Chebyshev finite difference method for the effects of variable viscosity and variable thermal conductivity on heat transfer to a micro-polar fluid from a non-isothermal stretching sheet with suction and blowing

The effects of variable viscosity and variable thermal conductivity on heat transfer from a stretching sheet to a micropolar fluid are analyzed using the theory of micro-polar fluids formulated by Eringen. The fluid viscosity and the thermal conductivity are assumed to vary as inverse linear functions of temperature. By means of the similarity solutions, deviation of the velocity, micro-rotation and temperature fields from their constant values are determined numerically by using Chebyshev finite difference method. (c) 2005 Published by Elsevier Ltd.