Unsteady mixed convection flow over a vertical stretching sheet in a parallel free stream with variable wall temperature

The objective of the paper is to investigate the numerical study of an unsteady two-dimensional mixed convection flow along a vertical semi-infinite power-law stretching sheet in a parallel free stream with a power-law wall temperature distribution of the form T-w(x) = T-infinity + Ax(2m-1). The unsteadiness is caused by the free stream velocity as well as by the stretching sheet velocity. The governing non-linear partial differential equations in the velocity and temperature fields are written in non-dimensional form using suitable transformations. The resulting final set of coupled non-linear partial differential equations is solved using an implicit finite difference scheme in combination with a quasi-linearization technique. The effects of various governing parameters on the velocity and temperature profiles are discussed in the present numerical study. In addition, the numerical results for the local skin friction coefficient and local Nusselt number are also presented. The numerically computed results are compared with previously reported work and are found to be in excellent agreement. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.