Numerical exploration of thermal radiation and Biot number effects on the flow of a non-Newtonian MHD Williamson fluid over a vertical convective surface

A theoretical and computational study of the magnetohydrodynamic flow and free convection heat transfer in an electroconductive polymer on the external surface of a vertical plate under radial magnetic field is presented. The Biot number effects are considered at the vertical plate surface via modified boundary conditions. The Williamson viscoelastic model is employed which is representative of certain industrial polymers. The nondimensional, transformed boundary layer equations for momentum and energy are solved with the second-order accurate implicit Keller box finite difference method under appropriate boundary conditions. Validation of the numerical solutions is achieved via benchmarking with earlier published results. The influence of Weissenberg number (ratio of the relaxation time of the fluid and time scale of the flow), magnetic body force parameter, stream-wise variable, and Prandtl number on thermo fluid characteristics are studied graphically and via tables. A weak elevation in temperature accompanies increasing Weissenberg number, whereas a significant acceleration in the flow is computed near the vertical plate surface with increasing Weissenberg number. Nusselt number is reduced with increasing Weissenberg number. Skin friction and Nusselt number are both reduced with increasing magnetic field effect. The model is relevant to the simulation of magnetic polymer materials processing.