Meccanica (2014) 49:2439–2451

DOI 10.1007/s11012-014-9995-9

Effects of temperature dependent fluid properties

and variable Prandtl number on the transient convective
flow due to a porous rotating disk
M. S. Alam • S. M. Chapal Hossain •

M. M. Rahman

Received: 22 March 2014 / Accepted: 16 June 2014 / Published online: 1 July 2014
Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Abstract In this paper we have studied the effects of Therefore, modeling thermal boundary layers with
temperature dependent fluid properties such as den- temperature dependent fluid properties Prandtl num-
sity, viscosity and thermal conductivity and variable ber must treated as variable inside the boundary layer.
Prandtl number on unsteady convective heat transfer
flow over a porous rotating disk. Using similarity Keywords Variable fluid properties  Variable
transformations we reduce the governing nonlinear Prandtl number  Unsteady flow  Rotating disk  Heat
partial differential equations for flow and heat transfer transfer
into a system of ordinary differential equations which
are then solved numerically by applying Nachtsheim– List of symbols
Swigert shooting iteration technique along with sixth- a, b Constants
order Runge–Kutta integration scheme. Comparison Cf Skin-friction coefficient
with previously published work for steady case of the cp Specific heat at constant pressure
problem were performed and found to be in very good d Constant
agreement. The obtained numerical results show that F Dimensionless radial velocity
the rate of heat transfer in a fluid of constant properties G Dimensionless tangential velocity
is higher than in a fluid of variable properties. The H Dimensionless axial velocity
results further show that consideration of Prandtl Nu Nusselt number
number as constant within the boundary layer for p Pressure within the boundary layer
variable fluid properties lead unrealistic results. p? Pressure of the ambient fluid
Pr Variable Prandtl number
Pr? Ambient Prandtl number
qw Surface heat flux
R Rotational parameter
Re Rotational Reynolds number
M. S. Alam  S. M. C. Hossain
r Cylindrical radial coordinate
Department of Mathematics, Jagannath University,
Dhaka 1100, Bangladesh t Time
T Temperature within the boundary layer
M. M. Rahman (&) Tw Temperature at the surface of the disk
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, College of
T? Temperature of the ambient fluid
Science, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 36, P. C.
123 Al-Khod, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman u, v, w Velocities along radial, tangential and axial
e-mail: [email protected] direction, respectively

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2440 Meccanica (2014) 49:2439–2451

ws Non-dimensional suction/injection velocity considered by Millsaps and Pohlhausen [4] for a

