Natural convection - Radiation interaction in boundary layer flow over horizontal surfaces

Abstract

A numerical model is developed for natural convection-radiation interaction in the boundary layer over a semi-infinite horizontal flat plate with one hot and one cold surface. The fluid is assumed to be gray, to emit, absorb, be nonscattering, and constant with a density variation in the vertical direction, which induces a buoyancy force. Two-dimensional, boundary-layer equations are defined, and the radiative heat flux is simplified using a Rosseland approximation. Conservation equations are transformed into a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations which can be solved simultaneously with a Runge-Kutta integration scheme, along with the Newton-Raphson shooting technique. The thermal radiation is found to enhance the wall shear stress and the surface heat transfer rate on both the hot and cold sides