Analytical solutions for the unsteady MHD rotating flow over a rotating sphere near the equator

Abstract

In this paper we investigate the three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) rotating flow of a viscous fluid over a rotating sphere near the equator. The Navier-Stokes equations in spherical polar coordinates are reduced to a coupled system of nonlinear partial differential equations. Self-similar solutions are obtained for the steady state system, resulting from a coupled system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations. Analytical solutions are obtained and are used to study the effects of the magnetic field and the suction/injection parameter on the flow characteristics. The analytical solutions agree well with the numerical solutions of Chamkha et al. [31]. Moreover, the obtained analytical solutions for the steady state are used to obtain the unsteady state results. Furthermore, for various values of the temporal variable, we obtain analytical solutions for the flow field and present through figures. © 2010 Versita Warsaw and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.