ww Dimensional suction/injection velocity variety of Prandtl numbers in the steady state. Sparrow
z Cylindrical vertical coordinate and Gregg [5] studied the steady state heat transfer
from a rotating disk maintained at a constant temper-
Greek symbols ature to fluids at any Prandtl number. Attia [6] studied
c Relative temperature difference parameter the problem of unsteady MHD flow near a rotating
q Density of the fluid porous disk with uniform suction or injection. Male-
q? Density of the ambient fluid que and Sattar [7] analyzed transient convective flows
l Coefficient of dynamic viscosity due to a rotating disc with magnetic field and heat
l? Dynamic viscosity of the ambient fluid absorption.
j Thermal conductivity In usual thermal boundary layer analysis fluid
j? Thermal conductivity of the ambient fluid properties such as density, viscosity, and thermal
g Similarity variable conductivity are assumed to be constant; however,
t? Kinematic viscosity of the ambient fluid experiments indicate that this assumption only makes
d Time dependent length scale sense if the temperature does not change rapidly for
k Unsteadiness parameter the application of interest. To predict the flow and heat
u Tangential coordinate transfer characteristics accurately, it is necessary to
sr Radial shear stress consider these properties as variables. Zakerullah and
st Tangential shear stress Ackroyd [8] studied laminar natural convection
h Dimensionless temperature boundary layers on horizontal circular disks. Herwig
X Angular velocity and Klemp [9] investigated variable properties effects
of fully developed laminar flow in concentric annuli.
Maleque and Sattar [10] studied the effects of Hall
current and variable viscosity on an unsteady MHD
1 Introduction laminar convective flow due to a rotating disc. Attia
[11] analyzed the problem of unsteady flow and heat
Rotating disk flow along with heat transfer is one of transfer of viscous incompressible fluid with temper-
the classical problems of fluid mechanics, which has ature dependent viscosity due to a rotating disk in a
both theoretical and practical values. Rotating disk porous medium. The effects of variable fluid proper-
flows have practical applications in many areas, such ties (density, viscosity and thermal conductivity) and
as rotating machinery, lubrication, oceanography, Hall current on the steady MHD laminar convective
computer disk drives, viscometry, and crystal growth flow due to a porous rotating disk have been
processes etc. von-Karman [1] was the pioneer investigated by Maleque and Sattar [12]. Rahman
researcher who study the fluid flows due to an infinite [13] investigated steady hydromagnetic convective
rotating disk. He gave a formulation of the problem flow due to a porous rotating disk in the presence of
and then introduced his famous transformations which viscous dissipation and Joule heating considering
reduced the governing partial differential equations to variable fluid properties. Rahman and Postelnicu [14]
ordinary differential equations and solved them by studied effects of thermophoresis on the forced
approximate integral method. But Cochran [2] pointed convective laminar flow of a viscous incompressible
out that von Karman’s momentum integral solutions fluid over a rotating disk. They have shown that
contained errors and therefore he obtained more thickness of the thermal boundary layer decreases
accurate results by patching two series expansion. It with the increase of the Prandtl number even in the
has been found that the disk acts like a centrifugal fan presence of thermophoresis.
and hence the fluid flows near the surface being thrown The thickness of the thermal boundary layer
radially upwards. This in turn generates an axial flow relative to the velocity boundary layer depends on
towards the disk to maintain continuity. Benton [3] the Prandtl number. By definition Prandtl number
improved Cochran’s solutions and solved the unsteady varies directly with the fluid viscosity and inversely
problem. The problem of heat transfer from a rotating with the thermal conductivity of the fluid. As the
disk maintained at a constant temperature was first viscosity vary with temperature so does the Prandtl

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Meccanica (2014) 49:2439–2451 2441

number. Despite this fact, all of the afore-mentioned w

studies treated the Prandtl number as a constant. The v
u
use of a constant Prandtl number within the
boundary layer when the fluid properties are tem- z
perature dependent, introduces errors in the com-
puted results. Pantokratoras [15] investigated some P∞
new results on forced and mixed convection T∞
boundary layer flow along a flat plate with variable
viscosity and variable Prandtl number while Pan- r
tokratoras [16] further studied non-darcian forced φ
x
convection heat transfer over a flat plate in a porous
medium with variable viscosity and variable Prandtl y
Tw
number. Recently, Rahman et al. [17], Rahman and Ω
Salauddin [18], Rahman et al. [19], Rahman and
Eltayeb [20] have studied several thermal boundary
layer problems taking into account the variability of
viscosity for both Newtonian and Non-Newtonian Fig. 1 Flow configurations and coordinate system
fluids in different geometry with various flow
conditions. All of these studies confirmed that for temperature Tw and far away from the wall; the free
the accurate prediction of the thermal characteristics stream is kept at a constant temperature T? and a
of variable viscosity, the Prandtl number must be constant pressure p?. A uniform suction or injection
treated as a variable rather than a constant. The through the disk is considered. The flow configurations
objective of the present study is to investigate the and geometrical coordinates are shown in Fig. 1.
effects of variable fluid properties on an unsteady We also assume that the fluid properties, viscosity
forced convective heat transfer flow due to porous (l), thermal conductivity ðjÞ and density (q) are
rotating disk taking into account the variable Prandtl function of temperature alone and obey the following
number. One of the main focuses behind this study laws (Jayaraj [21] and later used by Maleque and
is also to investigate how the Prandtl number varies Sattar [12] and Rahman [13]):
within the boundary layer when density, viscosity
and thermal conductivity is dependent on tempera- l ¼ l1 ½T=T1 a ; j ¼ j1 ½T=T1 b ; q ¼ q1 ½T=T1 d
ture. By introducing a similarity transformation the ð1Þ
governing non-linear partial differential equations is where a, b and d are arbitrary exponents and l?, j?
reduced to locally similar ordinary differential and q? are the viscosity, thermal conductivity and
equations which are solved numerically by applying density of the ambient fluid, respectively.
shooting method and the results are discussed from Based on the above mentioned assumptions, the
the physical point of view. Navier–Stokes equations and energy equation, which
are the governing equations of the problem, due to
2 Governing equations of the flow unsteady axially symmetric, compressible laminar
flow of a homogeneous fluid take the following form
Let us consider a disk which is placed at z = 0 in a (Maleque and Sattar [12], Rahman [13]):
cylindrical polar coordinate system (r, u, z) where z is o o o
the vertical axis with r and u as the radial and tangential ðqr Þ þ ðqruÞ þ ðqrwÞ ¼ 0; ð2Þ
ot or oz
axes, respectively. The disk is assumed to rotate with an    
angular velocity X about the zaxis and the viscous, ou ou v2 ou op o ou
q þu  þw ¼ þ l
compressible fluid occupies the region z [ 0. The ot or r oz or or or  
components of the flow velocity q are (u, v, w) in the o  u o ou
þ l þ l ;
direction of increasing (r, u, z), respectively. The or r oz oz
surface of the rotating disk is maintained at a uniform ð3Þ

