Numerical Study for the Flow and Heat Transfer in a Thin Liquid Film Over an Unsteady Stretching Sheet with Variable Fluid Properties in the Presence of Thermal Radiation

• Published in: Journal of mechanics Vol. 28; no. 2; pp. 291 - 297
• Main Authors: Liu, I-C., Megahed, A. M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.06.2012; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Fluid flow; Heat conductivity; Heat transfer; Mathematical analysis; Mathematical models; Mechanics; Numerical analysis; Ordinary differential equations; Partial differential equations; Radiation; Studies; Thermal conductivity; Thermal energy; Thermal radiation; Unsteady; Viscosity; Liquid film; Unsteady stretching sheet; Variable fluid properties; Thermal radiation; Similarity transformation
• ISSN: 1727-7191; 1811-8216
• DOI: 10.1017/jmech.2012.32

In this paper, the effect of thermal radiation, variable viscosity and variable thermal conductivity on the flow and heat transfer of a thin liquid film over an unsteady stretching sheet is analyzed. The continuity, momentum and energy equations, which are coupled nonlinear partial differential equations, are reduced to a set of two non-linear ordinary differential equations, before being solved numerically. Results for the skin-friction coefficient, local Nusselt number, velocity profiles as well as temperature profiles are presented for different values of the governing parameters. It is found that increasing the viscosity parameter leads to a rise in the velocity near the surface of the sheet and a fall in the temperature. Furthermore, it is shown that the temperature increases due to an increase in the values of the thermal conductivity parameter and the thermal radiation parameter, while it decreases with an increase of the Prandtl number.