Effects of non-Darcian on forced convection heat transfer over a flat plate in a porous medium-with temperature dependent viscosity

The non-Darcian effect on forced convection heat transfer over a flat plate in a porous medium is examined. The fluid viscosity is assumed to vary as an inverse linear function of temperature. The effects of inertia forces and the distance from the leading edge of the plate on the velocity and temperature fields as well as on the skin friction and heat transfer coefficients in the boundary layer over a semi-infinite plate are studied. The nonlinear boundary layer equations, governing the problem under consideration, are solved numerically by applying an efficient numerical technique based on the Keller box method. The velocity profiles, temperature profiles and the skin friction components on the plate are computed and discussed in detail numerically for various values of the variable viscosity parameter, the modified Reynolds number, the stream wise coordinate and the Prandtl number. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.