Free convection about a vertical frustum of a cone in a micropolar fluid

The paper studies the problem of free convection about a vertical frustum of a cone in a micropolar fluid. It is assumed that the flow is steady, and the surface temperature of the frustum of the cone is constant. Another assumption is that the angles of the frustum of the cone are large enough so that the transverse curvature effects are negligible. Under these assumptions, the governing boundary layer equations subjected to appropriate boundary conditions are first written in a non-dimensional form. These equations are then transformed into a set of non-similar partial differential equations of parabolic type, which is amenable to a direct numerical solution, using a very efficient method known as Keller-box method. Numerical solutions are obtained for a range values of the micropolar parameter Delta varying between Delta = 0 (Newtonian fluid) to Delta = 2 and Prandtl number Pr is varied from 0.1 to 10. Flow and heat transfer characteristics are determined and are given in tables and also shown on graphs. The obtained results are also compared with those known from the open literature and it is found that they are in excellent agreement. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.