A uniformly valid series solution to the unsteady stagnation-point flow towards an impulsively stretching surface

Abstract

The paper studies the problem of the unsteady two-dimensional stagnation-point flow of an incompressible viscous fluid over a flat deformable sheet. The flow is started impulsively from rest and the sheet is suddenly stretched in its own plane with a velocity proportional to the distance from the stagnation point. An analytical series solution is obtained by means of the homotopy analysis method (HAM). Also, the homotopy-Pade technique is employed. An explicit formula for the local friction coefficient is provided. The present formula, different from the perturbation solution, is accurate and uniformly valid for all dimensionless time in the whole spatial region and for all possible values of physical parameter λ, defined as the ratio of the potential flow velocity to the sheet sudden stretching velocity. Numerical tests are done to verify the present formula for its validity and accuracy.