Unsteady mixed convection in micropolar boundary layer flow on a vertical plate

Abstract

By the use of the theory of micropolar fluids due to Eringen, boundary layer solutions are presented to study an unsteady combined convection of a micropolar fluid among a vertical plate. The unsteadiness arises and a result of time-varying nature of the free stream velocity as well as the wall temperature. Numerical results are obatained for the velocity, angular velocity and temperature fields. The effect of the buoyancy force results in the enhancements of friction factor, heat transfer rate and wall couple stress. Micropolar fluids display drag reduction and reduce surface heat transfer rate when compared to Newtonian fluids.