Axisymmetric flow and heat transfer to modified second grade fluid over a radially stretching sheet

Abstract

In the present work, an analysis is made to the two-dimensional axisymmetric flow and heat transfer of a modified second grade fluid over an isothermal non-linear radially stretching sheet. The momentum and energy equations are modelled and the boundary layer equations are derived. The governing equations for velocity and temperature are turned down into a system of ordinary differential equations by invoking appropriate transformations which are then solved numerically via fourth and fifth order Runge-Kutta Fehlberg method. Moreover, the influence of the pertinent parameters namely the generalized second grade parameter, stretching parameter, the power-law index and the generalized Prandtl number is graphically portrayed. It is inferred that the generalized second grade parameter uplifted the momentum boundary layer while lessened the thermal boundary layer. Furthermore, the impact of stretching parameter is more pronounced for the second grade fluid (m = 0) in contrast with the power-law fluid (k = 0). For some special cases, comparisons are made with previously reported results and an excellent agreement is established. Keywords: Modified second grade fluid, Axisymmetric flow, Heat transfer, Non-linear stretching sheet