Study of Heat Transfer Characteristics in the Boundary Layer of a Visco-Elastic Fluid Under Varying Influencing Parameters

The heat transfer characteristics of a visco-elastic fluid within the boundary layer formed by the passage of a sheet stretching at a uniform rate through it are studied under varying influencing parameters using a numerical technique. The influence of considering or ignoring elastic deformation in the thermal analysis is studied in the presence of chosen values of non-dimensional parameters like Prandtl number (Pr) and Eckert number (E). Two cases of sheet surface conditions are considered — (i) PST case involving prescribed surface temperature and (ii) PHF case involving prescribed heat flux at the surface. The results of this numerical study are diagrammatically represented with appropriate conclusions drawn on the influence of the above parameters considered in isolation or together. The trend of results is seen to agree well with those of other researchers who used other solution techniques. A judious choice of the above two principal non-dimensional parameters is suggested for application to a cooling process typical of a polymer extrusion industry.