MHD axisymmetric flow of power-law fluid over an unsteady stretching sheet with convective boundary conditions

Abstract

This paper examines the boundary layer flow and heat transfer characteristic in power law fluid model over unsteady radially stretching sheet under the influence of convective boundary conditions. A uniform magnetic field is applied transversely to the direction of the flow. The governing time dependent nonlinear boundary layer equations are reduced into nonlinear ordinary differential equations with the help of similarity transformations. The transformed coupled ordinary differential equations are then solved analytically by homotopy analysis method (HAM) and numerically by shooting procedure. Effects of various governing parameters like, power law index n, magnetic parameter M, unsteadiness A, suction/injection S, Biot number γ and generalized Prandtl number Pr on velocity, temperature, local skin friction and the local Nusselt number are studied and discussed. It is found from the analysis that the magnetic parameter diminishes the velocity profile and the corresponding thermal boundary layer thickness. Keywords: Axisymmetric flow, Power law fluid, Unsteady stretching, Convective boundary conditions