Int. Journal of Applied Sciences and Engineering Research, Vol. 2, No. 5, 2013 www.ijaser.

com
Copyright 2013 - Integrated Publishing Association editorial@ijaser.com
Research article ISSN 2277 8442

*Corresponding author (e-mail:raj_sms@rediffmail.com)
Received on Sep. 15, 2013; Accepted on Sep. 20, 2013; Published on Oct. 29, 2013
Approximate analytical solution of non-linear boundary value
problem in steady state flow of a liquid film: Homotopy
perturbation method
(
1
V. Ananthaswamy,
2
SP. Ganesan,
3
L. Rajendran
*
)
1,3
The Madura College, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India,
2
Syed Ammal Engineering College, Ramnad,
Tamil Nadu, India
DOI: 10.6088/ijaser.020500010
Abstract: In this paper the non-linear boundary value problem in thermal stability of boundary layer flows
of a temperature-dependent viscosity liquid film with adiabatic free surface along an inclined heated plate
is discussed. The analytical expression of the temperature and velocity can be obtained using Homotopy
perturbation method (HPM) for various values of the relevant parameters. We also compared our analytical
result with perturbation method and show that the present approach is less computational and are
applicable for solving other non-linear boundary value problem.

Keywords: Inclined plate; Liquid film; Variable viscosity; Adiabatic free surface; Thermal criticality;
Homotopy perturbation method.

1. Introduction

The study of thermal boundary layer flows of variable viscosity fluids on a heated inclined plate not only
possesses a theoretical appeal but also models some fluid transport mechanisms encountered in industries
and engineering systems (Schlichting, 1968). Amongst others, we can name hot rolling, wire drawing,
fiberglass and paper production, gluing of labels on hot bodies, drawing of plastic films, etc. When a cooler
fluid flows around a hot body, the temperature of the fluid will rise in a thin layer around the body and in a
wake behind it. This thin layer is known as the thermal boundary layer. In this layer, flow and thermal
phenomena interact nonlinearly and are governed by the so-called thermal boundary layer equations
(Makinde et al, 2006 and 2007, Lawrence et al, 1992). In classical treatment of thermal boundary layers,
the kinematic viscosity is assumed to be constant; however, experiments indicate that this assumption only
makes sense if temperature does not change rapidly for the application of interest. Indeed, for liquids,
experimental data (Bender et al, 1978, Cebeci et al, 1984, Guttamann et al, 1989, Hunter et al, 1979 and
Makinde et al, 2001) shows that viscosity decreases with temperature.

Recently, the second law analysis of heat transfer of a laminar falling liquid film of constant viscosity along
an inclined heated plate was investigated by (Makinde et al, 2005 and Saouli et al, 2004). Meanwhile,
several authors have investigated the effects of temperature-dependent viscosity on the flow of
non-Newtonian fluids in a channel under various conditions, e.g. (Makinde et al, 2004, Massoudi et al,
1995, Szeri et al,1985 and Yurusoy et al, 2002), etc. The objective of this paper is to examine the effects of
temperature-dependent viscosity and viscous dissipation on the overall flow structure including the
bifurcation study in hydrodynamically and thermally developed flow on an inclined heated plate. The
mathematical formulation of the problem is established and solved in the following section. Both present
Approximate analytical solution of non-linear boundary value problem in steady state
flow of a liquid film: Homotopy perturbation method
Ananthaswamy et al.,
Int. Journal of Applied Sciences and Engineering Research, Vol. 5, Issue 6, 2013
570
and previous methods are presented and discussed with respect to the relevant parameters.

2. Mathematical formulation of the problem

Consider an inclined heated plate placed in a parallel stream of a hydrodynamically and thermally
developed variable viscosity liquid film. It is assumed that the characteristic length in flow direction is
typically large as compared with that across the film. This suggests that lubrication theory can be employed
and the inertia terms in the governing momentum and energy balance equations can be easily neglected
since we are dealing with a very small aspect ratio problem (see Fig. 1). Under these conditions, the
governing momentum and energy balance equations are of the form (Makinde et al, 2006, Massoudi et al
1995, Saouli et al, 2004 and Schlichting, 1968)
0 ) sin( , 0
2
2
2
= +
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ |

g
y d
u d
y d
d
y d
u d
k
y d
T d
(1)
, 0 =
y d
u d
, 0 =
y d
T d
on o = y (2)
and
, 0
, 0 T T u = = on 0 y = (3)
where u is the axial velocity, T is the absolute temperature,
0
T the incline plane wall temperature,
k the thermal conductivity, o liquid film thickness, | inclination angle, fluid density, g
gravitational acceleration, y vertical distance. The temperature dependency of dynamic viscosity
can be expressed as
) (
0
0
T T
e

