Magnetohydrodynamic free convection of non-newtonian power-law fluids over a uniformly heated horizontal plate

Abstract

The MHD free convection flow of non-Newtonian power-law fluids over a horizontal plate subjected to a constant heat flux is studied. The results are presented for various values of the three influential parameters, i. e. the generalized Hartmann number, the generalized Prandtl number, and the non-Newtonian power-law viscosity index. Increasing the Hartmann number increases the thermal boundary-layer thickness and the surface temperature and consequently decreases the wall skin friction and Nusselt number. A lower generalized Prandtl number results in a larger skin friction coefficient and higher wall temperature as well as thicker thermal boundary-layer. The viscosity index is predicted to influence the flow conditions depending on the value of generalized Hartmann number. At high generalized Prandtl number numbers, by decreasing non-Newtonian power-law index, the wall skin friction, temperature scale, and thermal boundary-layer thickness are increased and the Nusselt number is decreased, while the opposite trend is observed for low generalized Prandtl number. A general correlation for the Nusselt number is derived using the numerical results.