration as well as wall heat flux and wall mass flux are discussed. Comparison with published results is presented.     

Heat transfer in unsteady axisymmetric second grade fluid

This work looks at the heat transfer effects on the flow of a second grade fluid over a radially stretching sheet. The axisymmetric flow of a second grade fluid is induced due to linear stretching of a sheet. Mathematical analysis has been carried out for two heating processes, namely (i) with prescribed surface temperature (PST case) and (ii) prescribed surface heat flux (PHF case). The modelled non-linear partial differential equations in two dependent variables are reduced into a partial differential equation with one dependent variable. The resulting non-linear partial differential equations are solved analytically using homotopy analysis method (HAM). The series solutions are developed and the convergence is properly discussed. The series solutions and graphs of velocity and temperature are constructed. Particular attention is given to the variations of emerging parameters such as second grade parameter, Prandtl and Eckert numbers.     

The effect of variable viscosity on MHD viscoelastic fluid flow and heat transfer over a stretching sheet

An analysis has been carried out to study the momentum and heat transfer characteristics in an incompressible electrically conducting non-Newtonian boundary layer flow of a viscoelastic fluid over a stretching sheet. The partial differential equations governing the flow and heat transfer characteristics are converted into highly non-linear coupled ordinary differential equations by similarity transformations. The effect of variable fluid viscosity, Magnetic parameter, Prandtl number, variable thermal conductivity, heat source/sink parameter and thermal radiation parameter are analyzed for velocity, temperature fields, and wall temperature gradient. The resultant coupled highly non-linear ordinary differential equations are solved numerically by employing a shooting technique with fourth order Runge–Kutta integration scheme. The fluid viscosity and thermal conductivity, respectively, assumed to vary as an inverse and linear function of temperature. The analysis reveals that the wall temperature profile decreases significantly due to increase in magnetic field parameter. Further, it is noticed that the skin friction of the sheet decreases due to increase in the Magnetic parameter of the flow characteristics.     

Heat transfer in a Walter’s liquid B fluid over an impermeable stretching sheet with non-uniform heat source/sink and elastic deformation

In this present article an analysis is carried out to study the boundary layer flow behavior and heat transfer characteristics in Walter’s liquid B fluid flow. The stretching sheet is assumed to be impermeable, the effects of viscous dissipation, non-uniform heat source/sink in the presence and in the absence of elastic deformation (which was escaped from attention of researchers while formulating the viscoelastic boundary layer flow problems)on heat transfer are addressed. The basic boundary layer equations for momentum and heat transfer, which are non-linear partial differential equations, are converted into non-linear ordinary differential equations by means of similarity transformation. Analytical solutions are obtained for the resulting boundary value problems. The effects of viscous dissipation, Prandtl number, Eckert number and non-uniform heat source/sink on heat transfer (in the presence and in the absence of elastic deformation) are shown in several plots and discussed. Analytical expressions for the wall frictional drag coefficient, non-dimensional wall temperature gradient and non-dimensional wall temperature are obtained and are tabulated for various values of the governing parameters. The present study reveals that, the presence of work done by deformation in the energy equation yields an augment in the fluid’s temperature.     

Unsteady flow and heat transfer in a thin film of Ostwald–de Waele liquid over a stretching surface

In this paper, the effects of viscous dissipation and the temperature-dependent thermal conductivity on an unsteady flow and heat transfer in a thin liquid film of a non-Newtonian Ostwald–de Waele fluid over a horizontal porous stretching surface is studied. Using a similarity transformation, the time-dependent boundary-layer equations are reduced to a set of non-linear ordinary differential equations. The resulting five parameter problem is solved by the Keller–Box method. The effects of the unsteady parameter on the film thickness are explored numerically for different values of the power-law index parameter and the injection parameter. Numerical results for the velocity, the temperature, the skin friction and the wall-temperature gradient are presented through graphs and tables for different values of the pertinent parameter. One of the important findings of the study is that the film thickness increases with an increase in the power-law index parameter (as well as the injection parameter). Quite the opposite is true with the unsteady parameter. Furthermore, the wall-temperature gradient decreases with an increase in the Eckert number or the variable thermal conductivity parameter. Furthermore, the surface temperature of a shear thinning fluid is larger compared to the Newtonian and shear thickening fluids. The results obtained reveal many interesting behaviors that warrant further study of the equations related to non-Newtonian fluid phenomena, especially the shear-thinning phenomena.     

