Double-diffusive natural convection in inclined finned triangular porous enclosures in the presence of heat generation/absorption effects

The problem of double-diffusive convection in inclined finned triangular porous enclosures for various thermal and concentration boundary conditions and in the presence of heat source or sink was studied. The finite difference method was employed to solve the dimensionless governing equations of the problem. The effects of the governing parameters, namely the dimensionless time parameter, the inclination angle, Darcy number, heat generation/absorption parameter, the buoyancy parameter and the Rayleigh number on the streamlines, temperature and concentration contours as well as selected velocity component in the x-direction, local and average Nusselt numbers and local and average Sherwood number at the heated and concentrated wall for various values of the aspect ratio and the position of the fin were considered. The present results are validated by favorable comparisons with previously published results. All the results of the problem were presented in graphical and tabular forms and discussed.     

Non-uniform heat generation effect on heat transfer of a non-Newtonian power-law fluid over a non-linearly stretching sheet

The effects of non-uniform heat generation/absorption and viscous dissipation on heat transfer of a non-Newtonian power-law fluid on a non-linearly stretching surface have been examined. The governing nonlinear partial differential equations describing the problem are transformed to a system of non-linear ordinary differential equations by using suitable similarity transformation. The transformed system of ordinary differential equations is solved numerically using fourth order Runge-Kutta method with the shooting technique. Graphical solutions for the dimensionless temperature are presented and discussed for various values of the power-law index parameter, the Prandtl number, the heat generation/absorption parameter and the Eckert number. The results show that the local Nusselt number is reduced with increasing the Eckert number or the heat generation parameter, whereas the heat absorption parameter has the effect of enhancing the local Nusselt number.     

Influence of chemical reaction on heat and mass transfer of non-Newtonian fluid with yield stress by free convection from vertical surface in porous medium considering Soret effect

The effect of chemical reaction on free convection heat and mass transfer for a non-Newtonian power law fluid over a vertical flat plate embedded in a fluid-saturated porous medium has been studied in the presence of the yield stress and the Soret effect. The governing boundary layer equations and boundary conditions are cast into a dimen- sionless form by similarity transformations, and the resulting system of equations is solved by a finite difference method. The results are preSented and discussed for concentration profiles, as well as the Nusselt number and the Sherwood number for various values of the parameters, which govern the problem. The results obtained show that the flow field is influenced appreciably by the presence of the chemical reaction parameter γ the order of.the chemical reaction parameter m, the Soret number St, the buoyancy ratio N, the Lewis number Le, and the dimensionless rheological parameter Ω.     

Scaling group transformation for MHD boundary layer flow over permeable stretching sheet in presence of slip flow with Newtonian heating effects

Taking into account the slip flow effects, Newtonian heating, and thermal radiation, two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic （MHD） flows and heat transfer past a permeable stretching sheet are investigated numerically. We use one parameter group transformation to develop similarity transformation. By using the similarity transformation, we transform the governing boundary layer equations along with the boundary conditions into ordinary differential equations with relevant boundary conditions. The obtained ordinary differential equations are solved with the fourth-fifth order Runge-Kutta- Fehlberg method using MAPLE 13. The present paper is compared with a published one. Good agreement is obtained. Numerical results for dimensionless velocity, temperature distributions, skin friction factor, and heat transfer rates are discussed for various values of controlling parameters.     

Influence of temperature dependent conductivity of a nanofluid in a vertical rectangular duct

Natural convective heat transfer and fluid flow in a vertical rectangular duct filled with a nanofluid is studied numerically assuming the thermal conductivity to be dependent on the fluid temperature. The transport equations for mass, momentum and energy formulated in dimensionless form are solved numerically using finite difference method. Particular efforts have been focused on the effects of the thermal conductivity variation parameter, Grashof number, Brinkman number, nanoparticles volume fraction, aspect ratio and type of nanoparticles on the fluid flow and heat transfer inside the cavity. It is found that the flow was enhanced for the increase in Grashof number, Brinkman number and aspect ratio for any values of conductivity variation parameter and for regular fluid and nanofluid. The heat transfer rate for regular fluid is less than that for the nanofluid for all governing parameters.     

