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MHD three-dimensional flow of Maxwell fluid with variable thermal conductivity and heat source/sink

T. Hayat (Department of Mathematics, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan)
S.A. Shehzad (Department of Mathematics, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan)
A. Alsaedi (Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow

ISSN: 0961-5539

Article publication date: 27 May 2014

145

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the three-dimensional flow of Maxwell fluid with variable thermal conductivity in presence of heat source/sink.

Design/methodology/approach

Similarity transformations are utilized to reduce the nonlinear partial differential equations into ordinary differential equations. The governing nonlinear problems are solved by homotopy analysis method.

Findings

The paper found that the velocities decrease while temperature increases for higher Hartman number. It is also seen that the thermal boundary layer thickness and temperature are increased with an increase in variable thermal conductivity parameter and heat source/sink parameter.

Practical implications

Heat transfer analysis with heat source/sink has pivotal role in many industrial applications like cooling of an infinite metallic plate in a cooling bath, drawing of plastic films, nuclear plants, gas turbines, various propulsion devices for missiles, space vehicles and processes occurring at high temperatures.

Originality/value

This study discusses the magnetohydrodynamic three-dimensional flow of Maxwell fluid with variable thermal conductivity and heat source/sink. No such analysis exists in the literature yet.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The first and second authors are grateful to the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan for financial support through Indigenous Fellowship. The research work of Dr Alsaedi was partially supported by the Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR), Kingabdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia.

Citation

Hayat, T., Shehzad, S.A. and Alsaedi, A. (2014), "MHD three-dimensional flow of Maxwell fluid with variable thermal conductivity and heat source/sink", International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, Vol. 24 No. 5, pp. 1073-1085. https://doi.org/10.1108/HFF-01-2013-0011

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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