Mixed convection flow of micropolar fluid over an isothermal plate with variable spin gradient viscosity

Abstract

A steady two-dimensional mixed convection flow of viscous incompressible micropolar fluid past an isothermal horizotal heated plate with uniform free stream and variable spin-gradient viscosity is considered. With appropriate transformations the boundary layer equations are transformed into nonsimilar equations appropriate for three distinct regimes, namely, the forced convection regime, the free convection regime and the mixed convection regime. Solutions of the governing equations for these regimes are obtained by an implicit finite difference scheme developed for the present problem. Results are obtained for the pertinent parameters, such as the buoyancy parameter, ζ in the range of 0 to 10 and the vortex viscosity parameters, Δ=0.0, 1.0, 3.0, 5.0 and 10.0 for fluid with Prandtl number Pr=0.7 and are presented in terms of local shear-stress and the local rate of heat transfer. Effects of these parameters are also shown graphically on the velocity, temperature and the couple stress distributions. From the present analysis, it is observed that both the momentum boundary layer and the thermal boundary layer increase due to an increase in the vortex viscosity of the fluid.