Effect of viscous dissipation in natural convection along a heated vertical plate

The steady laminar boundary layer flow along a vertical stationary heated plate is studied taking into account the viscous dissipation of the fluid. The results are obtained with the numerical solution of the boundary layer equations. Both upward and downward flow is considered for the isothermal and uniform flux case. It is found that the interaction between the viscous heating and the buoyancy force has a strong influence on the results.