Study of the Carreau fluid over a linearly curved stretching sheet: A numerical approach

Abstract

Carreau fluid flow over a linearly curved stretching surface has significant applications in manufacturing industries. This study focuses on the impact of various parameters on the velocity, temperature, pressure skin friction, and heat transfer coefficient of a 2D Carreau flow. Both shear thinning (pseudoplastic) and shear thickening (dilatant) behaviors are considered. The parameters include suction, non-dimensional radius of curvature, Weissenberg number, magnetic parameter, power-law index, Eckert number (viscous dissipation parameter), and Prandtl number. The effects of viscous dissipation, magnetic field, convective boundary conditions, and suction are also taken into account. The study reveals that the flow velocity decreases with increasing magnetic parameter, curvature factor, and suction, but increases with the Weissenberg number and power law index. The heat transfer rate is reduced by the curvature factor, Weissenberg number, suction, power-law index, and Prandtl number, while the magnetic parameter has the opposite effect. The boundary value problem is simplified through appropriate similarity transformation and solved numerically using the shooting method and Matlab’s built-in function bvp4c. The results obtained from these two methods show good agreement. The findings also align well with existing literature in some limiting cases, confirming the validity of the study.