Mixed convection flow from a convectively heated vertical porous plate with combined effects of suction/injection, internal heat generation and nonlinear thermal radiation

This article explored the mixed convection flow from a convectively heated vertical porous plate influenced by nonlinear thermal radiation with suction/injection. The significant effect of the internal heat generation is also taken into account. The boundary layer approximation equations responsible for the flow characteristics are formulated and translated to ordinary differential equations (ODEs) with the help of the similarity variable. The shooting technique is then employed to reduce the second-order ODEs to an initial value problem which is solved numerically by the Runge-Kutta method in maple software. Some of the results obtained are: that for weak mixed convection, the velocity and fluid temperature decay exponentially with suction whereas appreciating with fluid injection. The radiative heat flux boosts the fluid temperature and in turn propagates the fluid flow. The internal heat generation (lambda(x)) serves as a barrier for the heat flow from the left plate surface to the right plate surface except the mixed convection is resiliently sufficient to counter the generated heat and heat conducted via the plate from its left surface. However, for a weak lambda(x), the heat transfer from the left to right plate surface is feasible even with weak mixed convection. For lambda(x) < I, the wall temperature is less than I and the heat transfer flows from the wall into the free stream. However, for lambda(x) >= I, the heat transfer flow back into the wall. With weak convection and buoyancy effect, the heat transfer could be increased by increasing the internal heat generation but the contrary is true for nonlinear thermal radiation.