2017 Volume 12 Issue 2 Pages JTST0026
The influences of thermal radiation and non -uniform heat source/sink in Falkner-Skan flow and heat transfer characteristics of nanofluids have been investigated. Three different types of nanoparticles, namely Copper, Cu, Alumina Al2O3, and Titania TiO2 are considered by using water-based fluid with Prandtl number Pr = 6.2. The partial differential equations are transformed into the system of ordinary differential equations by applying similarity transformations which is then solved numerically. The result revealed that utilizing Cu-water nanofluid enhanced the heat transfer rate in comparison with Al2O3 -water and TiO2 -water nanofluids. The heat transfer rate is significantly boosted with an increase in the radiation parameter. Further, the opposite trend is observed with an increase in source/sink parameters and Eckert number.