Numerical solution of nonlinear diff. equations for heat transfer in micropolar fluids over a stretching domain

Abstract

A numerical study based on finite difference approximation is attempted to analyze the bulk flow, micro spin flow and heat transfer phenomenon for micropolar fluids dynamics through Darcy porous medium. The fluid flow mechanism is considered over a moving permeable sheet. The heat transfer is associated with two different sets of boundary conditions, the isothermal wall and isoflux boundary. On the basis of porosity of medium, similarity functions are utilized to avail a set of ordinary differential equations. The non-linear coupled ODE’s have been solved with a very stable and reliable numerical scheme that involves Simpson’s Rule and Successive over Relaxation method. The accuracy of the results is improved by making iterations on three different grid sizes and higher order accuracy in the results is achieved by Richardson extrapolation. This study provides realistic and differentiated results with due considerations of micropolar fluid theory. The micropolar material parameters demonstrated reduction in the bulk fluid speed, thermal distribution and skin friction coefficient but increase in local heat transfer rate and couple stress. The spin behavior of microstructures is also exhibited through microrotation vector N(η) .