Mixed convection over a horizontal heated flat plate

Heat transfer results for laminar mixed forced and free convection flow over a heated, isothermal horizontal flat plate are obtained utilizing a finite difference method, as well as both local similarity and local nonsimilarity methods. Local Nusselt numbers, local friction factors, and representative velocity and temperature distributions are calculated for the entire range of the buoyancy parameter. It is found that fluids with lower Prandtl numbers are more sensitive to the buoyancy parameter, while fluids with higher Prandtl numbers are more sensitive to the forced convection parameter. It is shown that the Nusselt number and the friction factor increase with an increase in the buoyancy parameter, and their magnitudes are always higher than the corresponding values for pure forced and pure free convection. In addition, the velocity field is more sensitive to the buoyancy effect than the temperature field, and the velocity profiles exhibit a significant overshoot beyond their free stream value.