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Abstract

In this article, the magnetohydrodynamic natural convection boundary-layer flow on a sphere in a porous medium is studied numerically. The porous medium is saturated with an electrically conducting fluid and the fluid is subject to heat generation/absorption. A viscous flow model is presented using boundary-layer theory comprising the momentum and energy conservation equations. The governing boundary-layer equations are transformed into non-dimensional form using appropriate reference quantities. The resulting coupled non-linear system of partial differential equations is solved numerically using the differential quadrature method (DQM). The advantage of DQM, which was introduced as a promising method two decades ago, is that the solution is converged with a few grid points and hence the computational costs are reduced. Comparison is made between the results obtained by the DQM method and those obtained using the finite-difference method for the same operating conditions. A validation test is carried out for the case of infinite permeability (i.e. infinite Darcy number). The results of the present study were compared with the results of a similar investigation available in the literature. Close agreement between the two sets of results was noticed. A parametric study was performed in which the effect of various parameters on temperature and velocity fields, local Nusselt numbers, and wall friction coefficient were investigated.

Keywords

natural convection porous medium heat generation magnetohydrodynamic differential quadrature method sphere

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Heat generation/absorption effects on magnetohydrodynamic natural convection flow over a sphere in a non-Darcian porous medium

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