The effect of temperature-dependent viscosity on free-forced convective laminar boundary layer flow past a vertical isothermal flat plate

Summary The effect of a temperature-dependent viscosity on an incompressible fluid in steady laminar free-forced convective boundary layer flow over an isothermal vertical semi-infinite flat plate is studied. The local similarity solution is used to transform the system of partial differential equations, describing the problem under consideration, into a boundary value problem of coupled ordinary differential equations and an efficient numerical technique is implemented to solve the reduced system. Numerical calculations are carried out, for various values of the dimensionless parameters of the problem, which include a Prandtl number, a mixed convection parameter and a viscosity/temperature parameter. The results are presented graphically and the conclusion is drawn that the flow field and other quantities of physical interest are significantly influenced by these parameters. In particular, it is concluded that when the viscosity of a working fluid is sensitive to the variation of temperature, care must be taken to include this effect, otherwise considerable error can result in the heat transfer processes. In the literature, such care is not always evident.     

Influences of fluid property variation on the boundary layers of a stretching surface

Summary. In this work, the influences of temperature-dependent fluid properties on the boundary layers over a continuously stretching surface with constant temperature are investigated. Based on the boundary layer assumptions, the coupled similarity equations are obtained for special situations, in which the fluid density and heat capacity are assumed without dependence on the temperature. Those similarity equations are solved numerically. The influences of property variation on wall stresses and heat fluxes are discussed. It is found that the property variation can influence the distributions of both fluid velocity and temperature across the boundary layers. For the thermal boundary layer, using mean properties evaluated at the average temperature of wall and ambient fluid can give good results for the temperature distribution. However, for the momentum boundary layer, the difference of velocity distributions can be large.     

MHD 3D free convective flow of nanofluid over an exponentially stretching sheet with chemical reaction

This paper deals with a problem where the effect of variable magnetic field and chemical reaction on free convective flow of an electrically conducting incompressible water based nanofluid over an exponentially stretching sheet has been investigated. In the present study, Buongiorno model associated with Brownian motion and thermophoretic diffusion is employed to describe the heat transfer enhancement of nanofluids. Some suitable similarity transformations reduced the governing boundary layer non-linear partial differential equations into a set of ordinary non-linear differential equations. The transformed equations are then solved numerically using fourth order Runga-Kutta method along with Shooting technique. The major outcomes of the present study is that the magnetic field impedes the fluid motion while thermal as well as mass buoyancy forces accelerate it, the thermophoretic diffusion enhances dimensionless fluid temperature as well as concentration leading to thicker thermal and concentration boundary layers. On the other hand, concentration exponent, Brownian motion parameter and chemical reaction parameter exhibit reverse trend on temperature and concentration. In addition, the presence of magnetic field under the influence of thermal as well as mass buoyancies supports to reduce the rate of heat transfer as well as wall shear stress while the first order chemical reaction develops a thinner concentration boundary layer.     

Heat transfer in a viscoelastic boundary layer flow through a porous medium

This paper examines the viscoelastic fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics in a saturated porous medium over an impermeable stretching surface with frictional heating and internal heat generation or absorption. The heat transfer analysis has been carried out for two different heating processes, namely (i) with prescribed surface temperature (PST-case) and (ii) prescribed surface heat flux (PHF-case). The governing equations for the boundary layer flow problem result similar solutions. For the specified five boundary conditions, it is not possible to solve directly the resulting sixth-order nonlinear ordinary differential equation. For the present incompressible boundary layer flow problem with constant physical parameters, the momentum equation is decoupled from the energy equation. Two closed–form solutions for the momentum equation are obtained and identified the realistic solution of the physical problem. Exact solution for the velocity field and the skin-friction are obtained. Also, the solution for the temperature and the heat transfer characteristics are obtained in terms of Kummers function. Asymptotic results for the temperature function for large Prandtl numbers are presented. The work due to deformation in the energy equation, which is essential and escaped from the attention of researchers while formulating the visco-elastic boundary layer flow problems, is considered. Drastic variation in the values of heat transfer coefficient is observed when the work due to deformation is ignored.The authors would like to thank the reviewers for their valuable comments/ suggestions to improve the clarity of the paper.     

