Forced and mixed convection boundary layer flow along a flat plate with variable viscosity and variable Prandtl number: new results

The steady laminar boundary layer flow along a flat plate is studied taking into account the variation of fluid viscosity and fluid Prandtl number with temperature. In the forced convection case the plate moves with constant velocity and its temperature varies in power law with x. In the mixed convection case the plate temperature is constant and the fluid moves upwards due to an external free stream and due to buoyancy forces. The results are obtained with the direct numerical solution of the boundary layer equations. The study concerns the wall heat transfer, the wall shear stress and velocity and temperature profiles across the boundary layer. The results of the present work are different from those existing in the literature, which have been obtained with the assumption of constant Pr number.