Mixed convective flow of a micropolar fluid mixture in a vertical channel with boundary conditions of the third kind

Abstract

The problem of fully developed mixed convection for a laminar flow of a micropolar fluid mixture in a vertical channel with a heat source/sink has been investigated. The plates exchange heat with an external fluid, and both conditions of equal and different reference temperatures of the external fluid are considered. The effect of the governing parameters, namely, heat source/sink, vortex viscosity, and buoyancy ratio on the velocity, microrotation velocity, and temperature has been discussed. An increase in the vortex viscosity parameter enhances microrotation and thus decreases the fluid velocity. The volume flow rate, total heat flux, and heat and species fluxes are shown to be lower than those for a Newtonian fluid in both the cases of heat absorption and generation. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.