Influence of particulate thermophoresis on convection heat and mass transfer in a slip flow of a viscoelasticity-based micropolar fluid

We focus on the intriguing particulate thermophoresis characterized by multi-dependent Soret number in a shear flow of a viscoelasticity-based micropolar fluid (VMF) over a stretching sheet in the existence of the slip condition. The multi-dependent Soret number involving the temperature field and micro-particle size factors is introduced to analyze the critical role of the particulate thermophoresis on the temperature and concentration profiles of a VMF. Such procedure being significant for convection heat and mass transfer has never yet been considered in the transport system of such non-Newtonian fluids. Theoretically, we find the larger particles more susceptible to the actuation of temperature gradient. The local Sherwood number increases linearly with the bulk temperature difference, while the thickness of the concentration boundary layer are decreased. We also find that the flow relaxation and slip behavior can give rise to the obvious reduction of local Nusselt number and Sherwood number in different ways. Moreover, these two behaviors are found to be inherently divergent in varying the local skin friction. A power law expression can fit well the dependence of the local skin friction on the slip parameter. The practical routes of heat and mass transfer in the complex fluids will be implemented by tuning the various physical parameters presented in this paper.