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2442 Meccanica (2014) 49:2439–2451

   
ov ov uv ov o ov o  v
q þu þ þw ¼ þ l þ l dcð1 þ chÞ1 ½RHh0  kgh0  þ 2RF þ RH 0 ¼ 0; ð9Þ
ot or r oz or or or r   
  F 00 þ acð1 þ chÞ1 F 0 h0 þ kgF 0  R F 2  G2 þ HF 0
o ov
þ l ; ð4Þ
oz oz ð1 þ chÞda ¼ 0; ð10Þ
   
ow ow ow op o ow
q
ot
þu
or
þw
oz
¼ þ
oz or
l
or  G00 þ acð1 þ chÞ1 G0 h0 þ ½kgG0  Rð2FG þ G0 Þ

1o o ow ð1 þ chÞda ¼ 0; ð11Þ
þ ðlwÞ þ l ;
r or oz oz
ð5Þ H 00  P0 þ k½H 0  H ð1 þ chÞda ¼ 0; ð12Þ
   
oT oT oT o oT j oT 00 1 02 0 0
qcp þu þw ¼ j þ h þ bcð1 þ chÞ h þ Pr1 ½kgh  RHh 
ot or oz or or  r or ð13Þ
o oT ð1 þ chÞdb ¼ 0;
þ j : ð6Þ
oz oz 2
where R ¼ Xd d dd
t1 is the rotational parameter, k ¼ t1 dt is
The appropriate boundary conditions of the flow the unsteadiness parameter, Pr1 ¼
l 1 cp
is the ambient
j1
induced by the infinite disk (z = 0) which is started Tw T1
impulsively into steady rotation with constant angular Prandtl number and c ¼ T1 is the relative temper-
velocity X and a uniform suction/injection velocity ww ature difference parameter which is positive for a
through the disk are given by heated surface, negative for a cold surface and zero for
(i) On the surface of the disk (z = 0): uniform properties.
It is good to mention that for the existence of the
u ¼ 0; v ¼ Xr; w ¼ ww ; T ¼ Tw ; ð7aÞ similarity solution the parameter k ¼ td1 dd dt must be a
(ii) Matching with the quiescent free stream constant. Now by integrating along with the condition
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
(z ? ?): d = 0 when t = 0 we obtain d ¼ 2kt1 t. Now
choosing for example k = 2 this relation yields d ¼
u ¼ 0; v ¼ 0; p ¼ p1 ; T ¼ T1 : ð7bÞ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
2 t1 t which exactly corresponds to the usual scaling
factor considered for various unsteady boundary layer
flows (Schlichting [24]). Since d is a scaling factor as
3 Similarity analysis well as a similarity parameter, any other values of k
would not change the nature of the solution except that
In order to obtain similarity solution of the above the scale would be different.
governing equations the following similarity transfor- With reference to the transformation (8), the
mations which are little deviated from the usual von- boundary conditions (7) transform to
Karman transformations are introduced:

