Linear Stability on the Local Thermal Nonequilibrium Model of Mixed Convection Boundary Layer Flow over a Moving Wedge in a Porous Medium: Viscous Dissipation and Radiation Effects

Abstract

Abstract This paper studies the local thermal nonequilibrium (LTNE) model for two-dimensional mixed convection boundary-layer flow over a wedge, which is embedded in a porous medium in the presence of radiation and viscous dissipation. It is considered that the temperature of the fluid and solid phases is not identical; hence, we require two energy equations: one for each phase. The motion of the mainstream and wedge is approximated by the power of distance from the leading boundary layer. The flow and heat transfer in the LTNE phase is governed by the coupled partial differential equations, which are then reduced to nonlinear ordinary differential equations via suitable similarity transformations. Numerical simulations show that when the interphase rate of heat transfer is large, the system attains the local thermal equilibrium (LTE) state and so is for porosity scaled conductivity. When LTNE is strong, the fluid phase reacts faster to the mainstream temperature than the corresponding solid phase. The state of LTE rather depends on radiation and viscous dissipation of the model. Further, numerical solutions successfully predicted the upper and lower branch solutions when the velocity ratio is varied. To assess which of these solutions is practically realizable, an asymptotic analysis on unsteady perturbations for a large time leading to linear stability needs to be performed. This shows that the upper branch solutions are always stable and practically realizable. The physical dynamics behind these results are discussed in detail.