Chemical reaction on MHD flow and heat transfer of a nanofluid near the stagnation point over a permeable stretching surface with non-uniform heat source/sink

Abstract

A numerical investigation has been conducted to study the laminar, boundary layer stagnation point flow of a nanofluid over a permeable, vertical stretching sheet. The model used incorporates the effects of Brownian motion with thermophoresis in the presence of uniform magnetic field and non-uniform source/sink under the influence of chemical reaction. Governing partial differential equations are transformed into a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations using suitable similarity transformations. The transformed equations are then solved numerically using well known Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg method of fourth-fifth order with the help of symbolic software MAPLE. The influence of governing parameters on flow field, temperature and nanoparticle volume fraction profiles are provided both in graphical and tabular form. It is observed that heat source/sink with thermophoresis particle deposition in the presence of magnetic field have a substantial effect on the flow field and thus, on the heat and mass transfer rate from the sheet to the fluid. As the strength of the chemical reaction is higher than the thermophoresis particle deposition, nanoparticle volume fraction of the fluid gradually decreases. A comparative study has been conducted and is found to be in excellent agreement.

Keywords: Stagnation point flow; Chemical reaction; Heat transfer; Stretching surface; Nanofluid; Numerical solution.