Unsteady free convection and mass transfer flow of a non-newtonian fluid with thermal diffusion effect

Abstract

We study the unsteady free convection and mass transfer of a non-Newtonian fluid past an infinite vertical plate in the presence of thermal diffusion. Closed form analytical solutions are obtained for the concentration and the temperature distributions by means of the Laplace transform technique on the assumption that the thermal conductivity, k, of the fluid is small. Consequences of the thermal diffusion effect (the Dufour term Df) are then discussed quantitatively. (Botswana Journal of Technology: 2002 11(1): 52-56)