Mixed convection-radiation interaction in boundary-layer flow over horizontal surfaces

The effect of buoyancy forces and thermal radiation on the steady laminar plane flow over an isothermal horizontal flat plate is investigated within the framework of first-order boundary-layer theory, taking into account the hydrostatic pressure variation normal to the plate. The fluid considered is a gray, absorbing-emitting but nonscattering medium, and the Rosseland approximation is used to describe the radiative heat flux in the energy equation. Both a hot surface facing upward and a cold surface facing downward are considered in the analysis. Numerical results for the local Nusselt number, the local wall shear stress, the local surface heat flux, as well as the velocity and temperature distributions are presented for gases with a Prandtl number of 0.7 for various values of the radiation- conduction parameter, the buoyancy parameter, and the temperature ratio parameter. (Author)