Influence of Thermal Radiation on a Transient MHD Couette Flow through a Porous Medium

Abstract

The paper examines transient MHD Couette flow of an electrically conducting fluid in the presence of an applied transverse magnetic field and thermal radiation through a porous medium. The dimensionless governing equations of the flow are coupled non-linear partial differential equations and are solved by an efficient and unconditionally stable finite difference scheme of Crank–Nicolson type. The influence of the medium permeability is also assessed. The velocity and temperature profiles for the flow are studied for various interesting parameters of Prandtl number, Nahme number and Hartmann number, and are presented graphically. The results show that the thermal radiation has appreciable influence on the flow.

Keywords

• MHD Couette flow
• Thermal radiation
• Porous medium
• Prandtl number
• Nahme number and Hartmann number