Thermal stability for a reactive viscous flow in a slab

The paper deals with the effect of dimensionless non-Newtonian coefficient on the thermal stability of a reactive viscous liquid in steady flow between parallel heated plates. It is assumed that the liquid is symmetrically heated and the flow fully developed. Approximate analytical solution is obtained for the velocity of the flow and the criterion for which this solution is valid is determined. After the velocity distribution is known, the temperature distribution may be calculated. Disappearance of criticality (transition values) are obtained in the following cases: (i) bimolecular (ii) Arrhenius and (iii) sensitized temperature dependence. We have observed that non-linear effect from velocity and temperature fields introduced decaying for the transitional values of the dimensionless central temperature. Other effects of this non-linearity are reported. The results help to enhance understanding of the interplay between Newtonian and non-Newtonian thermal explosions.