Numerical Study on the Skin Friction and Heat Transfer Coefficient of Non-Newtonian Power Law Fluid in Boundary Layer

Abstract

The paper presents a dimensional analysis on the skin friction and heat transfer coefficient of the boundary layer flow in power law fluid. Based on the theoretical analysis the formula of the thickness, the friction coefficient and the heat transfer coefficient in non-Newtonian power law fluid boundary layer are obtained. By means of numerical simulation the phenomenon of power law fluid flowing on an infinite surface is studied. The temperature distribution is obtained numerically by considering the effect of the power law viscosity on thermal diffusivity and the characteristics of the flow and heat transfer are analyzed. The numerical results proved that the proposed estimate formula is reliable and effective. The results of the data analysis show that the estimation formula above mentioned is coincident well with the data from numerical simulation. The results show that the distribution of the thermal boundary layer depends not only on the velocity ratio parameter of the plate, but also on the power law index and Prandtl number of fluids.