Flow and heat transfer over a generalized stretching/shrinking wall problem—Exact solutions of the Navier–Stokes equations

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the steady momentum and heat transfer of a viscous fluid flow over a stretching/shrinking sheet. Exact solutions are presented for the Navier–Stokes equations. The new solutions provide a more general formulation including the linearly stretching and shrinking wall problems as well as the asymptotic suction velocity profiles over a moving plate. Interesting non-linear phenomena are observed in the current results including both exponentially decaying solution and algebraically decaying solution, multiple solutions with infinite number of solutions for the flow field, and velocity overshoot. The energy equation ignoring viscous dissipation is solved exactly and the effects of the mass transfer parameter, the Prandtl number, and the wall stretching/shrinking strength on the temperature profiles and wall heat flux are also presented and discussed. The exact solution of this general flow configuration is a rare case for the Navier–Stokes equation.