Effects of magnetic field and thermal radiation on stagnation flow and heat transfer of a power-law fluid over a shrinking sheet (Q275902)

Summary: An analysis is made on the steady two-dimensional boundary layer magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stagnation-point flow and radiative heat transfer of an electrically conducting power-law fluid over a shrinking sheet which is shrunk in its own plane with a velocity proportional to the distance from a fixed point. The similarity transformations are used to transform the boundary layer equations into a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations which are then solved numerically using shooting technique. It is found that multiple solutions exist for a certain range of the ratio of the shrinking velocity to the free stream velocity (i.e., \(\alpha \)) which again depends on the magnetic parameter (\(M\)) and the power-law index parameter (\(n\)). The results pertaining to the present study indicate that as the strength of the magnetic parameter increases, the range of \(\alpha \) where similarity solutions exist gradually increases. It is also observed that the temperature at a point decreases with increase in \(M\) for the first solution branch, whereas it increases with increase in \(M\) for the second solution branch. The reported results are in good agreement with the available published work in the literature.