z 9 F ¼ 0; G ¼ 1; H ¼ ws ; h ¼ 1 at g ¼ 0; ð14aÞ
g ¼ ; u ¼ XrF ðgÞ; v ¼ XrGðgÞ; w ¼ XdH ðgÞ; >
=
d F ¼ 0; G ¼ 0; p ¼ 0 h ¼ 0 as g ! 1: ð14bÞ
T  T1 >
p ¼ p1 þ 2l1 XPðgÞ; hðgÞ ¼ : ; ww
Tw  T1 where ws ¼ Xd represents a uniform suction (ws \ 0)
ð8Þ or injection (ws [ 0) at the surface.

where d is a scale factor and is a function of time as

d = d(t) which follows from Sattar and Hossain [22] 4 Variable Prandtl number
and Rahman et al. [23].
Following the laws in (1) the unsteady governing The Prandtl number is a function of both viscosity and
partial differential Eqs. (2)–(6) are then transformed, thermal conductivity. Since as the viscosity and thermal
respectively to the following set of dimensionless conductivity varies across the boundary layer, the
nonlinear ordinary differential equations through the Prandtl number also varies. The assumption of constant
introduction of the transformations in (8): Prandtl number inside the boundary layer may produce

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Meccanica (2014) 49:2439–2451 2443

unrealistic results (Pantokratoras [15, 16], Rahman [13], number which indicate physically the wall shear stress
Rahman et al. [17], Rahman and Salauddin [18], and the rate of heat transfer, respectively. The action of
Rahman et al. [19], Rahman and Eltayeb [20]). There- the variable properties in the fluid adjacent to the disk
fore the Prandtl number related to the variable viscosity sets up a tangential shear stress, which opposes the
and variable thermal conductivity is defined as rotation of the disk. As a consequence, it is necessary to
provide a torque at the shaft to maintain a steady rotation
l cp l1 ð1 þ chÞa cp
Pr ¼ ¼ ¼ Pr1 ð1 þ chÞab ; The radial shear stress sr and tangential shear stress
j j1 ð1 þ chÞb st are defined by:
ð15Þ  
ou ow Xr
sr ¼ l þ ¼ l1 ð1 þ cÞa F 0 ð0Þ;
At the surface (g = 0) of the disk, this can be written as oz or z¼0 d
Prw ¼ ð1 þ cÞab Pr1 : ð16Þ ð18Þ
 
ov 1 ow Xr 0
From Eq. (15) it can be seen that for c ? 0, the st ¼ l þ ¼ l1 ð1 þ cÞa G ð0Þ:
oz r ou z¼0 d
variable Prandtl number Pr is equal to the ambient
Prandtl number Pr?. For g ? ?, i.e. outside the ð19Þ
boundary layer, h(g) becomes zero; therefore, Pr 2 2
Hence the skin-frictions (Cf = s/qX r ) along the
equals Pr? regardless of the values of c. radial and tangential directions are obtained as
Table 1 shows that the variation of the Prandtl
number at the surface of the disk for several values of c Cfr Reð1 þ cÞa ¼ F 0 ð0Þ; ð20Þ
a
for a fixed value of the ambient Prandtl number Cft Reð1 þ cÞ ¼ G0 ð0Þ; ð21Þ
Pr? = 0.64 and the exponents a = 0.7, b = 0.83.
From this table it is observed that for a positive value where Re ¼ Xrd=t1 is the rotational Reynolds
of c, Prandtl number at the surface of the disk Pr w number.
decreases as c increases. On the other hand, the opposite The rate of heat transfer from the disk surface to the
effect is observed when c is negative. Note that for fluid is computed by the application of Fourier’s law as
c B -1 no physically viable solutions exist. given below
 
