Combined free and forced convection flow in a rotating channel with arbitrary conducting walls

Abstract

Combined free and forced convection flow of a viscous incompressible electrically conducting fluid in a rotating channel is studied. Analytical solution for the velocity and induced magnetic field is obtained in closed form. Asymptotic behavior of the solution for the velocity and induced magnetic field is analyzed for large values of magnetic parameter M2 and rotation parameter K2 to gain some physical insight into the flow pattern. The expressions for the shear stress and critical Grashof number at both the plates and mass flow rates are also derived. Numerical values of rate of heat transfer at both the plates are obtained with the help of MATLAB software. The numerical values of velocity and induced magnetic field are displayed graphically whereas that of shear stress at the upper plate, mass flow rate, critical Grashof number and rate of heat transfer at both the plates are presented in tabular form for various values of flow parameters.

Keywords: Wall conductance, free and forced convection, magnetic field, rotation, Ekman-Hartmann boundary layer, modified Ekman boundary layer.