Magneto-hydro dynamic flow and heat transfer of non-Newtonian power-law fluid over a non-linear stretching surface with viscous dissipation

A fluid flow and heat transfer analysis of an electrically conducting non-Newtonian power law fluid flowing over a non-linear stretching surface in the presence of a transverse magnetic field taking into consideration viscous dissipation effects is investigated. The stretching velocity, the temperature and the transverse magnetic field are assumed to vary in a power-law with the distance from the origin. The flow is induced due to an infinite elastic sheet which is stretched in its own plane. The governing equations are reduced to non-linear ordinary differential equations by means of similarity transformations. By using quasi-linearization techniques first linearize the non linear momentum equation is linearized and then the coupled ordinary differential equations are solved numerically by an implicit finite difference scheme. The numerical solution is found to be dependent on several governing parameters, including the magnetic field parameter, power-law index, Eckert number, velocity exponent parameter, temperature exponent parameter, modified Prandtl number and heat source/sink parameter. A systematic study is carried out to illustrate the effects of these parameters on the fluid velocity and the temperature distribution in the boundary layer. The results for the local skin-friction coefficient and the local Nusselt number are tabulated and discussed.