Stagnation-point flow of upper-convected Maxwell fluids

Two-dimensional stagnation-point flow of viscoelastic fluids is studied theoretically assuming that the fluid obeys the upper-convected Maxwell (UCM) model. Boundary-layer theory is used to simplify the equations of motion which are further reduced to a single non-linear third-order ODE using the concept of stream function coupled with the technique of the similarity solution. The equation so obtained was solved using Chebyshev pseudo-spectral collocation-point method. Based on the results obtained in the present work, it is concluded that the well-established but controversial prediction that in stagnation-point flows of viscoelastic fluids the velocity inside the boundary layer may exceed that outside the layer may just be an artifact of the rheological model used in previous studies (namely, the second-grade model). No such peculiarity is predicted to exist for the Maxwell model. For a UCM fluid, a thickening of the boundary layer and a drop in wall skin friction coefficient is predicted to occur the higher the elasticity number. These predictions are in direct contradiction with those reported in the literature for a second-grade fluid.     

Sakiadis flow of an upper-convected Maxwell fluid

The flow of an upper-convected Maxwell (UCM) fluid is studied theoretically above a rigid plate moving steadily in an otherwise quiescent fluid. It is assumed that the Reynolds number of the flow is high enough for boundary layer approximation to be valid. Assuming a laminar, two-dimensional flow above the plate, the concept of stream function coupled with the concept of similarity solution is utilized to reduce the governing equations into a single third-order ODE. It is concluded that the fluid's elasticity destroys similarity between velocity profiles; thus an attempt was made to find local similarity solutions. Three different methods will be used to solve the governing equation: (i) the perturbation method, (ii) the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method, and (iii) the finite-difference method. The velocity profiles obtained using the latter two methods are shown to be virtually the same at corresponding Deborah number. The velocity profiles obtained using perturbation method, in addition to being different from those of the other two methods, are dubious in that they imply some degree of reverse flow. The wall skin friction coefficient is predicted to decrease with an increase in the Deborah number for Sakiadis flow of a UCM fluid. This prediction is in direct contradiction with that reported in the literature for a second-grade fluid.     

Unsteady flow of viscoelastic fluid with fractional Maxwell model in a channel

The unsteady flow of viscoelastic fluid with the fractional derivative Maxwell model (FDMM) in a channel is studied in this note. The exact solutions are obtained for an arbitrary pressure gradient by means of the finite Fourier cosine transform and the Laplace transform. Two special cases of pressure gradient are discussed. Some results given by the classical models with integer-order are included in this note.     

Rotating flow of a second-order fluid on a porous plate

A study is made of the unsteady flow engendered in a second-order incompressible, rotating fluid by an infinite porous plate exhibiting non-torsional oscillation of a given frequency. The porous character of the plate and the non-Newtonian effect of the fluid increase the order of the partial differential equation (it increases up to third order). The solution of the initial value problem is obtained by the method of Laplace transform. The effect of material parameters on the flow is given explicitly and several limiting cases are deduced. It is found that a non-Newtonian effect is present in the velocity field for both the unsteady and steady-state cases. Once again for a second-order fluid, it is also found that except for the resonant case the asymptotic steady solution exists for blowing. Furthermore, the structure of the associated boundary layers is determined.     

A study on non-steady flow of upper-convected maxwell fluid in tube

The transient response of an upper-convected Maxwell fluid flow in a circular tube is analysed by variational approach of Kantorovich and the method of finite difference. The solution of the variational method is in agreement with the numerical results by the difference schemes. The results show that the method of Kantorovich is suitable for the study of non-steady flow of non-Newtonian fluids and the effect of elasticity of the fluid has an influence on the non-steady flow. project supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China     

MHD flow and mass transfer of chemically reactive upper convected Maxwell fluid past porous surface

The magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow and mass transfer of an electrically conducting upper convected Maxwell (UCM) fluid at a porous surface are studied in the presence of a chemically reactive species. The governing nonlinear partial differential equations along with the appropriate boundary conditions are transformed into nonlinear ordinary differential equations and numerically solved by the Keller-box method. The effects of various physical parameters on the flow and mass transfer characteristics are graphically presented and discussed. It is observed that the order of the chemical reaction is to increase the thickness of the diffusion boundary layer. Also, the mass transfer rate strongly depends on the Schmidt number and the reaction rate parameter. Furthermore, available results in the literature are obtained as a special case.     

