A spectral‐homotopy analysis method for heat transfer flow of a third grade fluid between parallel plates

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the steady laminar flow of a pressure driven third‐grade fluid with heat transfer in a horizontal channel. The study serves two purposes: to correct the inaccurate results presented in Siddiqui et al., where the homotopy perturbation method was used, and to demonstrate the computational efficiency and accuracy of the spectral‐homotopy analysis methods (SHAM and MSHAM) in solving problems that arise in fluid mechanics.

Design/methodology/approach

Exact and approximate analytical series solutions of the non‐linear equations that govern the flow of a steady laminar flow of a third grade fluid through a horizontal channel are constructed using the homotopy analysis method and two new modifications of this method. These solutions are compared to the full numerical results. A new method for calculating the optimum value of the embedded auxiliary parameter ∼ is proposed.

Findings

The “standard” HAM and the two modifications of the HAM (the SHAM and the MSHAM) lead to faster convergence when compared to the homotopy perturbation method. The paper shows that when the same initial approximation is used, the HAM and the SHAM give identical results. Nonetheless, the advantage of the SHAM is that it eliminates the restriction of searching for solutions to the nonlinear equations in terms of prescribed solution forms that conform to the rule of solution expression and the rule of coefficient ergodicity. In addition, an alternative and more efficient implementation of the SHAM (referred to as the MSHAM) converges much faster, and for all parameter values.

Research limitations/implications

The spectral modification of the homotopy analysis method is a new procedure that has been shown to work efficiently for fluid flow problems in bounded domains. It however remains to be generalized and verified for more complicated nonlinear problems.

Originality/value

The spectral‐HAM has already been proposed and implemented by the authors in a recent paper. This paper serves the purpose of verifying and demonstrating the utility of the new spectral modification of the HAM in solving problems that arise in fluid mechanics. The MSHAM is a further modification of the SHAM to speed up converge and to allow for convergence for a much wider range of system parameter values. The utility of these methods has not been tested and verified for systems of nonlinear equations. For this reason as much emphasis has been placed on proving the reliability and validity of the solution techniques as on the physics of the problem.

Citation

Sibanda, P., Motsa, S. and Makukula, Z. (2012), "A spectral‐homotopy analysis method for heat transfer flow of a third grade fluid between parallel plates", International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, Vol. 22 No. 1, pp. 4-23. https://doi.org/10.1108/09615531211188766