多孔泡沫金属中指数规律变热流平板表面的层流对流传热分析

采用Brinkman-Forchheimer-extended Darcy流动模型和局部非热平衡传热模型(双温度模型),对指数规律变热流密度条件下的多孔泡沫金属中平板表面的层流对流传热进行了分析,并得出了平板表面的热边界层的厚度和局部的对流传热系数的表达式。结果发现:平板表面的热边界层的厚度发展沿流动方向逐渐增大,但是增大的趋势由迅速趋向平缓;局部对流传热系数沿流动方向逐渐减小,而后趋于稳定。最后推导出了局部的对流传热Nusselt数的准则方程。     

Numerical study of the combined free-forced convective laminar boundary layer flow past a vertical isothermal flat plate with temperature-dependent viscosity

Summary A modified and improved numerical solution scheme, for local nonsimilarity boundary layer analysis, is used to study the combined free-forced convective laminar boundary layer flow, past a vertical isothermal flat plate, with temperature-dependent viscosity. This numerical scheme is efficient and accurate and it can be programmed and applied easily and its application is illustrated, step by step, by the study of the above mentioned problem. Numerical results are presented graphically, for the flow field, for the case of air and water and for different values of the viscosity/temperature parameterH _r over the range of the convection parameter 0.2 1.0. The analysis of the obtained results showed that the flow field is appreciably influenced by the viscosity/temperature parameter, and hence care must be taken to include the variation of viscosity with temperature in the heat transfer processes.     

Flow of a second-order fluid over a stretching surface having power-law temperature

Summary The important physical quantities such as the coefficients of skin-friction and heat transfer are obtained from the closed-form solutions for the boundary layer equations of the flow of a second-order fluid over a stretching surface having power-law temperature.     

An explicit analytic solution for convective heat transfer in an electrically conducting fluid at a stretching surface with uniform free stream

An analytic technique, namely the homotopy analysis method, is applied to study the flow and heat transfer characteristics in an electrically conducting fluid near an isothermal sheet. The sheet is linearly stretched in the presence of a uniform free stream of constant velocity and temperature. The effects of free convection and internal heat generation or absorption are also considered. Within the framework of boundary layer approximations, the explicit, totally analytic and uniformly valid solutions governed by a set of three fully coupled, highly non-linear equations are obtained, which agree well with numerical results.     

An entry-flow problem for a non-isothermal catalytic-wall reactor

A reacting gas flows into a metal, thin-walled, tube which has a catalytic coating on its inner surface. A strong, temperature-dependent, exothermic reaction occurs giving a local hos spot. It is assumed that the surface temperature is controlled by heat conduction through the metal wall, heat transfer into the gas being negligible. A standard approximate technique is used to derive an integral equation which relates the mass transfer at the wall in the Blasius boundary layer to the wall temperature. A second integral equation is derived from the heat-conduction problem for the metal wall, and the coupled equations are solved numerically. The maximum temperature rise at the wall is found to be significantly higher than that obtained when a fully developed flow passes over a catalytic coating.     

Three-dimensional flow with heat transfer of a viscoelastic fluid over a stretching surface with a magnetic field

The present research study deals with the steady flow and heat transfer of a viscoelastic fluid over a stretching surface in two lateral directions with a magnetic field applied normal to the surface. The fluid far away from the surface is ambient and the motion in the flow field is caused by stretching surface in two directions. This result is a three-dimensional flow instead of two-dimensional as considered by many authors. Self-similar solutions are obtained numerically. For some particular cases, closed form analytical solutions are also obtained. The numerical calculations show that the skin friction coefficients in x- and y-directions and the heat transfer coefficient decrease with the increasing elastic parameter, but they increase with the stretching parameter. The heat transfer coefficient for the constant heat flux case is higher than that of the constant wall temperature case.     

