Symmetry analysis and self-similar forms of fluid flow and heat-mass transfer in turbulent boundary layer flow of a nanofluid

Abstract

Heat, momentum, and mass transport in turbulent boundary layer nanofluid flow over a flat plate were investigated. Boundary layer equations were reduced to self-similar forms and solved numerically. The Lie group technique, which is based on the symmetry properties of governing equations, was used to derive self-similar forms of these equations. Turbulent viscosity was predicted using the mixing-length model. Also, dependences of physical properties (viscosity, thermal conductivity, and diffusion coefficients) on the nanofluid concentration and temperature were accounted for. Influences of different dimensionless parameters and nanoparticle concentration on the velocity and temperature profiles, as well as on the relative Nusselt number and skin-friction coefficient, were investigated.