Steady mixed convection stagnation-point flow of upper convected Maxwell fluids with magnetic field

The steady MHD mixed convection flow of a viscoelastic fluid in the vicinity of two-dimensional stagnation point with magnetic field has been investigated under the assumption that the fluid obeys the upper-convected Maxwell (UCM) model. Boundary layer theory is used to simplify the equations of motion, induced magnetic field and energy which results in three coupled non-linear ordinary differential equations which are well-posed. These equations have been solved by using finite difference method. The results indicate the reduction in the surface velocity gradient, surface heat transfer and displacement thickness with the increase in the elasticity number. These trends are opposite to those reported in the literature for a second-grade fluid. The surface velocity gradient and heat transfer are enhanced by the magnetic and buoyancy parameters. The surface heat transfer increases with the Prandtl number, but the surface velocity gradient decreases.     

A new exact solution for the flow of a Maxwell fluid past an infinite plate

A new exact solution corresponding to the flow of a Maxwell fluid over a suddenly moved flat plate is determined. This solution is in all accordance with a previous one and for λ→0 it goes to the well-known solution for Navier-Stokes fluids.     

MHD flow and heat transfer for the upper-convected Maxwell fluid over a stretching sheet

In the present work, the effect of MHD flow and heat transfer within a boundary layer flow on an upper-convected Maxwell (UCM) fluid over a stretching sheet is examined. The governing boundary layer equations of motion and heat transfer are non-dimensionalized using suitable similarity variables and the resulting transformed, ordinary differential equations are then solved numerically by shooting technique with fourth order Runge–Kutta method. For a UCM fluid, a thinning of the boundary layer and a drop in wall skin friction coefficient is predicted to occur for higher the elastic number. The objective of the present work is to investigate the effect of Maxwell parameter β, magnetic parameter Mn and Prandtl number Pr on the temperature field above the sheet.     

Linear stability of homogeneous elongational flow of the upper convected Maxwell fluid

We prove that planar elongational flow of the upper convected Maxwell fluid is linearly stable and analyze the associated spectral problem.     

MHD rotating flow of a viscous fluid over a shrinking surface

This study is concerned with the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) rotating boundary layer flow of a viscous fluid caused by the shrinking surface. Homotopy analysis method (HAM) is employed for the analytic solution. The similarity transformations have been used for reducing the partial differential equations into a system of two coupled ordinary differential equations. The series solution of the obtained system is developed and convergence of the results are explicitly given. The effects of the parameters M, s and λ on the velocity fields are presented graphically and discussed. It is worth mentioning here that for the shrinking surface the stable and convergent solutions are possible only for MHD flows.     

Two fluid flow and heat transfer in an inclined channel containing porous and fluid layer

Convective flow and heat transfer in an inclined channel bounded by two rigid plates held at constant different temperatures with one region filled with porous matrix saturated with a viscous fluid and another region with a clear viscous fluid different from the fluid in first region is studied analytically. The coupled nonlinear governing equations are solved using regular perturbation method. It is found that the presence of porous matrix in one of the region reduces the velocity and temperature. Results have been presented for a wide range of governing parameters such as Grashof number, porous parameter, angle of inclination, ratio of heights of the two layers and also the ratio of viscosities.     

Stability analysis of soret-driven double-diffusive convection of Maxwell fluid in a porous medium

Stability analysis of double-diffusive convection for viscoelastic fluid with Soret effect in a porous medium is investigated using a modified-Maxwell-Darcy model. We use the linear stability analysis to investigate how the Soret parameter and the relaxation time of viscoelastic fluid effect the onset of convection and the selection of an unstable wavenumber. It is found that the Soret effect is to destabilize the system for oscillatory convection. The relaxation time also enhances the instability of the system. The effects of Soret coefficient and relaxation time on the heat transfer rate in a porous medium are studied using the nonlinear stability analysis, the variation of the Nusselt number with respect to the Rayleigh number is derived for stationary and oscillatory convection modes. Some previous results can be reduced as the special cases of the present paper.     

