Abstract
The natural convection along a vertical isothermal plate in a non-Newtonian power-law fluid is considered in this article. The problem has been treated in the past but only for the heat transfer case. The boundary layer equations are solved with the finite volume method. The problem is non-similar and is governed by the Prandtl number, the power-law index and the non-dimensional distance along the plate. Results are presented for non-dimensional distance up to 1000, Prandtl numbers from 1 up to 1000 and power-law index from 0.6 up to 1.5. Local Nusselt numbers, temperature profiles, skin friction and velocity profiles have been calculated and presented in tables and figures. The new results, combined with those existing in the literature, give a complete solution to this classical problem in the field of non-Newtonian power-law fluids.
Highlights
Natural convection with non-Newtonian fluids has received considerable attention because of its importance in industrial applications where processes with fluids such as molten plastics, slurries, paints and blood are common
The natural convection flow of a non-Newtonian power-law fluid over a vertical isothermal plate has been investigated in this article
The results are as follows: 1. The Nusselt number increases with j for shearthickening fluids and declines in shear-thinning fluids
Summary
Natural convection with non-Newtonian fluids has received considerable attention because of its importance in industrial applications where processes with fluids such as molten plastics, slurries, paints and blood are common. In such cases, the fluid’s rheology significantly complicates the problem because the apparent viscosity at any location in the flow field becomes a function of the local shear rate, presenting a nonlinear problem. For example, the recent work by Guha and Pradnan,[3] which concerns the natural convection over a horizontal plate These authors give a good review of natural convection of non-Newtonian power-law fluids. Results only for the local and average Nusselt number were presented
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
