Boundary-Layer Flow and Heat Transfer of Blasius and Sakiadis Problems in Nanofluids with Partial Slip and Thermal Convection

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the steady two-dimensional laminar boundary layer flow past a fixed (Blasius) or past a moving (Sakiadis) semi-infinite flat plate in water-based nanofluids with partial slip and thermal convective boundary condition. The similarity equations are solved numerically for three types of metallic or non-metallic nanoparticles such as copper (Cu), alumina (Al2O3), and Titania (TiO₂) in the base fluid of water with the Prandtl number Pr = 6.2 to investigate the effect of the solid volume fraction parameter ???? of the nanofluids. The governing partial differential equations are transformed into a system nonlinear ordinary differential equation using a similarity transformation which is then solved numerically using a shooting method in Maple software. The numerical results are presented in tables and graphs for the skin friction coefficient Cf and local Nusselt number Nu which represents the heat transfer rate at the surface as well as the velocity and temperature profile for a range of various parameters such as nanoparticles volume fraction, slip parameter and Biot number. The results indicate that the solid volume fraction affects the fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics.