A comparative study of unsteady MHD Falkner-Skan wedge flow for non-Newtonian nanofluids considering thermal radiation and activation energy

Boundary layer flow is very important in many engineering applications, such as thermal padding, oil bed retrieval, percolation, heat exchangers, and geothermal analysis. In this study, we explore unsteady magnetohydrodynamic bioconvective stagnation-point boundary layer flow over a wedge. The heat and mass transfer in Jeffrey and Oldroyd-B nanofluids in the presence of chemical reactions and under radiation effects are considered to develop a system of equations. The governing equations are transformed to a system of ordinary differential equations by employing suitable transformations, and the reduced system of equations is solved using the finite element technique (FEM). The effect of various parameters on the velocity, microrotation, temperature, microbe compactness, and concentration of nanoparticles are determined. The Nusselt number increases with the Brownian motion parameter (Nb) and thermophoresis parameter (Nt). The Nusselt number is higher for elongating wedges than shrinking wedges. The Sherwood number increases with the reaction rate (Omega) and activation energy parameter. A detailed parametric study is carried out, and the results are presented in graphical and tabular forms. The code performance and the exactness of the numerical scheme are verified by comparing our results with those in the literature.

Automated summary

Boundary layer flow is of great importance in engineering applications, and this study focuses on unsteady magnetohydrodynamic bioconvective stagnation-point boundary layer flow over a wedge. By considering chemical reactions and radiation effects, and solving a system of ordinary differential equations using the finite element technique, the influence of various parameters on fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics is investigated.