Heat transfer in MHD viscoelastic fluid flow over a stretching sheet with variable thermal conductivity,non-uniform heat source and radiation

An analysis has been carried out to study the magnetohydrodynamic boundary layer flow and heat transfer characteristics of a non-Newtonian viscoelastic fluid over a flat sheet with a linear velocity in the presence of thermal radiation and non-uniform heat source. The thermal conductivity is assumed to vary as a linear function of temperature. The basic equations governing the flow and heat transfer are in the form of partial differential equations, the same have been reduced to a set of non-linear ordinary differential equations by applying suitable similarity transformation. The transformed equations are solved analytically by regular perturbation method. Numerical solution of the problem is also obtained by the efficient shooting method, which agrees well with the analytical solution. The effects of various physical parameters such as viscoelastic parameter, Chandrasekhar number, Prandtl number, variable thermal conductivity parameter, Eckert number, thermal radiation parameter and non-uniform heat source/sink parameters which determine the temperature profiles are shown in several plots and the heat transfer coefficient is tabulated for a range of values of said parameters. Some important findings reported in this work reveals that combined effect of variable thermal conductivity, radiation and non-uniform heat source have significant impact in controlling the rate of heat transfer in the boundary layer region.     

Analytical solutions of the boundary layer flow of power-law fluid over a power-law stretching surface

This article discusses analytical solutions for a nonlinear problem arising in the boundary layer flow of power-law fluid over a power-law stretching surface. Using perturbation method analytical solution is presented for linear stretching surface. This solution covers large range of shear thinning and shear thickening fluids and matches excellently with the numerical solution. Furthermore, some new exact solutions are found for particular combination of m (power-law stretching index) and n (power-law fluid index). This leads to generalize the case of linear stretching to nonlinear stretching surface. The effects of fluid index n on the boundary layer thickness and the skin friction for nonlinear stretching surface is analyzed and discussed. It is observed that the boundary layer thickness and the skin friction coefficient increase as non-linear parameter n decreases. This study gives a new dimension to obtain analytical solutions asymptotically for highly nonlinear problems which to the best of our knowledge has not been examined so far.     

Cattaneo–Christov heat flux model for three-dimensional flow of a viscoelastic fluid on an exponentially stretching surface

ABSTRACT

In this article, we explore the three-dimensional boundary-layer flow over an exponentially stretching surface in two parallel ways. Constitutive equations of a second-grade fluid are used. Instead of classical Fourier’s law, Cattaneo–Christov heat flux model is employed for the formulation of the energy equation. This model can predict the effects of thermal relaxation time on the boundary layer. The resulting partial differential equations are reduced into ordinary differential equations by similarity transformations. Homotopy Analysis Method (HAM) is employed to solve the non-linear problem. Physical impact of emerging parameters on the momentum and thermal boundary-layer thickness are studied.     

Heat and mass transfer in MHD non-Darcian flow of a micropolar fluid over a stretching sheet embedded in a porous media with non-uniform heat source and thermal radiation

A mathematical analysis has been carried out to study magnetohydrodynamic boundary layer flow, heat and mass transfer characteristic on steady two-dimensional flow of a micropolar fluid over a stretching sheet embedded in a non-Darcian porous medium with uniform magnetic field. Momentum boundary layer equation takes into account of transverse magnetic field whereas energy equation takes into account of Ohmic dissipation due to transverse magnetic field, thermal radiation and non-uniform source effects. An analysis has been performed for heating process namely the prescribed wall heat flux (PHF case). The governing system of partial differential equations is first transformed into a system of non-linear ordinary differential equations using similarity transformation. The transformed equations are non-linear coupled differential equations which are then linearized by quasi-linearization method and solved very efficiently by finite-difference method. Favorable comparisons with previously published work on various special cases of the problem are obtained. The effects of various physical parameters on velocity, temperature, concentration distributions are presented graphically and in tabular form.     

Effects of thermal radiation and magnetic field on unsteady mixed convection flow and heat transfer over an exponentially stretching surface with suction in the presence of internal heat generation/absorption

In this paper, the problem of unsteady laminar two-dimensional boundary layer flow and heat transfer of an incompressible viscous fluid in the presence of thermal radiation, internal heat generation or absorption, and magnetic field over an exponentially stretching surface subjected to suction with an exponential temperature distribution is discussed numerically. The governing boundary layer equations are reduced to a system of ordinary differential equations. New numerical method using Mathematica has been used to solve such system after obtaining the missed initial conditions. Comparison of obtained numerical results is made with previously published results in some special cases, and found to be in a good agreement.     

