The effects of variable fluid properties on the hydro-magnetic flow and heat transfer over a non-linearly stretching sheet

The influence of temperature-dependent fluid properties on the hydro-magnetic flow and heat transfer over a stretching surface is studied. The stretching velocity and the transverse magnetic field are assumed to vary as a power of the distance from the origin. It is assumed that the fluid viscosity and the thermal conductivity vary as an inverse function and linear function of temperature, respectively. Using the similarity transformation, the governing coupled non-linear partial differential equations are transformed into coupled non-linear ordinary differential equations and are solved numerically by the Keller-Box method. The governing equations of the problem show that the flow and heat transfer characteristics depend on five parameters, namely the stretching parameter, viscosity parameter, magnetic parameter, variable thermal conductivity parameter, and the Prandtl number. The numerical values obtained for the velocity, temperature, skin friction, and the Nusselt number are presented through graphs and tables for several sets of values of the parameters. The effects of the parameters on the flow and heat transfer characteristics are discussed. (C) 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.