Mixed Convection in Stagnation Flows Adjacent to Vertical Surfaces

Laminar mixed convection in two-dimensional stagnation flows around heated surfaces is analyzed for both cases of an arbitrary wall temperature and arbitrary surface heat flux variations. The two-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations and the energy equation governing the flow and thermal fields are reduced to a dimensionless form by appropriate transformations and the resulting system of ordinary differential equations is solved in the buoyancy assisting and opposing regions. Numerical results are obtained for the special cases for which locally similar solutions exist as a function of the buoyancy parameter. Local wall shear stress and heat transfer rates as well as velocity and temperature distributions are presented. It is found that the local Nusselt number and wall shear stress increase as the value of the buoyancy parameter increases in the buoyancy assisting flow region. A reverse flow region develops in the buoyancy opposing flow region, and dual solutions are found to exist in that flow regime for a certain range of the buoyancy parameter.