Boundary layer flow and stability analysis of forced convection over a diverging channel with variable properties of fluids

The objective of the current study is to investigate the forced convection laminar boundary layer flow over a flat plate in a diverging channel with variable viscosity. The physical governing equations are converted to nondimensional partial differential equations (PDEs) using similarity transformation. The coupled PDEs with boundary constrains are solved numerically using quasilinearization technique. Computational results are given in terms of flow parameter epsilon(0 < epsilon < 1), suction or injection A, and viscous dissipation parameter Ec. Stability analysis was conducted and the solutions were found to be stable for real values of gamma. We found that variable Prandtl number with quasilinearization technique method gives smoothness of solution compared to fixed Prandtl number. This is shown graphically for different fluids in Section 5. Also, the significant effect of the suction/injection parameter (A) on velocity, temperature profiles, skin friction, and heat transfer is observed.