=
o
(4)
where
0
is the fluid viscosity at reference temperature
0
T and the coefficient o determines the
strength of dependency between and T . We introduce the dimensionless variables in Eqs. (1) (3)
as follows:
0
2
0
0 0
2 2
0
0
,
) sin(
,
)) sin( (
, T
g
u
u
T k
g y
y
T
T T
o |
| o

| o
o
u = = = =

= (5)
Using these dimensionless variables we can obtain the dimensionless governing equation together with the
corresponding boundary condition as follows:
u | u |

u
e y
dy
du
e y
dy
d
) 1 ( , 0 ) 1 (
2
2
2
= = + (6)
with
0 ) 0 ( , 0
) 1 (
, 0 ) 0 ( = = = u
dy
du
u (7)
where | , represents Brinkmann number and variable viscosity parameter respectively.

Approximate analytical solution of non-linear boundary value problem in steady state
flow of a liquid film: Homotopy perturbation method
Ananthaswamy et al.,
Int. Journal of Applied Sciences and Engineering Research, Vol. 5, Issue 6, 2013
571
2.1 Solution of the boundary value problem using HPM

Linear and non-linear phenomena are of fundamental importance in various fields of science and
engineering. Most models of real life problems are still very difficult to solve. Therefore, approximate
analytical solutions such as Homotopy perturbation method (HPM) (Ghori et al, 2007, Ozis et al, 2007, Li
et al, 2006, Mousa et al, 2008, He, 1999, 2003, Ariel, 2010, Loghambal et al, 2010, Meena et al, 2010,
Anitha et al, 2011 and Ananthaswamy et al, 2012, 2013) were introduced. This method is the most
effective and convenient ones for both linear and non-linear equations. Perturbation method is based on
assuming a small parameter. The majority of non-linear problems, especially those having strong
non-linearity, have no small parameters at all and the approximate solutions obtained by the perturbation
methods, in most cases, are valid only for small values of the small parameter. Generally, the perturbation
solutions are uniformly valid as long as a scientific system parameter is small. However, we cannot rely
fully on the approximations, because there is no criterion on which the small parameter should exists. Thus,
it is essential to check the validity of the approximations numerically and/or experimentally. To overcome
these difficulties, HPM have been proposed recently.Recently, many authors have applied the Homotopy
perturbation method (HPM) to solve the non-linear boundary value problem in physics and engineering
sciences (Ghori et al, 2007, Ozis et al, 2007, Li et al, 2006, Mousa et al, 2008). Recently this method is
also used to solve some of the non-linear problem in physical sciences (He, 1999, 2003). This method is a
combination of Homotopy in topology and classic perturbation techniques. Ji-Huan He used to solve the
Lighthill equation(He, 1999), the Diffusion equation (He, 2003) and the Blasius equation (He, 2003 and
Ariel, 2010). The HPM is unique in its applicability, accuracy and efficiency. The HPM uses the imbedding
parameter p as a small parameter, and only a few iterations are needed to search for an asymptotic solution.
The approximate analytical solution of Eqns. (6) and (7) using Homotopy perturbation method is given by

| |
|
|
.
|

\
|

|
|
.
|

\
|

|
|
.
|

\
|
+ + =
28
) 1 (
132
) 1 (
20
) 1 (
288
56
) 1 (
12
) 1 (
72 1330560
101
2016
11
) 1 ( 1
12
) (
8 12 5 2 3
8 4 2 2 3 2
4
y y y
y y
y y
|
| | |
u
(8)
( )
| |
6 10 2
2 2
6 2
2
) 1 ( 10 ) 1 ( 3 15 30
8640
120
7
1 ) 1 ( 3 6
72 2
) (
y y y y
y y y
y
y y u
+ +
(

|
.
|

\
|
+ + +
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
|
| |
(9)
3. Previous works