Thermal radiation effects on the flow and heat transfer in a liquid film on an unsteady stretching sheet

The influence of thermal radiation on the flow and heat transfer within Newtonian liquid film over an unsteady stretching sheet with and without thermocapillarity is examined. The governing non‐linear partial differential equations describing the problem are reduced to a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations using similarity transformation, which is solved numerically for different values of the thermal radiation parameter and the thermocapillarity parameter. The results show that the dimensionless velocity, the film thickness and the local Nusselt number increase as the thermocapillarity parameter increases, while the free surface temperature decreases with increasing the thermocapillarity parameter. Also, both the dimensionless temperature and the free surface temperature increase and the local Nusselt number decreases as the thermal radiation parameter increases. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Natural convection cooling of a heat source embedded on the bottom of an enclosure filled with Cu-water nanofluid: effects of various thermal boundary conditions

Steady natural convection cooling of a localized heat source at the bottom wall of an enclosure filled with Cu-water nanofluid for a variety of thermal boundary conditions at the sidewalls has been studied in the present paper. Finite difference method was employed to solve the dimensionless governing equations of the problem. The effects of governing parameters, namely, solid volume fraction, the different values of the heat source length and the different locations of the heat source on the streamlines and isotherms contours as well as maximum temperature, Nusselt number and average Nusselt number along the heat source were considered. The present results are validated by favorable comparisons with previously published results. The results of the problem are presented in graphical and tabular forms and discussed.     

Influence of chemical reaction on heat and mass transfer by natural convection from vertical surfaces in porous media considering Soret and Dufour effects

The heat and mass transfer characteristics of natural convection about a vertical surface embedded in a saturated porous medium subjected to a chemical reaction is numerically analyzed, by taking into account the diffusion-thermo (Dufour) and thermal-diffusion (Soret) effects. The transformed governing equations are solved by a very efficient numerical method, namely, a modified version of the Keller-box method for ordinary differential equations. The parameters of the problem are Lewis, Dufour and Soret numbers, sustentation parameter, the order of the chemical reaction n and the chemical reaction parameter γ. Local Nusselt number and local Sherwood number variations and dimensionless concentration profiles in the boundary layer are presented graphically and in tables for various values of problem parameters and it is concluded that γ and n play a crucial role in the solution.     

Constant heat flux solution for mixed convection boundary layer viscoelastic fluid

The mixed convection boundary layer of a viscoelastic fluid past a circular cylinder with constant heat flux is discussed. The boundary layer equations are an order higher than those for the Newtonian (viscous) fluid and the adherence boundary conditions are insufficient to determine the solution of these equations completely. The governing non-similar partial differential equations are transformed into dimensionless forms and then solved numerically using the Keller-box method by augmenting an extra boundary condition at infinity. Numerical results obtained in the form of velocity distributions and temperature profiles are presented for a range of values of the dimensionless viscoelastic fluid parameter. It is found that for some values of the viscoelastic parameter and some negative values of the mixed convection parameter (opposing flow) the momentum boundary layer separates from the cylinder. Heating the cylinder delays separation and can, if the cylinder is warm enough, suppress the separation completely. Similar to the case of a Newtonian fluid, cooling the cylinder brings the separation point nearer to the lower stagnation point.     

Effect of an Inserted Porous Layer Located at a Wall of a Parallel Plate Channel on Forced Convection Heat Transfer

A theoretical study is performed on heat and fluid flow in partially porous medium filled parallel plate channel. A uniform symmetrical heat flux is imposed onto the boundaries of the channel partially filled with porous medium. The dimensional forms of the governing equations are solved numerically for different permeability and effective thermal conductivity ratios. Then, the governing equations are made dimensionless and solved analytically. The results of two approaches are compared and an excellent agreement is observed, indicating correctness of the both solutions. An overall Nusselt number is defined based on overall thermal conductivity and difference between the average temperature of walls and mean temperature to compare heat transfer in different channels with different porous layer thickness, Darcy number, and thermal conductivity ratio. Moreover, individual Nusselt numbers for upper and lower walls are also defined and obtained. The obtained results show that the maximum overall Nusselt number is achieved for thermal conductivity ratio of 1. At specific values of Darcy number and thermal conductivity ratio, individual Nusselt numbers approach to infinity since the value of wall temperatures approaches to mean temperature.     

