Computational analysis of the bioconvective flow of Williamson–Sutterby fluid with microorganisms and activation energy subject to Cattaneo–Christov double-diffusion effects

Abstract

This research aims to develop a mathematical model and outline the implications of the free convection flow within a non-Newtonian Williamson–Sutterby type nonfluid through a stretching surface placed horizontally with magnetic dipole effect. The present attempt establishes the influence of multiple factors, including double diffusion, and heat flux. Utilizing the Cattaneo–Christov heat mass flux model approximations, to shape the thermal and concentration balance equations, incorporating various generalized transport laws. Furthermore, the transportation mechanism incorporates Arrhenius activation energy and binary chemical reactions. The impact of bioconvection resulting from self-propelled microorganisms is incorporated into the fluidic model. A nonlinear set of partial differential equations (PDEs) are appropriately formulated, employing boundary layer approximations theory, to comprehensively describe the convective flow. The PDEs are converted to ordinary differential equations via similarity transformation, and then computationally computed via a well-structured RKF45 technique with a shooting algorithm. To validate the results, a comparison is made with published findings in limiting cases. It is observed that the velocity profiles exhibit an escalation in tandem with ascending values of the electric parameter and mixed convection. Conversely, the velocity diminishes with the augmentation of the magnetic factor, ferrohydrodynamic interaction parameter, porosity parameter, and Sutterby fluid parameter. Temperature profiles elevate in response to escalating values of the Eckert number, radiation parameter, and Brownian motion parameter while diminishing with the augmentation of the thermal relaxation constant, Prandtl number, and Sutterby fluid parameter. The concentration distribution exhibits an augmentation with the increasing magnitude of the thermophoresis parameter and activation energy while experiencing a reduction with the improvement in the behavior of Schmidt number and Brownian parameter. The ongoing investigation encompasses a wide spectrum of applications within the field of applied sciences, placing particular emphasis on thermal oil recovery, geothermal reservoirs, chemical engineering, and the cooling processes pertinent to nuclear reactors.