Thermocapillary flow of a non-Newtonian nanoliquid film over an unsteady stretching sheet

Abstract

The influence of surface tension on the laminar flow of a thin film of a non-Newtonian nanoliquid over an unsteady stretching sheet is considered. Surface tension is assumed vary linearly with temperature. An effective medium theory (EMT) based model is used for the thermal conductivity of the nanoliquid. Metal and metal oxide nanoparticles are considered in carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) - water base liquid. The unsteady boundary layer equations are transformed to a system of non-linear ordinary differential equations with the application of similarity transformations. Resultant two-point boundary value problem is solved numerically using a shooting method together with Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg and Newton-Raphson schemes. The effect of surface tension on the dynamics of the considered problem is presented graphically and analyzed in detail. The clear liquid results form special case of the present study. © 2017 Author(s).