Effects of radiation and magnetic field on the mixed convection stagnation-point flow over a vertical stretching sheet in a porous medium

This paper is concerned with the two-dimensional mixed convection boundary layer magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stagnation-point flow through a porous medium bounded by a stretching vertical plate with thermal radiation. The stretching velocity and the surface temperature are assumed to vary linearly with the distance from the stagnation-point. The coupled partial differential equations are reduced into ordinary differential equations by using similarity transformations. The series solutions of the coupled non-linear system is obtained using an analytical technique namely the homotopy analysis method (HAM). Both cases of assisting and opposing flows are taken into account. The convergence, salient features of the flow and heat transfer characteristics are analyzed and discussed in detail through graphs. The values of skin friction coefficient and the local Nusselt number are tabulated in both cases of assisting and opposing flows. Comparison of the obtained results with the known numerical results (Ishak et al. (2006) [25]) of hydrodynamic flow in absence of porous medium and thermal radiation is made and an excellent agreement is noted. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.