Unsteady free convection flow over a three-dimensional stagnation point with internal heat generation or absorption

Abstract

This paper considers the effect of heat generation proportional to p (T T ) ∞ − , where T is the local temperature and T ∞ is the ambient temperature, in unsteady free convection flow near the stagnation point region of a three-dimensional body. The fluid is considered in an ambient fluid under the assumption of a step change in the surface temperature of the body. The non-linear coupled partial differential equations governing the free convection flow are solved numerically using an implicit finite -difference method for different values of the governing parameters entering these equations. The results for the flow and heat characteristics when 2 ≤ p show that the transition from the initial unsteady-state flow to the final steady- state flow takes place smoothly. The behavior of the flow is seen strongly depend on the exponent p .