Natural Convection Heat and Mass Transfer in a Micropolar Fluid with Thermal and Mass Stratification

Abstract

The effects of thermal and solutal stratification on natural convection along a vertical plate embedded in a micropolar fluid are analyzed in both cases of buoyancy-assisting and buoyancy-opposing flows. The nonlinear governing equations and their associated boundary conditions are initially cast into dimensionless forms by pseudo-similarity variables. The resulting system of equations is then solved numerically using the Keller-box method. The numerical results are compared and found to be in good agreement with previously published results as special cases of the present investigation. The velocity, microrotation, temperature, and concentration profiles are shown for different values of the coupling number, thermal, and solutal stratification parameters. The numerical values of the skin friction, wall couple stress, heat and mass transfer rates for different values of governing parameters are also tabulated.

Keywords:

• Natural convection
• Micropolar fluid
• Thermal stratification
• Solutal stratification