FREE CONVECTION IN A POROUS MEDIUM WITH MAGNETIC FIELD, VARIABLE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES AND VARYING WALL TEMPERATURE

Abstract

Effects of magnetic field, variable viscosity and variable thermal conductivity on similarity solutions of free convection at a vertical flat plate in a porous medium are studied numerically. Excess of plate temperature over the temperature of the ambient fluid is assumed to vary as a power of function of  x, where x is the distance measured along the plate. The flow and heat transfer quantities are found to be functions of  C,λ, µ γ , k γ where C is  magnetic interaction parameter, λ is  power of index of the plate temperature and µ γ , k γ are  viscosity variation coefficient and thermal conductivity variation coefficient respectively. The cases of hot plate and cold plate are considered. Interesting features of the solutions are presented and discussed.