MHD three-dimensional flow of Maxwell fluid with variable thermal conductivity and heat source/sink
International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow
ISSN: 0961-5539
Article publication date: 27 May 2014
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