Effect of Prandtl number on leading edge accretion and ablation: A numerical study of unsteady boundary layer flow over a flat plate

Abstract

AbstractAn efficient numerical method, namely, the Runge‐Kutta fourth order integration scheme with shooting technique is employed to give a suitable solution for the unsteady magnetohydrodynamic boundary layer flow of viscous incompressible fluid with accretion or ablation effects over a flat plate under the influence of homogenous first order chemical reaction. When compared to the other numerical techniques such as perturbation methods, this approach provides the accurate numerical results valid uniformly for all nondimensional time. The unsteady behavior of chemically reacting magnetohydrodynamic boundary layer flow is investigated by analyzing the nature of buoyancy and magnetic parameters in the momentum equation. Also, results are extended to the energy and concentration equations by considering the viscous dissipation, Joule heating and chemical reaction effects. With the help of suitable similarity transformations, the highly nonlinear, coupled, time‐dependent partial differential equations are reduced to ordinary differential equations. Furthermore, the numerical solutions in terms of velocity, temperature and concentration profiles within the boundary layer are presented for the various values of control parameters. Also, the impact of physical parameters on the flow, heat and mass transfer characteristics are examined thoroughly. The present investigation reports that, the increasing magnetic parameter increases the temperature field and decreases the velocity field. Also, Eckert number enhance the thermal field whereas, the chemical reaction parameter decays the concentration field. Before concluding the considered problem, present results are validated with the previous results and are found to be in good agreement.