Heat and mass transfer in a vertical double passage channel filled with electrically conducting fluid

• MHD heat transfer in a double passage channel with first order chemical reaction is analyzed.
• Equations are solved by regular perturbation technique and differential transform method.
• Grashof, Brinkman and Hartmann numbers essentially affect heat transfer.
• Rise of Grashof and Brinkman numbers enhances the fluid flow at different baffle positions.

This paper investigates the influence of first order chemical reaction in a vertical double passage channel in the presence of applied electric field. The wall and ambient medium are maintained at constant but different temperatures and concentrations and the heat and mass transfer occur from the wall to the medium. The channel is divided into two passages by means of a thin perfectly conducting baffle. The coupled non-linear ordinary differential equations are solved analytically by using regular perturbation method (PM) valid for small values of Brinkman number. To understand the flow structure for large values of Brinkman number the governing equations are also solved by differential transform method (DTM) which is a semi-analytical method. The effects of thermal Grashof number (GrT=1,5,10,15), mass Grashof number (GrC=1,5,10,15), Brinkman number (Br=0,0.1,0.5,1), first order chemical reaction parameter (α=0.1,0.5,1,1.5α=0.1,0.5,1,1.5), Hartmann number (M=4,6,8,10M=4,6,8,10) and electrical field load parameter (E=−2,−1,0,1,2E=−2,−1,0,1,2) on the velocity, temperature and concentration profiles, volumetric flow rate, total heat rate, skin friction and Nusselt number are analyzed. It was found that the thermal Grashof number, mass Grashof number and Brinkman number enhances the flow whereas the Hartmann number and chemical reaction parameter suppresses the flow ​field. Also the obtained results have revealed that the heat transfer enhancement depends on the baffle position.