The solution for the temperature and velocity fields using Hermite-Pade approximation is as follows:
) ( ) 8 12 18 12 3 ( ) 2 2 ( ) 2 (
2016
) 2 2 ( ) 2 (
12
) (
3 2 3 4 2
2
2

u
O y y y y y y y y
y y y y y
+ + + +
+ =
(10)
Approximate analytical solution of non-linear boundary value problem in steady state
flow of a liquid film: Homotopy perturbation method
Ananthaswamy et al.,
Int. Journal of Applied Sciences and Engineering Research, Vol. 5, Issue 6, 2013
572
) ( ) 12 32 76 84 51 18 3 ( ) 2 (
6048
) 3 2 ( ) 2 (
72
) 2 (
2
1
) (
3 2 3 4 5 6 2 2
2 2
2 2 2

|
|
O y y y y y y y
y y y y y y y u
+ + +
+ + =
(11)

4. Results and Discussion

The main interest in this section is to investigate the effects of Brinkmann number and the variable
viscosity parameter | using Homotopy perturbation method. Figures (2) and (3) show the dimensionless
radial distance y versus the dimensionless temperature ) (y u . From Fig.(2), it is evident that, when the
variable viscosity parameter | increases, the dimensionless temperature ) (y u

also increases for the
fixed value of . From Fig. (3), it is clear that when the Brinkmann number increases, the
dimensionless temperature ) (y u also increases for all values . | In Figures (4) and (5) the
dimensionless velocity ) ( y u versus the radial distance y is plotted. From Fig. (4), we notice the
dimensionless velocity ) ( y u

increases, when | increases for the fixed values of the Brinkmann
number . From Fig. (5), we conclude that when the Brinkmann number increases, the
dimensionless velocity ) ( y u also increases for the various values of | .


Figure 1: Geometry of Problem

Figure 2: Dimensionless temperatures ) (y u versus the dimensionless vertical distance y . The
velocity were computed using eqn. (8) for various values of the dimensionless parameters and |
Approximate analytical solution of non-linear boundary value problem in steady state
flow of a liquid film: Homotopy perturbation method
Ananthaswamy et al.,
Int. Journal of Applied Sciences and Engineering Research, Vol. 5, Issue 6, 2013
573

Figure 3: Dimensionless temperature ) (y u versus the dimensionless vertical distance y . The velocity
were computed using eqn. (8) for various values of the dimensionless parameters and |

Figure 4: Dimensionless velocity ) ( y u versus the dimensionless vertical distance y . The velocity
were computed using eqn. (9) for various values of the dimensionless parameters and |

Figure 5: Dimensionless velocity ) ( y u versus the dimensionless vertical distance y . The velocity were
computed using eqn. (9) for various values of the dimensionless parameters and |

Approximate analytical solution of non-linear boundary value problem in steady state
flow of a liquid film: Homotopy perturbation method
Ananthaswamy et al.,
Int. Journal of Applied Sciences and Engineering Research, Vol. 5, Issue 6, 2013
574
5. Conclusions

The analytical expressions of the temperature ) (y u and the velocity fields ) ( y u in the
hydrodynamically and thermally developed variable viscosity liquid film along an inclined heated plate are
derived by using the HPM for all values of dimensionless parameters | and . We compared our
analytical results to the Perturbation technique. The HPM is an extremely simple compared to other
method and it is also a promising method to solve other non-linear equations. This method can be easily
extended to find the solution of all other non-linear equations.

Acknowledgement
This work is supported by the University Grant Commission (UGC) Minor project No: F. MRP-4122/12
(MRP/UGC-SERO), Hyderabad, Government of India. The authors are thankful to Shri. S. Natanagopal,
Secretary, Madura College Board and Dr. R. Murali, Principal, The Madura College (Autonomous),
Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India for their constant encouragement.

