Flat plate drag in a micropolar fluid (Q1067878)

The drag experienced in a micropolar fluid is investigated by considering uniform streaming past a flat plate. Some recent results on the fundamental solution of the Oseen-linearization of the micropolar flow equations are used to reduce the problem to that of solving a scalar integral equation. The integral equation is analyzed by the application of both asymptotic and variational methods. Results indicate that the drag experienced in a micropolar fluid always exceeds that found in the absence of any micropolarity; however one of the parameters which characterizes a micropolar fluid can be used to minimize the drag.