Non-linear radiation effects on magnetic/non-magnetic nanoparticles with different base fluids over a flat plate

This work investigates the two-dimensional steady convective boundary layer flow and heat transfer of Newtonian/non-Newtonian base fluids with magnetic/non-magnetic nanoparticles over a flat plate which incorporates non-linear thermal radiation and slip effects. We considered magnetite and aluminium oxide as magnetic and non-magnetic nanoparticles suspending inside the two sorts of base fluids specifically Water and Sodium Alginate. For physical significance we analyzed the behavior on non-Newtonian profiles by employing Casson model individually. The particular intrigue lies in looking the impacts of non-linear thermal radiation on the behavior of the flow. The solution of wide class of boundary value problems are facilitated by the change of the partial differential equations administering the flow utilizing similarity transformations into ordinary differential equations. The ODE’s are numerically handled by applying fourth order Runge-Kutta integration scheme in association with shooting procedure. The novel results for the dimensionless velocity and temperature inside the boundary layer are exhibited graphically for various parameters that describe the flow. A graphical demonstration is given for the skin friction coefficient and the local Nusselt number.     

Thermal boundary layers over a shrinking sheet: an analytical solution

In this paper, the heat transfer over a shrinking sheet with mass transfer is studied. The flow is induced by a sheet shrinking with a linear velocity distribution from the slot. The fluid flow solution given by previous researchers is an exact solution of the whole Navier–Stokes equations. By ignoring the viscous dissipation terms, exact analytical solutions of the boundary layer energy equation were obtained for two cases including a prescribed power-law wall temperature case and a prescribed power-law wall heat flux case. The solutions were expressed by Kummer’s function. Closed-form solutions were found and presented for some special parameters. The effects of the Prandtl number, the wall mass transfer parameter, the power index on the wall heat flux, the wall temperature, and the temperature distribution in the fluids were investigated. The heat transfer problem for the algebraically decaying flow over a shrinking sheet was also studied and compared with the exponentially decaying flow profiles. It was found that the heat transfer over a shrinking sheet was significantly different from that of a stretching surface. Interesting and complicated heat transfer characteristics were observed for a positive power index value for both power-law wall temperature and power-law wall heat flux cases. Some solutions involving negative temperature values were observed and these solutions may not physically exist in a real word.     

Modeling of frosting behavior on a cold plate

This paper proposes a mathematical model to predict the frost properties and heat and mass transfer within the frost layer formed on a cold plate. Laminar flow equations for moist air and empirical correlations for local frost properties are employed to predict the frost layer growth. Correlations for local frost density and effective thermal conductivity of the frost layer, derived from various experimental data, are expressed as a function of the various frosting parameters: the Reynolds number, frost surface temperature, absolute humidity and temperature of the moist air, cooling plate temperature, and frost density. The numerical results are compared with experimental data to validate the proposed model, and those agree well with the experimental data within a maximum error of 10%. Heat and mass transfer coefficients obtained from the numerical analyses are also presented. The results show that the model for the frost growth using the correlation of the heat transfer coefficient without considering the air flow has a limitation in its application.     

The thermal state of a porous wall under conditions of transpiration cooling

Results of numerical experiment are used for analysis of fields of temperature in a laminar boundary layer, in a porous wall, and in a cooling gas delivery chamber, as well as for analysis of heat transfer and of distribution of the temperature difference between the cooling gas and the porous wall frame and cooling efficiency. It is demonstrated that heat transfer between a porous wall of finite thickness and a high-temperature gas flow differs significantly from heat transfer with preassignment of the same intensity of injection and of the homogeneous thermal boundary condition directly on the surface subjected to flow. One of the reasons for this is the formation of wall temperature variable along the boundary layer.     

Magnetohydrodynamic natural convection flow on a sphere with uniform heat flux in presence of heat generation

Summary Magnetohydrodynamic natural convection boundary layer flow on a sphere with uniform heat flux in presence of heat generation has been investigated in this paper. The governing boundary layer equations are transformed into a non-dimensional form and the resulting nonlinear system of partial differential equations is then solved numerically by two distinct efficient methods, namely (i) implicit finite difference method together with the Keller box scheme and (ii) perturbation or series solution technique. The results of the surface shear stress in terms of local skin friction and the rate of heat transfer in terms of local Nusselt number, velocity distribution as well as temperature distribution are shown graphically for a selection of parameter sets consisting of the heat generation parameter and the magnetic parameter.     