6. References
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value problems in a porous catalyst particles. International Journal of Mathematical Archive, 3 (3),
810-821.
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diffusion-reaction processes and effectiveness factors. ISRN Physical Chemistry, 2013, Artricle ID
487240, 1-14.
3. Anitha, S., Subbiah, A., Subramaniam, S., and Rajendran, L. 2011. Analytical solution of
amperometric enzymatic reactions based on Homotopy perturbation method. Electrochimica
Acta, 56, 3345-3352.
4. Ariel, P.D. 2010. Alternative approaches to construction of Homotopy perturbation algorithms.
Nonlinear Science Letters. A., 1, 43-52.
5. Bender, C., and Orszag, S.A. 1978. Advanced Mathematical Methods for Scientists and Engineers.
McGraw-Hill.
6. Cebeci, T., and Bradshaw, P. 1884. Physical and Computational Aspects of Convective Heat
Transfer, Springer-Verlag. New York.
7. Ghori, Q.K., Ahmed, M., and Siddiqui, A.M. 2007. Application of Homotopy perturbation method
to squeezing flow of a Newtonian fluid. International Journal of Nonlinear Science and Numerical
Simulation, 8, 179-184.
8. Guttamann, A.J. 1989. Asymptotic analysis of power-series expansions, in: C. Domb, J.K.
Lebowitz (Editions). Phase Transitions and Critical Phenomena, Academic Press, New York,
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Mechanical Engineering, 178, 257-262.
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Mathematics and Computing, 135, 73-79.
11. He, J.H. 2003. A simple perturbation approach to Blasius equation. Applied Mathematics and
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Computing, 140, 217-222.
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approximant methods. Physics. Review. B 19, 38083821.
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inclined wall. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 25, 559-561.
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variation and energy dissipation, Quaestion. Math. 24, 93104.
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summation technique. Mech. Res. Commun. 32, 191195.
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plate, Applied Mathematics and Computing, 175, 80-88.
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biosensors and system of non-linear equations Homotopy perturbation approach. Journal of
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Appendix A. Basic concepts of the Homotopy perturbation method
To explain this method, let us consider the following function:
r , 0 ) ( ) ( O e = r f u D
o
(A.1)
with the boundary conditions of
Approximate analytical solution of non-linear boundary value problem in steady state
flow of a liquid film: Homotopy perturbation method
Ananthaswamy et al.,
Int. Journal of Applied Sciences and Engineering Research, Vol. 5, Issue 6, 2013
576
r , 0 ) , ( I e =
c
c
n
u
u B
o
(A.2)
where
o
D is a general differential operator,
o
B is a boundary operator, ) (r f is a known analytical
function and I is the boundary of the domain O. In general, the operator
o
D can be divided into a
linear part L and a non-linear part N . Equation (A. 1) can therefore be written as
0 ) ( ) ( ) ( = + r f u N u L (A.3)
By the Homotopy technique, we construct a Homotopy 9 O ] 1 , 0 [ : ) , ( p r v that satisfies
. 0 )] ( ) ( [ )] ( ) ( )[ 1 ( ) , (
0
= + = r f v D p u L v L p p v H
o
(A.4)
. 0 )] ( ) ( [ ) ( ) ( ) ( ) , (
0 0
= + + = r f v N p u pL u L v L p v H (A.5)
where pe[0, 1] is an embedding parameter, and
0
u is an initial approximation of Eq. (A. 1) that satisfies
the boundary conditions. From Eq. (A. 4) and Eq. (A. 5), we have
0 ) ( ) ( ) 0 , (
0
= = u L v L v H (A.6)
0 ) ( ) ( ) 1 , ( = = r f v D v H
o
(A.7)
When p=0, Eq. (A. 4) and Eq. (A. 5) become linear equations. When p =1, they become non-linear
equations. The process of changing p from zero to unity is that of 0 ) ( ) (
0
= u L v L to 0 ) ( ) ( = r f v D
o
.
We first use the embedding parameter p as a small parameter and assume that the solutions of Eq. (A.
4) and Eq. (A. 5) can be written as a power series in p :
...
2
2
1 0
+ + + = v p pv v v (A.8)
Setting 1 p = results in the approximate solution of Eq. (A. 1):
... lim
2 1 0
1
+ + + = =

v v v v u
p
(A.9)
This is the basic idea of the HPM.

Appendix. B Solution of non-linear equations (6) and (7) using HPM

In this Appendix, we indicate how Eqns. (8) and (9) in this paper is derived. To find the solution of Eqns.(6)
and (7), when u | small, Eqns.(6) and (7) reduces to
0
2
1 ) 1 (
2
2
2
2
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ + +
u |
u |
u
y
dy
d
(B.1)
0
2
1 ) 1 (
2
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ +
u |
u | y
dy
du
(B.2)
We construct the Homotopy as follows
Approximate analytical solution of non-linear boundary value problem in steady state
flow of a liquid film: Homotopy perturbation method
Ananthaswamy et al.,
Int. Journal of Applied Sciences and Engineering Research, Vol. 5, Issue 6, 2013
577
0
2
1 ) 1 ( ) 1 ( ) 1 (
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
=
(
(

