Exact solution for the unsteady flow of a semi-infinite micropolar fluid

The unsteady motion of an incompressible micropolar fluid filling a half-space bounded by a horizontal infinite plate that started to move suddenly is considered. Laplace transform techniques are used. The solution in the Laplace transform domain is obtained by using a direct approach. The inverse Laplace transforms are obtained in an exact manner using the complex inversion formula of the transform together with contour integration techniques. The solution in the case of classical viscous fluids is recovered as a special case of this work when the micropolarity coefficient is assumed to be zero. Numerical computations are carried out and represented graphically.