Mixed convection boundary layer flow along vertical moving thin needles with variable heat flux

The problem of steady laminar mixed convection boundary layer flow of an incompressible viscous fluid along vertical moving thin needles with variable heat flux for both assisting and opposing flow cases is theoretically considered in this paper. The governing boundary layer equations are first transformed into non-dimensional forms. The curvature effects are incorporated into the analysis whereas the pressure variation in the axial direction has been neglected. These equations are then transformed into similarity equations using the similarity variables, which are solved numerically using an implicit finite-difference scheme known as the Keller-box method. The solutions are obtained for a blunt-nosed needle (m = 0). Numerical calculations are carried out for various values of the dimensionless parameters of the problem, which include the mixed convection parameter λ, the Prandtl number Pr and the parameter a representing the needle size. It is shown from the numerical results that the skin friction coefficient, the surface (wall) temperature and the velocity and temperature profiles are significantly influenced by these parameters. The results are presented in graphical form and are discussed in detail.     

Heat transfer characteristics for the Maxwell fluid flow past an unsteady stretching permeable surface embedded in a porous medium with thermal radiation

An unsteady boundary layer flow of a non-Newtonian fluid over a continuously stretching permeable surface in the presence of thermal radiation is investigated. The Maxwell fluid model is used to characterize the non-Newtonian fluid behavior. Similarity solutions for the transformed governing equations are obtained. The transformed boundary layer equations are then solved numerically by the shooting method. The flow features and heat transfer characteristics for different values of the governing parameters (unsteadiness parameter, Maxwell parameter, permeability parameter, suction/blowing parameter, thermal radiation parameter, and Prandtl number) are analyzed and discussed in detail.     

Electro-magneto-hydrodynamic flow of couple stress nanofluids in micro-peristaltic channel with slip and convective conditions

This study explores the effects of electro-magneto-hydrodynamics, Hall currents, and convective and slip boundary conditions on the peristaltic propulsion of nanofluids(considered as couple stress nanofluids) through porous symmetric microchannels. The phenomena of energy and mass transfer are considered under thermal radiation and heat source/sink. The governing equations are modeled and non-dimensionalized under appropriate dimensionless quantities. The resulting system is solved numerically w...     

Magneto-hydrodynamic mixed convection of a power-law fluid past a stretching surface in the presence of thermal radiation and internal heat generation/absorption

The problem of magneto-hydrodynamic mixed convective flow and heat transfer of an electrically conducting, power-law fluid past a stretching surface in the presence of heat generation/absorption and thermal radiation has been analyzed. After transforming the governing equations with suitable dimensionless variables, numerical solutions are generated by an implicit finite-difference technique for the non-similar, coupled flow. The solution is found to be dependent on the governing parameters including the power-law fluid index, the magnetic field parameter, the modified Richardson number, the radiation parameter, the heat generation parameter, and the generalized Prandtl number. To reveal the tendency of the solutions, typical results for the velocity and temperature profiles, the skin-friction coefficient, and the local Nusselt number are presented for different values of these controlling parameters.     

Effect of viscous dissipation on an MHD free convective flow past a semi-infinite vertical cone with a variable surface heat flux

An analysis is presented to investigate the influence of viscous dissipation on a free convection flow over a vertical cone with a variable surface heat flux under the action of a transverse magnetic field. The heat transfer characteristics of the free convection flow are investigated numerically. Numerical solutions for transformed governing equations with a variable surface heat flux are obtained. Velocity, temperature, local shear stress, and heat transfer coefficients are calculated for various values of the problem parameters and presented in the graphical form. The effects of the magnetic parameter, the dissipation number, the power-law index, the angle between the cone generatrix and the vertical line, and the Prandtl number on the flow are discussed. For validation of the present numerical results, they are compared with available experimental data and are found to agree well.     

