Effect of heat generation on MHD Maxwell fluid flow on a stretching cylinder embedded in a porous medium along with impact of radiation

Abstract

This study addresses the critical problem of understanding Maxwell fluids’ thermal and flow behavior in the occurrence of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), radiation, and heat generation over a stretching cylinder, which is of significant importance in various industrial applications such as polymer processing and heat exchangers. The novelty of this work lies in its detailed exploration of the curvature parameter (α_e) and its influence on the flow dynamics, extending beyond the scope of previous literature. The governing equations, incorporating the impacts of MHD, radiation, and heat generation, are derived and subsequently simplified using similarity transformations to convert them into ordinary differential equations. These equations are then solved numerically via the bvp4c solver in MATLAB. The results are presented through tables and graphical representations to deliver clear insights into the behavior of key non-dimensional parameters. Quantitative findings reveal that the temperature profile of the fluid increases with higher heat generation and radiation, with specific enhancements observed on both flat plates (curvature parameter α_e = 0) and cylindrical surfaces (α_e = 1). Our results are consistent with existing studies, validating the robustness of our numerical approach.