Mixed convection of a viscous dissipating fluid about a vertical flat plate

In this study, the effect of the viscous dissipation in steady, laminar mixed convection heat transfer from a heated/cooled vertical flat plate is investigated in both aiding and opposing buoyancy situations. The external flow field is assumed to be uniform. The governing systems of partial differential equations are solved numerically using the finite difference method. A parametric study is performed in order to illustrate the interactive influences of the governing parameters, mainly, the Richardson number, Ri (also known as the mixed convection parameter) and the Eckert number, Ec on the velocity and temperature profiles as well as the friction and heat transfer coefficients. Based on the facts the free stream is either in parallel or reverse to the gravity direction and the plate is heated or cooled, different flow situations are identified. The influence of the viscous dissipation on the heat transfer varied according to the situation. For some limiting cases, the obtained results are validated by comparing with those available from the existing literature. An expression correlating Nu in terms of Pr, Ri and Ec is developed.