Analytical Analysis of Effects of Buoyancy, Internal Heat Generation, Magnetic Field, and Thermal Radiation on a Boundary Layer over a Vertical Plate with a Convective Surface Boundary Condition

In this paper, the effects of magnetic field, thermal radiation, buoyancy force, and internal heat generation on the laminar boundary layer flow about a vertical plate in the presence of a convective surface boundary condition have been investigated. In the analysis, it is assumed that the left surface of the plate is in contact with a hot fluid, whereas a stream of cold fluid flows steadily over the right surface, and the heat source decays exponentially outwards from the surface of the plate. The governing nonlinear partial differential equations have been transformed into a set of coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations with the help of similarity transformation which were solved analytically by applying the optimal homotopy asymptotic method. The variations of fluid velocity and surface temperature for different values of the Grashof number, magnetic parameter, Prandtl number, internal heat generation parameter, Biot number, and radiation absorption parameter are tabulated, graphed, and interpreted in physical terms. A comparison with previously published results on similar special cases of the problem shows an excellent agreement.