Compressible magnetohydrodynamic boundary layer swirling nozzle and diffuser flows with a magnetic field

The flow, heat and mass transfer problem for boundary layer swirling flow of a laminar steady compressible electrically conducting gas with variable properties through a conical nozzle and a diffuser with an applied magnetic field has been studied. The partial differential equations governing the flow have been solved numerically using an implicit finite-difference scheme after they have been transformed into dimensionless form using the modified Lees transformation. The results indicate that the skin friction and heat transfer strongly depend on the magnetic field, mass transfer and variation of the density-viscosity product across the boundary layer. However, the effect of the variation of the density-viscosity product is more pronounced in the case of a nozzle than in the case of a diffuser. It has been found that large swirl is required to produce strong effect on the skin friction and heat transfer. Separationless flow along the entire length of the diffuser can be obtained by applying appropriate amount of suction. The results are found to be in good agreement with those of the local nonsimilarity method, but they differ quite significantly from those of the local similarity method.     

Transient free convection flow past an impulsively started isothermal vertical cylinder with mass flux

This paper concern with the laminar flows, which arise in fluids due to the interaction of the force of gravity and density differences, caused by temperature differences and material or phase constitution for both air and water. A solution of laminar boundary layer equations has been obtained for the transient free convective flow past an impulsively started semi-infinite isothermal vertical cylinder with uniform mass flux. The solutions of the dimensionless, unsteady, coupled and non-linear governing partial differential equations are obtained by a more accurate, unconditionally stable and fast converging implicit finite difference scheme. The results show many interesting effects on velocity, temperature and concentration profiles and local as well as average shear stress, rate of heat and mass transfer. It is observed that there is a rise in the velocity due to the presence of mass diffusion.     

Magnetohydrodynamic heat transfer over a non-isothermal stretching sheet

Summary This paper presents solutions of the energy equation for the boundary layer flow of an electrically conducting fluid under the influence of a constant transverse magnetic field over a linearly stretching non-isothermal flat sheet. Effects due to dissipation, stress work and heat generation are considered. Analytical solutions of the resulting linear nonhomogeneous boundary value problems, expressed in terms of Kummer's functions, are presented for the case of prescribed surface temperature as well as the case of prescribed wall heat flux, both of which are assumed to be quadratic functions of distance. The boundary value problems are also solved by direct numerical integration yielding results in excellent agreement with the analytical solutions.     

Nonlinear instability of developing streamwise vortices with applications to boundary layer heat transfer intensification through an extended Reynolds analogy

The intent of the present contribution is to explain theoretically the experimentally measured surface heat transfer rates on a slightly concave surface with a thin boundary layer in an otherwise laminar flow. As the flow develops downstream, the measured heat transfer rate deviates from the local laminar value and eventually exceeds the local turbulent value in a non-trivial manner even in the absence of turbulence. While the theory for steady strong nonlinear development of streamwise vortices can bridge the heat transfer from laminar to the local turbulent value, further intensification is attributable to the transport effects of instability of the basic steady streamwise vortex system. The problem of heat transport by steady and fluctuating nonlinear secondary instability is formulated. An extended Reynolds analogy for Prandtl number unity, Pr=1, is developed, showing the similarity between streamwise velocity and the temperature. The role played by the fluctuation-induced heat flux is similar to momentum flux by the Reynolds shear stress. Inferences from the momentum problem indicate that the intensified heat flux developing well beyond the local turbulent value is attributed to the transport effects of the nonlinear secondary instability, which leads to the formation of 'coherent structures' of the flow. The basic underlying pinions of the non-linear hydrodynamic stability problem are the analyses of J. T. Stuart, which uncovered physical mechanisms of nonlinearities that are crucial to the present developing boundary layers supporting streamwise vortices and their efficient scalar transporting mechanisms.     

Heat transfer in a fluid with variable thermal conductivity over a linearly stretching sheet

Summary This paper considers the boundary layer heat transfer in a two-dimensional Newtonian fluid flow caused by a porous and linearly stretching sheet in the presence of blowing/suction. The thermal conductivity is assumed to vary linearly with temperature as is found in liquid metals. The resulting nonlinear energy equation forms a boundary value problem which is solved by a shooting method. A perturbation method is also used to derive a set of uncoupled, linear boundary value problems which are solved by superposition of solutions.