Numerical investigation on MHD micropolar fluid flow toward a stagnation point on a vertical surface with heat source and chemical reaction

In this paper, the steady magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) mixed convection stagnation point flow of an incompressible and electrically conducting micropolar fluid past a vertical flat plate is investigated. The effects of induced magnetic field, heat generation/absorption and chemical reaction have been taken into account during the present study. Numerical solutions are obtained by using the Runge–Kutta fourth order scheme with shooting technique. The skin friction and rate of heat and mass transfer at the bounding surface are also calculated. The generality of the present study is assured of by discussing the works of Ramachandran et al. (1988), Lok et al. (2005) and Ishak et al. (2008) as particular cases. It is interesting to note that the results of the previous authors are in good agreement with the results of the present study tabulated which is evident from the tabular values. Further, the novelty of the present analysis is to account for the effects of first order chemical reaction in a flow of reactive diffusing species in the presence of heat source/sink. The discussion of the present study takes care of both assisting and opposing flows. From the computational aspect, it is remarked that results of finite difference (Ishak et al. (2008)) and Runge–Kutta associated with shooting technique (present method) yield same numerical results with a certain degree of accuracy. It is important to note that the thermal buoyancy parameter in opposing flow acts as a controlling parameter to prevent back flow. Diffusion of lighter foreign species, suitable for initiating a destructive reaction, is a suggestive measure for reducing skin friction. © 2014