|
|
.
|

\
|
+ + + +
(

+
u |
u |
u

u
y
dy
d
p y
dy
d
p (B.3)
0
2
1 ) 1 ( ) 1 ( ) 1 (
2
=
(
(

|
|
.
|

\
|
+ + +
(

u |
u | y
dy
du
p y
dy
du
p (B.4)
The analytical solution of (B.1) and (B.2) is
..........
2
2
1 0
+ + + = u u u u p p (B.5)
..........
2
2
1 0
+ + + = u p pu u u (B.6)
Substituting (B.5) into (B.3) and (B.6) into (B.4) we get
0
2
) .......... (
) .......... ( 1 ) 1 (
) .......... (
) 1 (
) .......... (
) 1 (
2
2
2
1 0
2
2
1 0
2
2
2
2
1 0
2
2
2
2
2
1 0
2
=
(
(
(
(
(

|
|
.
|

\
|
+ + +
+ + + + + +
+ + +
+
(
(

+
+ + +

u u u |
u u u |
u u u

u u u
p p
p p y
dy
p p d
p
y
dy
p p d
p
(B.7)
0
2
) .......... (
) .......... ( 1 ) 1 (
) .......... (
) 1 (
) .......... (
) 1 (
2
2
2
1 0
2
2
1 0
2
2
1 0
2
2
1 0
=
(
(
(
(
(

|
|
.
|

\
|
+ + +
+ + + + +
+ + +
+
(
(

+ + +

u u u |
u u u |

p p
p p y
dy
u p pu u d
p
y
dy
u p pu u d
p
(B.8)
Comparing the coefficients of like powers of p in (B.7) and (B.8) we get
0 ) 1 ( :
2
2
0
2
0
= + y
dy
d
p
u
(B.9)
0 ) 1 ( :
0 0
= y
dy
du
p (B.10)
0 ) 1 (
2
) 1 ( :
2
0
2
2
0
2
2
1
2
1
= u
|
u |
u
y y
dy
d
p (B.11)
0 ) 1 (
2
) 1 ( :
2
0
2
0
1 1
= u y u y
dy
du
p
|
| (B.12)
The initial approximations is as follows
, 0 ) 0 ( 0 ) 1 ( ' , 0 ) 0 (
0 0 0
= = = u and u u (B.13)
.... 3 , 2 , 1 0, (0) 0 ) 1 ( ' ) 0 ( = = = = i u and
i i i
u u (B.14)
Solving (B.9), (B.10), (B.11) and (B.12) and using the boundary conditions (B.13) and (B.14) we obtain
Approximate analytical solution of non-linear boundary value problem in steady state
flow of a liquid film: Homotopy perturbation method
Ananthaswamy et al.,
Int. Journal of Applied Sciences and Engineering Research, Vol. 5, Issue 6, 2013
578
the following results:
| |
4
0
) 1 ( 1
12
y =

u (B.15)
|
|
.
|

\
|

|
|
.
|

\
|

|
|
.
|

\
|
+ =
28
) 1 (
132
) 1 (
20
) 1 (
288 56
) 1 (
12
) 1 (
72 1330560
101
2016
11
8 12 5 2 3 8 4 2 2 3 2
1
y y y y y | | | |
u (B.16)
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
2
2
0
y
y u (B.17)
( ) | |
6 10 2
2 2
6 2
1
) 1 ( 10 ) 1 ( 3 15 30
8640 120
7
1 ) 1 ( 3 6
72
y y x y y y y u + +
(

|
.
|

\
|
+ + =
| | |
(B.18)
According to the HPM, we can conclude that
) ( lim
1 0
1
u u u u + = =

y
p
(B.19)
) ( lim
1 0
1
u u y y u
p
+ = =

(B.20)
After putting (B.15) and (B.16) into (B.19) and (B.17), (B.18) into (B.20) we obtain the solutions in the
text (7) and (8) respectively.

Appendix C. Nomenclature
Symbol Meaning
u Axial Velocity
T
Absolute temperature
0
T
Incline plane wall temperature
k Thermal conductivity
o Liquid film thickness
|
Inclination angle

Fluid density
g
Gravitational acceleration
y
Vertical distance

Dynamic viscosity
0

Fluid Velocity
o
Strength of dependency between and T
u
Dimensionless temperature
y
Dimensionless vertical distance
Brinkmann number
|
Variable viscosity parameter