Impact of thermal radiation on MHD slip flow over a flat plate with variable fluid properties

The influence of partial slip, thermal radiation and temperature dependent fluid properties on the hydro-magnetic fluid flow and heat transfer over a flat plate with convective surface heat flux at the boundary and non-uniform heat source/sink is studied. The transverse magnetic field is assumed as a function of the distance from the origin. Also it is assumed that the fluid viscosity and the thermal conductivity vary as an inverse function and linear function of temperature respectively. Using the similarity transformation, the governing system of non-linear partial differential equations are transformed into similarity non-linear ordinary differential equations and are solved numerically using symbolic software MATHEMATICA 7.0. The numerical values obtained within the boundary layer for the dimensionless velocity, temperature, skin friction coefficient and the Nusselt number are presented through graphs and tables for several sets of values of the parameters. The effects of various physical parameters on the flow and heat transfer characteristics are discussed from the physical point of view.     

Natural convection of non-Newtonian power-law fluid over axisymmetric and two-dimensional bodies of arbitrary shape in fluid-saturated porous media

Numerical analysis of the free convection coupled heat and mass transfer is presented for non-Newtonian power-law fluids with the yield stress flowing over a two-dimensional or axisymmetric body of an arbitrary shape in a fluid-saturated porous medium. The governing boundary layer equations and boundary conditions are cast into a dimensionless form by the similarity transformation. The resulting system of equations is solved by a finite difference method. The parameters studied are the rheological constants, the buoyancy ratio, and the Lewis number. Representative velocity, temperature, and concentration profiles are presented and discussed. It is found that the results depend strongly on the values of the yield stress parameter and the power-law index of the non-Newtonian fluid.     

Natural convection with surface radiation from a planar heat generating element mounted freely in a vertical channel

Experiments and numerical simulations have been conducted to study the conjugate heat transfer by natural convection and surface radiation from a planar heat generating element placed centrally between two adiabatic vertical plates. The relevant problem dependent parameters considered in this study are modified Rayleigh number, channel aspect ratio, stream-wise location of the heat generating element, and surface emissivities of the heat generating element and the adiabatic side plates. Experiments are conducted for different values of modified Rayleigh number ranging from 3.2 × 10⁵ to 1.6 × 10⁷ and surface emissivities 0.05, 0.55, 0.75 and 0.85. The interdependence between the heat transfer mechanism and the flow field under the influence of surface radiation on natural convection is explored and discussed. Experimental correlations for total and convective Nusselt number, and dimensionless temperature in terms of relevant parameters have been developed. The mathematical model governing the problem has been numerically solved using a commercial computational fluid dynamics package FLUENT 6.3 and the numerical predictions substantiate the experimental observations.     

Natural convection of non-Newtonian power-law fluid over axisymmetric and two-dimensional bodies of arbitrary shape in fluid-saturated porous media

Numerical analysis of the free convection coupled heat and mass transfer is presented for non-Newtonian power-law fluids with the yield stress flowing over a two-dimensional or axisymmetric body of an arbitrary shape in a fluid-saturated porous medium. The governing boundary layer equations and boundary conditions are cast into a dimensionless form by the similarity transformation. The resulting system of equations is solved by a finite difference method. The parameters studied are the rheological constants, the buoyancy ratio, and the Lewis number. Representative velocity, temperature, and concentration profiles are presented and discussed. It is found that the results depend strongly on the values of the yield stress parameter and the power-law index of the non-Newtonian fluid.     

Melting heat transfer effects on stagnation point flow of micropolar fluid saturated in porous medium with internal heat generation （absorption）

The effect of melting heat transfer on the two dimensional boundary layer flow of a micropolar fluid near a stagnation point embedded in a porous medium in the presence of internal heat generation/absorption is investigated. The governing non-linear partial differential equations describing the problem are reduced to a system of non-linear ordinary differential equations using similarity transformations solved numerically using the Chebyshev spectral method. Numerical results for velocity, angular velocity and temperature profiles are shown graphically and discussed for different values of the inverse Darcy number, the heat generation/absorption parameter, and the melting parameter. The effects of the pertinent parameters on the local skin-friction coefficient, the wall couple stress, and the local Nusselt number are tabulated and discussed. The results show that the inverse Darcy number has the effect of enhancing both velocity and temperature and suppressing angular velocity. It is also found that the local skin-friction coefficient decreases, while the local Nusselt number increases as the melting parameter increases.