In light of the above discussion and using Eq. (15), oT ðTw  T1 Þ 0
the non-dimensional temperature equation (13) can be qw ¼  j ¼ j1 ð1 þ cÞb h ð0Þ:
oz z¼0 d
expressed as
ð22Þ
h00 þ bcð1 þ chÞ1 h02 þ Pr ½kgh0  RHh0 
Hence the Nusselt number is obtained as
ð1 þ chÞda ¼ 0: ð17Þ
dqw
Nu ¼ ¼ ð1 þ cÞb h0 ð0Þ: ð23Þ
Equation (17) is the corrected non-dimensional form jðTw  T1 Þ
of the energy equation in which Prandtl number is
treated as variable (Rahman [13], Rahman et al. [17],
Rahman and Salauddin [18], Rahman et al. [19], 6 Method of solution
Rahman and Eltayeb [20]).
The set of Eqs. (9)–(12) and (17) are highly non-linear
and coupled and therefore the system cannot be solved
5 Parameters of engineering interest analytically. We dropped equation (12) from the system
as it can be used for calculating pressure once F and H are
The parameters of engineering interest for the present known from the rest of the equations. Therefore, the Eqs.
problem are the skin-friction coefficient and the Nusselt (9)–(11) and (17) with boundary conditions (14) have

Table 1 Values of Pr c -0.8 -0.5 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.5 1.0 3.0 5.0
versus c for Pr? = 0.64,
a = 0.7, b = 0.83, at g = 0 Pr 0.789 0.700 0.659 0.640 0.625 0.607 0.585 0.534 0.507

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2444 Meccanica (2014) 49:2439–2451

been solved numerically by using sixth order Runge– we considered our working fluid as flue gas. For flue
Kutta method along with Nachtsheim–Swigert [25] gases (ambient Prandtl number, Pr? = 0.64) the
shooting iteration technique (Alam et al. [26]) with R, values of the exponents a, b and d are taken as
k, Pr and c as prescribed parameters. A step size of a = 0.7, b = 0.83 and d = -1(Jayaraj [21]). The
Dg = 0.01 was selected to be satisfactory for a conver- default values of the other parameters throughout the
gence criterion of 10-6 in all cases. The value of g? was simulation are considered as R = 1.0, k = 0.5,
found to each iteration loop by the statement g? = c = 0.2 and Pr = 0.625 unless otherwise specified.
g? ? Dg. The maximum value of g? to each group of Figure 2a–d shows the variation of the dimension-
parameters R, k, Pr, and c determined when the value of less radial, tangential, inward axial velocity and
the unknown boundary conditions at g = 0 does not temperature profiles for various values of the relative
change to a successful loop with an error less than 10-6. temperature difference parameter c. From Fig. 2a, we
see that due to the existence of the centrifugal force the
6.1 Code verification radial velocity increases and attains its maximum
value for all values of c. The case c = 0 corresponds to
When k = 0 (i. e. for steady case), c = 0 (constant the constant property of the working fluid. It is also
property case), R = 1 and in the absence of heat and seen that the smallest maximum value of the radial
mass transfer, the present problem coincides with velocity is found for the case of constant property
those of Kelson and Desseaux [27] (herein and after (c = 0), which contradicts with Maleque and Sattar
referred as KD [27]). To assess the accuracy of the [12]. From Fig. 2b, c we see that the tangential
present code, we have calculated the values of F0 (0), velocity increases whereas the inward axial velocity
-G0 (0) and -h0 (0) for different values of ws in the decreases with the increasing values of c. It is seen
absence of heat and mass transfer. from Fig. 2d that the thickness of the thermal bound-
Table 2 presents a comparison of the data obtained ary layer increases markedly with the increase of c
in the present work and those obtained by KD [27]. It which again contradicts with the result of Maleque and
is clearly observed that very good agreement between Sattar [12]. Figure 2e shows that the variable Prandtl
the results exists. This lends confidence in the present number Pr decreases very rapidly within the boundary
numerical method. layer for the increase of c. For c = 0 variable Prandtl
number Pr equals the ambient Prandtl number Pr?.
From this figure it is also observe that for fixed of c
7 Results and discussion ([0), Pr increases as g increases and for g ? ?, i. e.
outside the boundary layer, it converges to its ambient
In order to investigate the effects of the pertinent value Pr?. It should be mentioned here that the above
parameters such as rotational parameter R, unsteadi- results are consistent with the work of Rahman [13] for
ness parameter k, relative temperature difference the steady case.
parameter c and Prandtl number Pr on the flow and The effects of suction/injection parameter (ws) on
heat transfer characteristics are presented graphically the radial, tangential and inward axial velocity profiles,
as well as tabulated form. For the present investigation temperature profiles and variable Prandtl number

