Instability of hydromagnetic Couette flow for hybrid nanofluid through porous media with small suction and injection effects

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate a linear and temporal stability analysis of hybrid nanofluid flow between two parallel plates filled with a porous medium and whose lower plate is fixed and the upper plate animated by a uniform rectilinear motion.

Design/methodology/approach

The nanofluid is composed of water as a regular fluid, silver (Ag) and alumina (Al₂O₃) as nanoparticles. The mathematical model takes into account other effects such as the magnetic field and the aspiration (injection/suction). Under the assumption of a low magnetic Reynolds number, a modified Orr–Sommerfeld-type eigenvalue differential equation governing flow stability was derived and solved numerically by Chebyshev’s spectral collocation method. The effects of parameters such as volume fraction, Darcy number, injection/suction Reynolds number, Hartmann number were analyzed.

Findings

It was found the following: the Darcy number affects the stability of the flow, the injection/suction Reynolds number has a negligible effect, the volume fraction damped disturbances and the magnetic field plays a very important role in enlarging the area of flow stability.

Originality/value

The originality of this work resides in the linear and temporal stability analysis of hydromagnetic Couette flow for hybrid nanofluid through porous media with small suction and injection effects.

Citation

Tiam Kapen, P., Njingang Ketchate, C.G., Fokwa, D. and Tchuen, G. (2022), "Instability of hydromagnetic Couette flow for hybrid nanofluid through porous media with small suction and injection effects", International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, Vol. 32 No. 2, pp. 616-641. https://doi.org/10.1108/HFF-12-2020-0814