Numerical solutions of steady radiative Maxwell-nanofluid flow toward a stretching sheet in the presence of magnetic field and porous medium

Abstract

The study investigates the behavior of a Maxwellian nanofluid flowing steadily over an extending sheet in a permeable medium with a magnetic field. The energy equation includes the radiation, and the conservation of momentum equation considers the magnetic field and porous medium. The novelty of this study is in its examination of complex phenomena involving magnetic fields, radiation, Maxwell fluids, and nanoparticle suspensions in a porous medium via an exponential stretching sheet. The study of Maxwell fluids has been enriched by the substantial contributions made by researchers, delving into their rheological behavior, modelling, and applications. Their work has provided valuable insights into the complexities of these materials and has advanced the knowledge in this specialized area of fluid mechanics. The governing partial differential equations (PDEs) are converted into ordinary differential equations (ODEs) utilizing an appropriate similarity transformation. These resultant ODEs are then resolved by employing a numerical approach, specifically the finite element method. The numerical simulations provide valuable information regarding the distributions of velocity, temperature, and nanoparticle concentration. Furthermore, the presented tabulated outcomes display alterations in skin friction, mass transfer rate, heat transmission coefficients, and their reliance on different emerging parameters. The velocity diminishes as the magnetic field, suction, Maxwell fluid, and medium factors increase, while it enhances with the stretching sheet limitation. The temperature diminishes with the Prandtl number but upsurges with higher radiation, thermophoresis, and Brownian motion. As the thermophoresis limit increases, concentration rises, but it decreases with an upsurge in the Lewis and Brownian motion. The heat transfer rate rises with radiation, thermophoresis, and Brownian motion, but the mass transfer rate decreases with Lewes and Brownian motion. The outcomes of the study could have implications for various engineering and industrial applications that control and manipulate fluid flows and heat transfer.