Table 2 Numerical values ws F0 (0) -G0 (0) -h0 (0)

of F0 (0), -G0 (0) and -h0 (0)
for various values of ws KD [27] Present KD [27] Present KD [27] Present
with c = k = 0, R = 1 and
Pr = 0.71 4 0.243044 0.24304404 0.0289211 0.02892121 0.0000107 0.00001075
2 0.398934 0.39893387 0.135952 0.13595275 0.011013 0.01103604
1 0.489481 0.48948057 0.302173 0.30217432 0.084884 0.08504687
0 0.510233 0.51022378 0.615922 0.61592380 0.325856 0.32637889
-1 0.389569 0.38954065 1.175222 1.17526180 0.793048 0.79393633
-2 0.242421 0.24241310 2.038527 2.03859590 1.437782 1.43876482
-4 0.124742 0.12475268 4.005180 4.00526266 2.842381 2.84369011

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Meccanica (2014) 49:2439–2451 2445

Fig. 2 Variation of a radial (a) 0.1 (b)

velocity, b tangential 1.1
velocity, c axial velocity, 0.09 1
d temperature profile and
0.08 0.9
e variable Prandtl number
γ = 0.0, 0.2, 0.5, 1.0 0.8
for several values of c 0.07
0.7
0.06 γ = 0.0, 0.2, 0.5, 1.0
0.6

G
0.05

F
0.5
0.04
0.4
0.03
0.3
0.02 0.2
0.01 0.1
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 0 1 2 3 4 5
η η
(c) (d)
1.3 1
1.2
0.9
1.1
0.8
1
0.9 0.7
0.8 0.6 γ = 0.0, 0.2, 0.5, 1.0
0.7
-H

0.5

θ
0.6
0.5 0.4
0.4 0.3
0.3
0.2
0.2
0.1 γ = 0.0, 0.2, 0.5, 1.0 0.1

0 0
0 5 10 15 0 2 4 6
η η

(e)
0.66

0.65

0.64

0.63
Pr

0.62

0.61
γ = 0.0, 0.2, 0.5, 1.0

0.6

0.59

0.58
0 2 4 6
η

within the boundary layer have been shown in Fig. 3a– thickness of the boundary layer decreases as suction
e, respectively. It is seen from Fig. 3a, b that both the velocity increases. Therefore suction stabilized the
radial and tangential velocity profiles decrease very boundary layer growth. From Fig. 3c it is observe that
rapidly as the suction velocity (ws \ 0) intensifies. The for strong suction, inward axial velocity is nearly
maximum of the radial velocity profiles moves towards constant. The effect of suction parameter on the
the surface of the disk. It is also apparent that the thermal boundary layer is found to similar to those of

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2446 Meccanica (2014) 49:2439–2451

Fig. 3 Variation of a radial (a) (b)

velocity, b tangential 0.2 1
velocity, c axial velocity, ws = 1.0, 0.5, 0.0, -0.5, -1.0
0.18 0.9
d temperature profile and
0.16 0.8 ws= 1.0, 0.5, 0.0, -0.5, -1.0
e variable Prandtl number
for several values ofws 0.14 0.7
0.12 0.6

G
0.1 0.5

F
0.08 0.4
0.06 0.3
0.04 0.2
0.02 0.1
0 0
0 2 4 0 1 2 3 4 5
η η
(c) (d)
1.25 1
ws = 1.0, 0.5, 0.0, -0.5, -1.0
1 0.9
0.75 0.8 ws = 1.0, 0.5, 0.0, -0.5, -1.0
0.5 0.7
0.25 0.6
-H

0 0.5

θ
-0.25 0.4
-0.5 0.3
-0.75 0.2
-1 0.1
-1.25 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 2 4 6
η η
(e)
0.64

