Mixed convection similarity solutions on a horizontal surface (Q1087431)

The mixed convection boundary layer on a horizontal plate is considered for the two separate cases when there is a uniform free stream with the plate held fixed and when there is no outer flow but the plate is moving continuously with a uniform velocity along its length. In both cases we assume that power law temperature distribution on the plate which enables the governing equations to be reduced to similarity form. For the first problem we consider the range of buoyancy parameter for which there are dual solutions, showing how these dual solutions arise from a bifurcation and how the lower branch of solutions terminate as the buoyancy parameter tends to zero. For the second problem we show that there is a unique solution for all positive values of the buoyancy parameter and that for negative values the solution terminates at a singular solution with algebraic decay.