Thermal radiation effect on a mixed convection flow and heat transfer of the Williamson fluid past an exponentially shrinking permeable sheet with a convective boundary condition

Abstract

The thermal radiation effect on a steady mixed convective flow with heat transfer of a nonlinear (non-Newtonian) Williamson fluid past an exponentially shrinking porous sheet with a convective boundary condition is investigated numerically. In this study, both an assisting flow and an opposing flow are considered. The governing equations are converted into nonlinear ordinary differential equations by using a suitable transformation. A numerical solution of the problem is obtained by using the Matlab software package for different values of the governing parameters. The results show that dual nonsimilar solutions exist for the opposing flow, whereas the solution for the assisting flow is unique. It is also observed that the dual nonsimilar solutions exist only if a certain amount of mass suction is applied through the porous sheet, which depends on the Williamson parameter, convective parameter, and radiation parameter.