0.635
Pr

ws= 1.0, 0.5, 0.0, -0.5, -1.0

0.63

0.625
0 2 4 6
η

the radial and tangential velocity boundary layers. value of g, variable Prandtl number increases as the
Thus applying suction, one can control the flow and suction parameter increases while far away from the
heat transfer characteristics. In Fig. 3e we have plotted surface of the disk Pr equals its ambient value Pr?. An
variable Prandtl number as a function of g to show the opposite effect is observed for the case of fluid
variation of Prandtl number throughout the boundary injection (ws [ 0).
for several values of the suction parameter. From this The effects of rotational parameter R on the dimen-
figure we see that within the boundary layer for a fixed sionless radial, tangential and inward axial velocity

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Meccanica (2014) 49:2439–2451 2447

Fig. 4 Variation of a radial (a) (b)

velocity, b tangential 0.06 1
velocity, c axial velocity, R = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7
0.9
d temperature profile and 0.05
0.8 R = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7
e variable Prandtl number
for several values of R 0.7
0.04
0.6

G
0.03

F
0.5
0.4
0.02
0.3
0.2
0.01
0.1
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 0 1 2 3 4
η η
(c) (d)
1.5 1
1.25 R = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 0.9
1 0.8 R = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7
0.75 0.7
0.5 0.6
-H

0.25 0.5

θ
0 0.4
-0.25 0.3
-0.5 0.2
-0.75 0.1
-1 0
0 5 10 15 0 1 2 3 4 5
η η
(e)
0.64

0.635
Pr

R= 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7

0.63

0.625
0 2 4 6
η

profiles, temperature profiles and variable Prandtl of the rotational parameter. In Fig. 4e we have plotted
number within the boundary layer have been shown variable Prandtl number as a function of g to show the
in Fig. 4a–e, respectively. From these Fig. 4a–d we variation of Prandtl number throughout the boundary
observe that the radial and inward axial velocity profiles for several values of the rotational parameter. From this
increase whereas both the tangential velocity and figure we see that within the boundary layer for a fixed
temperature profiles decreases with increasing values value of g, variable Prandtl number increases as the

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2448 Meccanica (2014) 49:2439–2451

Fig. 5 Variation of a radial (a) (b)

velocity, b tangential 0.1 1
velocity, c axial velocity,
0.09 0.9
d temperature profile and
e variable Prandtl number 0.08 0.8
λ = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 1.0
for several values of k 0.07 0.7

0.06 0.6 λ = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 1.0

G
0.05 0.5

F
0.04 0.4

0.03 0.3

0.02 0.2

0.01 0.1

0 0
0 2 4 6 0 2 4 6
η η
(c) (d) 1
1.2
0.9

1.1 0.8

0.7
1
0.6 λ = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 1.0
0.9
-H

0.5

θ
0.8 0.4

0.3
0.7
0.2
0.6
λ = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 1.0
0.1

0.5 0
0 2 4 6 0 2 4 6
η η
(e)
0.64

0.635

λ = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 1.0

Pr

0.63

0.625
0 2 4 6
η

rotational parameter increases while far away from the respectively. From these figures we observe that the
surface of the disk Pr equals its ambient value Pr?. radial, tangential, inward axial velocity and tempera-
In Fig. 5a–e the influence of unsteadiness parameter ture profiles decrease with an increasing values of the
k on the dimensionless radial, tangential, inward axial unsteadiness parameter. It is seen from Fig. 5e that
velocity, temperature profiles and variable Prandtl within the boundary layer for a fixed value of g,
number across the boundary layer have been displayed, variable Prandtl number increases as the unsteadiness

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Meccanica (2014) 49:2439–2451 2449

(a) (a)
0.12 0.4

0.11
ws= -1.0, 0.0, 1.0 0.3
R = 0.1, 0.3, 0.7
0.1

0.09
F ' (0)

F' (0)
0.2
0.08

0.07
0.1

0.06

0.05 0
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
γ λ
(b) (b)
0 0

-0.1 -0.1
-0.2
-0.2 ws= -1.0, 0.0, 1.0 -0.3 R = 0.1, 0.3, 0.7
-0.3 -0.4
-0.4 -0.5
G ' (0)

