Analysis Of Magnetohydrodynamic Stagnation Point Flow Due To A Fluid Towards A Convectively Heated Permeable Stretching Sheet

ABSTRACT

Stagnation-point flow of an electrically conducting fluid over a continuously stretching surface in presence of magnetic fields is significant in many industrial processes such as the metallurgy, polymer processing, glass blowing, filaments drawn through quiescent electrically conducting fluid subject to magnetic fields, cooling of metallic plate, hot rolling, wire drawing, aerodynamic extrusion of plastic sheets, crystal growing. In these applications of stagnation point flow, the desired output depends largely on the rate of heating and the velocity of the fluid on the surface. The required rate will be achieved by variation of various thermophysical parameters such as suction parameter, Grashoff number, Hartmann number and buoyancy parameter. The resulting nonlinear partial differential equations governing this flow were reduced to nonlinear ordinary differential equations using similarity transformations and the resulting equations solved numerically using the fourth order Runge-Kutta scheme with a shooting technique. Graphical results were presented and discussed quantatively with respect to the effects of thermophysical parameters on both velocity and temperature profiles of the fluid. From the study we note that an increase in Grashoff number (Gr), Hartmann number (Ha) and suction parameter resulted to a corresponding increase in fluid velocity. The fluid temperature also increased with increase in Gr and Ha but decreased with increase in suction parameter and buoyancy parameter.