Effects of variable electric conductivity and non-uniform heat source (or sink)on convective micropolar fluid flow along an inclined flat plate with surfaceheat flux

Abstract

Numerical simulations have been carried out to investigate the effects of the fluid electric conductivity and non-uniform heat source (or sink) on two-dimensional steady hydromagnetic convective flow of a micropolar fluid (in comparison with the Newtonian fluid) flowing along an inclined flat plate with a uniform surface heat flux. The local similarity solutions are presented for the non-dimensional velocity distribution, microrotation, and temperature profiles in the boundary layer. The significance of the physical parameters on the flow field is discussed in detail. The results show that the values of the skin-friction coefficient and the Nusselt number are higher for the case of constant fluid electric conductivity compared with those for the variable fluid electric conductivity. The effect of temperature dependent heat generation is much stronger than the effect of surface dependent heat generation. The results also show that effects of the fluid electric conductivity and non-uniform heat generation in a micropolar fluid are less pronounced than that in a Newtonian fluid.