Stability of a Maxwell fluid in hydromagnetics

The character of equilibrium of a Maxwell fluid in the presence of a magnetic field has been investigated. It is shown that the solution is characterized by a variational principle when the direction of magnetic field is either horizontal or vertical. For both directions, an approximate solution has been developed for a fluid layer of finite depth and exponentially varying density. It is found that the stability criterion remains unaffected by the viscosity parameters, although they influence the rate at which the unstable stratification departs from the equilibrium position. The question of excitation of waves has also been considered in detail.     

Lie-group method of solution for steady two-dimensional boundary-layer stagnation-point flow towards a heated stretching sheet placed in a porous medium

The boundary-layer equations for two-dimensional steady flow of an incompressible, viscous fluid near a stagnation point at a heated stretching sheet placed in a porous medium are considered. We apply Lie-group method for determining symmetry reductions of partial differential equations. Lie-group method starts out with a general infinitesimal group of transformations under which the given partial differential equations are invariant. The determining equations are a set of linear differential equations, the solution of which gives the transformation function or the infinitesimals of the dependent and independent variables. After the group has been determined, a solution to the given partial differential equations may be found from the invariant surface condition such that its solution leads to similarity variables that reduce the number of independent variables of the system. The effect of the velocity parameter λ, which is the ratio of the external free stream velocity to the stretching surface velocity, permeability parameter of the porous medium k ₁, and Prandtl number Pr on the horizontal and transverse velocities, temperature profiles, surface heat flux and the wall shear stress, has been studied.     

An analysis of the swimming problem of a singly flagellated micro-organism in an MHD fluid

The present work is concerned with the study of the swimming of flagellated microscopic organisms, which employ a single flagellum for propulsion in a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) fluid. The flow is modeled by appropriate equations and the organism is modeled by an infinite flexible but inextensible transversely waving sheet, which represents approximately the flagellum. The governing equations subject to appropriate boundary conditions are solved analytically. Expressions for the velocity of propulsion of the microscopic organism are obtained.     

Rotating flow of a third grade fluid in a porous space with Hall current

This study investigates the rotating magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow of a third-grade fluid in a porous space. Modified Darcy's law has been utilized for the flow modeling. The Hall effects are taken into consideration. The basic equations governing the flow are reduced to a highly nonlinear ordinary differential equation. This equation has been solved analytically by employing the homotopy analysis method (HAM). The effects of the various interesting parameters on the velocity distribution have been discussed.     

Decay of a potential vortex in a Maxwell fluid

The velocity field and the associated tangential tension corresponding to a potential vortex in a Maxwell fluid are determined by means of the Hankel transform. The similar solutions for a Newtonian fluid appear as a limiting case of our solutions.     

Analytic solution for flow of Sisko fluid through a porous medium

This paper presents the analytic solution for flow of a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) Sisko fluid through a porous medium. The non-linear flow problem in a porous medium is formulated by introducing the modified Darcy’s law for Sisko fluid to discuss the flow in a porous medium. The analytic solutions are obtained using homotopy analysis method (HAM). The obtained analytic solutions are explicitly expressed by the recurrence relations and can give results for all the appropriate values of material parameters of the examined fluid. Moreover, the well-known solutions for a Newtonian fluid in non-porous and porous medium are the limiting cases of our solutions.     

A note on the unsteady flow of a fractional Maxwell fluid through a circular cylinder

In this note the velocity field and the adequate shear stress corresponding to the unsteady flow of a fractional Maxwell fluid due to a constantly accelerating circular cylinder have been determined by means of the Laplace and finite Hankel transforms.The obtained solutions satisfy all imposed initial and boundary conditions.They can easily be reduced to give similar solutions for ordinary Maxwell and Newtonian fluids.Finally,the influence of pertinent parameters on the fluid motion,as well as a comparison between models,is underlined by graphical illustrations.