MHD boundary layer flow over a nonlinear stretching sheet in a nanofluid with convective boundary condition

Abstract

This present work considers, MHD boundary layer flow of nanofluid created by a nonlinear stretching sheet has been taken into account numerically. This model of nanofluid incorporates the property of Brownian motion and thermophoresis. Present boundary value problem involves a set of nonlinear Partial differential equations. Using usual boundary layer approximation and similarity transformation, the nonlinear model equations are obtained, and are tackled numerically using Runge-Kutta Fourth order method, with shooting technique. Completely different from, normally considered thermal conditions of constant temperature or constant heat flux, the present study analyzes boundary conditions of convective heating. Obtained solutions for the, velocity, temperature and nanoparticle concentration profiles depend mainly on, Prandtl number, Lewis number, Brownian motion parameter, thermophoresis parameter, convective Biot number, Magnetic parameter, nonlinear stretching parameter. The thermal boundary layer thickness increases, with a rise in the local temperature as the Brownian motion, thermophoresis and convective heating, each strengthen. The effect of Lewis number on the temperature profile is slight. Keeping the other parameters constant, it is observed that the local concentration nanoparticle profile, increases as convective Biot number increases, but decreases as the Lewis number increases. As both reduced Nusselt number, and the reduced Sherwood number increases, the Brownian motion and thermophoresis effects become stronger. Further it is noticed that the dimensionless velocity decreases and temperature increases with magnetic parameter, and the thermal boundary layer thickness increases with Brownian motion and thermophoresis parameters. Copyright © 2015 American Scientific Publishers All rights reserved.