Hybrid nanofluid flow and heat transfer past a vertical thin needle with prescribed surface heat flux

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the steady mixed convection hybrid nanofluid flow and heat transfer past a vertical thin needle with prescribed surface heat flux. Design/methodology/approach The governing partial differential equations are transformed into a set of ordinary differential equations by using a similarity transformation. The transformed equations are then solved numerically using the boundary value problem solver (bvp4c) in Matlab software. The features of the skin friction coefficient and the local Nusselt number as well as the velocity and temperature profiles for different values of the governing parameters are analyzed and discussed. Findings It is found that dual solutions exist for a certain range of the mixed convection parameter where its critical values decrease with the increasing of the copper (Cu) nanoparticle volume fractions and for the smaller needle size. It is also observed that the increasing of the copper (Cu) nanoparticle volume fractions and the decreasing of the needle size tend to enhance the skin friction coefficient and the local Nusselt number on the needle surface. A temporal stability analysis is performed to determine the stability of the dual solutions in the long run, and it is revealed that only one of them is stable, while the other is unstable. Originality/value The problem of hybrid nanofluid flow and heat transfer past a vertical thin needle with prescribed surface heat flux is the important originality of the present study where the dual solutions for the opposing flow are obtained.