UDC 536.25

M. Sajid1), N. Ali2), 
Z. Abbas2), and T. Javed2)

FLOW OF A MICROPOLAR FLUID OVER A CURVED STRETCHING SURFACE
The paper is devoted to the numerical solution of the problem of the flow of a micropolar fluid over a curved stretching surface. A similarity transformation is applied to reduce a system of partial differential equations to a system of ordinary differential equations. The numerical solution of these coupled equations is carried out by the shooting method using the Runge<196>Kutta algorithm. The physical quantities of interest, like the fluid velocity, microrotation velocity, and pressure, are obtained and discussed as functions of the nondimensional curvature radius. It is evident from the results that the pressure inside the boundary layer cannot be neglected for a curved stretching sheet, as distinct from a flat stretching sheet. Keywords: micropolar fluid, stretching sheet, curved sheet, numerical solution. 1)Theoretical Plasma Physics Division, PINSTECH, P.O. Nilore, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan; National Centre for Physics, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan; email: sajidqau2002@yahoo.com; 2)Department of Mathematics, International Islamic University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan. Original article submitted December 24, 2009; revision submitted July 1, 2010.