G' (0)

-0.6
-0.5
-0.7
-0.6
-0.8
-0.7 -0.9

-0.8 -1
-1.1
-0.9
-1.2
-1
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
γ
λ
(c) (c)
0.6 1

0.9

0.5
0.8 R = 0.1, 0.3, 0.7
0.7
ws= -1.0, 0.0, 1.0 0.6
–θ (0)

–θ (0)

0.4 0.5

0.4

0.3
0.3
0.2

0.1

0.2 0
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
γ λ
Fig. 6 Effects of ws and c on a radial skin-friction, b tangential Fig. 7 Effects of k and R on a radial skin-friction, b tangential
skin-friction and c rate of heat transfer skin-friction and c rate of heat transfer

123
2450 Meccanica (2014) 49:2439–2451

parameter increases while far away from the surface of Table 3 Numerical values of -h0 (0) for different values of c
the disk Pr equals its ambient value Pr?. and for ws = -1, k = 0.5, R = 1
The variation of the radial and tangential skin- -h0 (0)
frictions and the rate of heat transfer for some selected
c (i) C Pr (ii) V Pr Absolute error
values of the suction/injection parameter ws with ¼ iii
ii  100 (%)
relative temperature difference parameter c have been
displayed in Fig. 6a–c, respectively. From these figures 0.0 0.94732705 0.94732705 0
we see that both radial and tangential skin-frictions 0.2 0.74041034 0.73362461 0.92496
increase whereas the rate of heat transfer decreases with 0.5 0.55480578 0.54425151 1.93921
increasing values of the suction parameter. 1.0 0.38990410 0.37836157 3.05068
Figure 7a–c, respectively depict the variation of the 3.0 0.17932399 0.17007314 5.43931
radial and tangential skin-frictions and the rate of heat 5.0 0.12380800 0.11000800 12.54454
transfer for some selected values of the unsteadiness
parameter k with rotational parameter R. From these
figures we see that both radial and tangential skin- From the present numerical investigations the
frictions decrease whereas the rate of heat transfer following major conclusions may be drawn:
increases with increasing values of the unsteadiness
parameter k. 1. The rate of heat transfer in a fluid of constant
At the end the significance of the relative temper- property is higher than in a fluid of variable property.
ature difference parameter (c) on the rate of heat 2. For modeling thermal boundary layers with
transfer for both variable Prandtl number (VPr) and temperature dependent fluid properties (viscosity,
constant Prandtl number (CPr) is tabulated in Table 3. thermal conductivity, density), Prandtl number
From this table it is seen that in both cases the rate of must treated as variable inside the boundary layer.
heat transfer from the surface of the disk to the fluid 3. The radial, tangential velocity and temperature
decreases for all increasing values of c. We also profiles increases whereas the inward axial
observe that the rate of heat transfer for the variable velocity decreases with the increasing values of c.
property case is lower than the constant property case 4. Mass flux at the surface helps to stabilize the
and the relative error between them increases signif- growth of the boundary layer thickness.
icantly with the increase of c. Therefore, consideration 5. Radial and inward axial velocity profiles increase
of Prandtl number as constant within the boundary whereas both the tangential velocity and temper-
layer for variable property is unrealistic ature profiles decreases with increasing values of
the rotational parameter.
6. Radial, tangential, inward axial velocity and
8 Conclusions temperature profiles decrease with an increasing
values of the unsteadiness parameter.
In this paper we have studied numerically the 7. Radial and tangential skin-frictions decrease
problem of unsteady convective heat transfer flow whereas the rate of heat transfer increases with
over a porous rotating disk taken into account the increasing values of the unsteadiness parameter.
temperature dependent density, viscosity and ther- 8. Both the radial and tangential skin-frictions
mal conductivity. Using similarity transformations increase whereas the rate of heat transfer decreases
the governing non-linear partial differential equa- with increasing values of the suction parameter.
tions have been transferred into a system of ordinary
differential equations which are solved numerically
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