Unsteady boundary layer flow of viscoelastic MHD fluid with a double fractional Maxwell model

Abstract

A double fractional Maxwell model is developed to study the boundary layer flow of viscoelastic MHD fluid over a stretching sheet. Based on the Caputo operators, fractional boundary layer equations are solved numerically by the finite difference method. The effects of stress fractional parameter α and strain fractional parameter βon the flow characteristics are analyzed. It is worth mentioning that the viscoelastic MHD fluid described by the double fractional Maxwell model presents solid-like behavior or fluid-like behavior for different α and β, which agree well with the classical work of Friedrich. The results indicate that the greater the α is, the stronger the elastic characteristic and the oscillating phenomenon is. However, as the βdecreasing, the fluid represents viscous fluid-like behavior.