Effects of Thermal Radiation and Chemical Reaction on MHD Free Convection Flow past a Flat Plate with Heat Source and Convective Surface Boundary Condition

This paper analyzes the radiation and chemical reaction effects on MHD steady two-dimensional laminar viscous incompressible radiating boundary layer flow over a flat plate in the presence of internal heat generation and convective boundary condition. It is assumed that lower surface of the plate is in contact with a hot fluid while a stream of cold fluid flows steadily over the upper surface with a heat source that decays exponentially. The Rosseland approximation is used to describe radiative heat transfer as we consider optically thick fluids. The governing boundary layer equations are transformed into a system of ordinary differential equations using similarity transformations, which are then solved numerically by employing fourth order Runge-Kutta method along with shooting technique. The effects of various material parameters on the velocity, temperature and concentration as well as the skin friction coefficient, the Nusselt number, the Sherwood number and the plate surface temperature are illustrated and interpreted in physical terms. A comparison of present results with previously published results shows an excellent agreement.