The phenomenological theory of thermodynamic coupling in multicomponent compressible laminar boundary-layers

Thermodynamic couplings due to thermal diffusion, diffusion-thermo, and ob aliam diffusion effects in multicomponent compressible laminar boundary-layers and in stagnation-point flows with blowing or suction, are analyzed, and compared with other available analyses for simpler specific cases. The mathematical treatment includes new definitions of generalized Prandtl, Lewis and Schmidt numbers for coupled heat and multicomponent mass transfer. Using matrix notation and introducing new transformations, the energy and the species conservations equations are decoupled and transformed into a widely useful single compact energy species equations. For frozen multicomponent boundary-layer flows, the generalized energy-species equation is of the same form as the energy equation for the simplest case, i.e. the energy equation in terms of total enthalpy for single-component-boundary-layer flows in the absence of thermodynamic coupling. Hence solutions for generalized flows, which are presented in transformed forms, are obtainable from known solutions of the "simpler" cases. Similar solutions of coupled heat transfer at the stagnation point with and without blowing or suction are analyzed.