A numerical study of unsteady non-Newtonian Powell-Eyring nanofluid flow over a shrinking sheet with heat generation and thermal radiation

Abstract

In this paper we investigate the unsteady boundary-layer flow of an incompressible Powell-Eyring nanofluid over a shrinking surface. The effects of heat generation and thermal radiation on the fluid flow are taken into account. Numerical solutions of the nonlinear differential equations that describe the transport processes are obtained using a multi-domain bivariate spectral quasilinearization method. This innovative technique involves coupling bivariate Lagrange interpolation with quasilinearization. The solutions of the resulting system of equations are then obtained in a piecewise manner in a sequence of multiple intervals using the Chebyshev spectral collocation method. A parametric study shows how various parameters influence the flow and heat transfer processes. The validation of the results, and the method used here, has been achieved through a comparison of the current results with previously published results for selected parameter values. In general, an excellent agreement is observed. The results from this study show that the fluid parameters ε and δ reduce the flow velocity and the momentum boundary-layer thickness. The heat generation and thermal radiation parameters are found to enhance both the temperature and thermal boundary-layer thicknesses.