Pulsatile flow of blood and heat transfer with variable viscosity under magnetic and vibration environment

•We have investigated the pulsatile MHD flow of blood and heat transfer in arteries.•The influence of periodic body acceleration has been taken into account.•The temperature dependent viscosity of blood is considered.•The variable viscosity has an increasing effect on blood flow and heat transfer.•The overall temperature distribution enhances in the presence of magnetic field.

Unsteady flow of blood and heat transfer characteristics in the neighborhood of an overlapping constricted artery have been investigated in the presence of magnetic field and whole body vibration. The laminar flow of blood is taken to be incompressible and Newtonian fluid with variable viscosity depending upon temperature with an aim to provide resemblance to the real situation in the physiological system. The unsteady flow mechanism in the constricted artery is subjected to a pulsatile pressure gradient arising from systematic functioning of the heart and from the periodic body acceleration. The numerical computation has been performed using finite difference method by developing Crank–Nicolson scheme. The results show that the volumetric flow rate, skin-friction and the rate of heat transfer at the wall are significantly altered in the downstream of the constricted region. The axial velocity profile, temperature and flow rate increases with increase in temperature dependent viscosity, while the opposite trend is observed in the case of skin-friction and flow impedance.