Hybrid nanofluid flow towards a stagnation point on an exponentially stretching/shrinking vertical sheet with buoyancy effects

Purpose This paper aims to examine the hybrid nanofluid flow towards a stagnation point on an exponentially stretching/shrinking vertical sheet with buoyancy effects. Design/methodology/approach Here, the authors consider copper (Cu) and alumina (Al2O3) as hybrid nanoparticles while water as the base fluid. The governing equations are reduced to the similarity equations using similarity transformations. The resulting equations are programmed in Matlab software through the bvp4c solver to obtain their solutions. Findings The authors found that the heat transfer rate is greater for Al2O3-Cu/water hybrid nanofluid if compared to Cu/water nanofluid. Besides, the non-uniqueness of the solutions is observed for certain physical parameters. The authors also notice that the bifurcation of the solutions occurs in the downward buoyant force and the shrinking regions. In addition, the first solution of the skin friction and heat transfer coefficients increase with the added hybrid nanoparticles and the mixed convection parameter. The temporal stability analysis shows that one of the solutions is stable as time evolves. Originality/value The present work is dealing with the problem of a mixed convection flow of a hybrid nanofluid towards a stagnation point on an exponentially stretching/shrinking vertical sheet, with the buoyancy effects is taken into consideration. The authors show that two solutions are obtained for a single value of parameter for both stretching and shrinking cases, as well as for both buoyancy aiding and opposing flows. A temporal stability analysis then shows that only one of the solutions is stable and physically reliable as time evolves.