Heat transfer in magnetohydrodynamic laminar radial channel flow

Abstract

Heat transfer in the steady axisymetrical laminar source flow of an incompressible electrically conducting fluid between two parallel disks in the presence of a transverse applied magnetic field is analyzed. The energy equation is solved numerically for the temperature distribution, where both Joulean and viscous heating are included. Both local and average Nusselt numbers for the case of constant wall temperature are evaluated. For fluids of moderate and high Prandtl numbers, Nusselt number is seen to be a strong function of both Hartmann number and a heat generation parameter together with a modified Peclet number. However, for fluids of small Prandtl number, Joulean heating and viscous dissipation can be neglected without appreciable error.