Similarity solution of marangoni convection boundary layer flow over a flat surface in a nanofluid

The problem of steady marangoni boundary layer flow and heat transfer over a flat plate in a nanofluid is studied using different types of nanoparticles. the general governing partial differential equations are transformed into a set of two nonlinear ordinary differential equations using unique similarity transformation. numerical solutions of the similarity equations are obtained using the runge-kutta-fehlberg (rkf) method. three different types of nanoparticles are considered,namely,cu,al2o3,and tio2,by using water as a base fluid with prandtl number pr=6.2. the effects of the nanoparticle volume fraction φ and the constant exponent m on the flow and heat transfer characteristics are obtained and discussed. © 2013 norihan md. arifin et al.