Falkner–Skan boundary layer flow of a fluid with pressure-dependent viscosity past a stretching wedge with suction or injection

Abstract

In this paper we study the boundary layer flow of a particular class of non-Newtonian fluids, namely piezo-viscous fluids, past a stretching wedge (Falkner–Skan flow). These fluids are essentially Navier–Stokes fluids with pressure-dependent viscosity. We consider the two-dimensional steady flow and introduce some similarity variables, so that the problem is reduced to a third-order nonlinear BVP. We solve the problem numerically by means of a shooting procedure combined with Newton’s method, and we find local similarity solutions. We investigate the behaviour of the velocity field, of the drag and of the thickness of the boundary layer for different values of the involved parameters, making a comparison between the piezo-viscous and the Newtonian case. We find that, depending on some material parameters, the effect of pressure is that of reducing or increasing the boundary layer with respect to the Newtonian case.