Effects of pressure gradient on steady forced convection using homotopy analysis method (HAM)

Abstract

The study of convective heat transfer has generated many interests and become more important recently because of their wide applications in engineering and in several industrial processes. In this dissertation, the effects of pressure gradient and Prandtl number on velocity and temperature profiles on convective heat transfer in boundary layer over a flat plate are discussed. The governing boundary layer equations are transformed into a system of non-dimensional equations and then solved using Homotopy Analysis Method. This method provides the freedom to choose the initial guess function. This is used to solve the boundary layer problem. The approximate analytical results are then compared with published results obtained by Homotopy Perturbation Method and Finite Difference Method. This study is focused on comparing the accuracy of results and applicability of the three methods which are HAM, HPM and NM. Homotopy analysis method which is an approximate analytical approach compares between the HPM and NM reveals that the HAM technique is a powerful tool for the boundary layer. Results of HAM in the absence of pressure gradient are better than the HPM and Numerical Method (Finite Difference Method).