SIMILARITY SOLUTIONS OF THE RAYLEIGH PROBLEM FOR OSTWALD–DE WAEL ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTING FLUIDS

Abstract

We investigate in the present paper the magnetic Rayleigh problem, where a semi-infinite flat plate is moving with a power-law velocity, in a non-Newtonian power-law fluid (Ostwald–de Wael model). The non-stationary flow of this electrically conducting fluid in a transverse magnetic field is then analyzed. The solutions of this problem are obtained by means of similarity techniques. The main goal, is to investigate existence, uniqueness and behavior of such solutions, according to the values of the physical parameters.