Lie group analysis of natural convection heat and mass transfer in an inclined surface with chemical reaction

In this paper we examine the convective flow, heat and mass transfer of an incompressible viscous fluid past a semi-infinite inclined surface with first-order homogeneous chemical reaction by Lie group analysis. The governing partial differential equations are reduced to a system of ordinary differential equations using scaling symmetries. Numerical solutions of the resulting ordinary differential equations are obtained using the fourth-order Runge–Kutta method. From the numerical results, it is observed that the thickness of the momentum boundary layer increases with increasing the chemical reaction parameter and the Schmidt number. The thicknesses of the thermal and concentration boundary layers are decreased with increasing the chemical reaction parameter and the Schmidt number.     

Effects of thermal radiation on the boundary layer flow of a Jeffrey fluid over an exponentially stretching surface

In the present investigation we have analyzed the boundary layer flow of a Jeffrey fluid over an exponentially stretching surface. The effects of thermal radiation are carried out for two cases of heat transfer analysis known as (1) Prescribed exponential order surface temperature (PEST) and (2) Prescribed exponential order heat flux (PEHF). The highly nonlinear coupled partial differential equations of Jeffrey fluid flow along with the energy equation are simplified by using similarity transformation techniques based on boundary layer assumptions. The reduced similarity equations are then solved analytically by the homotopy analysis method (HAM). The convergence of the HAM series solution is obtained by plotting (^h/_2p)\hbar-curves for velocity and temperature. The effects of physical parameters on the velocity and temperature profiles are examined by plotting graphs.     

Convective heat and mass transfer in three-dimensional mixed convection flow of viscoelastic fluid in presence of chemical reaction and heat source/sink

Heat and mass transfer effects in the three-dimensional mixed convection flow of a viscoelastic fluid with internal heat source/sink and chemical reaction have been investigated in the present work. The flow generation is because of an exponentially stretching surface. Magnetic field normal to the direction of flow is considered. Convective conditions at the surface are also encountered. Appropriate similarity transformations are utilized to reduce the boundary layer partial differential equations into the ordinary differential equations. The homotopy analysis method is used to develop the solution expressions. Impacts of different controlling parameters such as ratio parameter, Hartman number, internal heat source/sink, chemical reaction, mixed convection, concentration buoyancy parameter and Biot numbers on the velocity, temperature and concentration profiles are analyzed. The local Nusselt and Sherwood numbers are sketched and examined.     

Convective heat transfer in a conducting fluid over a permeable stretching surface with suction and internal heat generation/absorption

We consider a convective flow in a porous medium of an incompressible viscous conducting fluid impinging on a permeable stretching surface with suction, and internal heat generation/absorption. Using a similarity transformation the governing equations of the problem are reduced to a coupled third-order nonlinear ordinary differential equations. We first examine a number of special cases for which we may obtain exact solutions. We then obtain analytical solutions (by the Homotopy Analysis Method) and numerical solutions (by a boundary value problem solver), in order to further study the behavior of the nonlinear differential equations, for various values of the physical parameters. Our numerical solutions are shown to agree with the available results in the literature. We then employ the numerical results to bring out the effects of the suction parameter, heat source/sink parameter, stretching parameter, porosity parameter, the Prandtl number and the free convection parameter on the flow and heat transfer characteristics. In the absence of suction and free convection, our findings are in agreement with the corresponding numerical results of Attia [H.A. Attia, On the effectiveness of porosity on stagnation point flow towards a stretching surface with heat generation, Comput. Mater. Sci. 38 (2007) 741-745].     

Series solutions for unsteady laminar MHD flow near forward stagnation point of an impulsively rotating and translating sphere in presence of buoyancy forces

The similarity solution for the unsteady laminar incompressible boundary layer flow of a viscous electrically conducting fluid in stagnation point region of an impulsively rotating and translating sphere with a magnetic field and a buoyancy force gives a system of non-linear partial differential equations. These non-linear differential equations are analytically solved by applying a newly developed method, namely the homotopy analysis method (HAM). The analytic solutions of the system of non-linear differential equations are constructed in the series form. The convergence of the obtained series solutions is carefully analyzed. Graphical results are presented to investigate the influence of the magnetic parameter, buoyancy parameter and rotation parameter on the surface shear stresses and surface heat transfer. It is noted that the behavior of the HAM solution for the surface shear stresses and surface heat transfer is in good agreement with the numerical solution given in reference [H. S. Takhar, A. J. Chamkha, G. Nath, Unsteady laminar MHD flow and heat transfer in the stagnation region of an impulsively spinning and translating sphere in the presence of buoyancy forces, Heat Mass Transfer 37 (2001) 397].