Review

Advances in Mechanical Engineering

2020, Vol. 12(1) 1–17
Ó The Author(s) 2020
Buoyancy effects on nanoliquids film DOI: 10.1177/1687814019897510
journals.sagepub.com/home/ade
flow through a porous medium with
gyrotactic microorganisms and cubic
autocatalysis chemical reaction

Samina Zuhra1,2, Noor Saeed Khan1 , Muhammad Alam3,

Saeed Islam1 and Aurangzeb Khan4

Abstract
This article is based on the mathematical model constructed to analyze the simultaneous flow and heat transfer of
two nanoliquids (Casson and Williamson) in the presence of gyrotactic microorganisms and cubic autocatalysis
chemical reaction through a porous medium under the potentiality of buoyancy forces. Heterogeneous reaction
existing on the surface is described by isothermal cubic autocatalytic chemical reaction, whereas homogeneous reac-
tion is taking place at far field described by first-order kinetics. Similarity transformations are used to get the differ-
ent order differential equations from the governing equations which are solved via an efficient technique namely
homotopy analysis method. The effects of all the non-dimensional parameters on velocity, temperature, concentra-
tion, and density of motile microorganisms are shown through graphs and elucidated. Velocity increases with the
Weissenberg parameter and decreases with the Casson nanofluid parameter in the presence of magnetic field and
porous medium. Temperature decreases with the high values of slip condition. The dual behavior of concentration
profile for the strength of homogeneous reaction parameter is observed. Flow of microorganisms decreases based
on the parameters of porous medium, magnetic field, and heterogeneous chemical reaction. There exists an excel-
lent agreement between the present and published work.

Keywords
Homogeneous–heterogeneous chemical reactions, heat transfer, porous medium, nanoparticles, gyrotactic microorgan-
isms, homotopy analysis method

Date received: 26 January 2019; accepted: 2 December 2019

Handling Editor: James Baldwin

Introduction
1
The assortment of the structure, propulsive movement, Department of Mathematics, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan,
and nutritive behavior of phytoplankton has long moti- Pakistan
2
Departments of Computing and Technology, Abasyn University,
vated the fluid physicists. Microplankton is the basic
Peshawar, Pakistan
part of the food chain and supports the biochemistry of 3
Department of Civil Engineering, Abasyn University, Peshawar, Pakistan
most marine aquatic. Microbes’ extended species of 4
Department of Physics, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, Pakistan
microorganisms including bacteria up to jellyfish can-
not be ignored in an ecosystem because of its diverse Corresponding author:
Noor Saeed Khan, Department of Mathematics, Abdul Wali Khan
nature and cumulative biomass. Largest reservoirs of University, Mardan 23200, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
phytoplankton that reside in the ocean are providing Email: noorsaeedkhankhattak@gmail.com

Creative Commons CC BY: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work
without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages
(https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
2 Advances in Mechanical Engineering
more than half of the world oxygen. Bioconvection is
the dynamic phenomenon produced in the motion of
swimming microbes that are much flattened than water
medium. These microorganisms swim toward the upper
portion of fluid in response of outer impetuses like
chemical gradient, light intensity, or gravity results of
an upper denser surface due to the accretion of motile
microorganisms. The density imbalance creates gravita-
tional instabilities after getting to a critical position and
eventually the microbes drop causing bioconvection.
Very simply in bioconvection, the density of macro-
scopic convective flow is higher than water. The main
advantage of merging microorganisms in nanofluid is
to enhance the mass transfer for improving the stability
and reliability of nanofluid.
Bioconvection nanofluid is used in a fuel cell, bio-
diesel, bio-reactor, bio-microsystem, and gas-bearing
sedimentary, and so on. On account of such applica-
tions, Khan1 analyzed the bioconvection in second-
grade thin film nanofluid containing gyrotactic micro-
organisms and nanoparticles through specific boundary
conditions model named as passively controlled nano-
fluid model which is key for complex bioconvection
pattern relevant to real life. Zuhra et al.2 studied the
time-independent, two-dimensional (2D) magnetohy-
drodynamic second-grade nanofluid flow that contains
gyrotactic microorganisms and illustrated the impacts
of various parameters reliant to the non-dimensional
model, skin friction, rate of heat transfer, the mass of
nanoparticles, and microorganisms.
Non-Newtonian fluid is a rising feature of multiscale
and structural fluid material ranging from polymer
melt to colloidal suspension. High demand of industrial
and technological science intensifies the importance of
non-Newtonian fluids used as physical gel, multi-grade
oil, liquid detergents, paints (polymer melts and poly-
mer solution), and so on. Khan et al.3 discussed the
thermophoresis and thermal radiation effects on non-
Newtonian thin film liquid in the regime of heat and
mass transfer past a stretching sheet. Main finding of
their work is the significant role of variable thermal
conductivity and viscosity of non-Newtonian thin film
fluid flow.
Advancement in nanotechnology led to new innova-
tive class with special property of heat transfer called
nanofluid. Non-Newtonian nanofluid is the homoge-
neous mixture of base liquid (non-Newtonian fluid) like
carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC) with nano-sized parti-
cles (Al2 O3 ), rods or tubes in ethylene glycol (Fe2 O3 )
used with specific quantities to enhance the thermal
conductivity that work on high cooling/heating-based
problems of electronic appliances. The effects of nano-
fluids depend on nanoparticles (types, size, and shape),
concentration, nature of base fluid, volume fraction of
nanoparticles, pH, temperature, nanoparticle cluster-
ing, heat transport, and so on. The first experimental
study on nanofluid to enhance the thermal conductivity
was performed at the US Argonne National
Laboratories. Then Choi4 reported the innovative work
on nanofluid in which he presented the ideas to enhance
thermal conductivity using suspension containing ultra-
fine particles. Experimental observation has been made
by Beg et al.5 based on rheology and lubricity proper-
ties of drilling fluid including different nanoparticles
(silica, titanium, etc.). The aim of their work was to
assess the rheological characteristics of various nano-
particles in mud, taking water as a base fluid that sup-
ports to decrease drag and torque during the
construction of swerved wells. Titanium nanoparticles
show better results to improve lubricity and rheological
features of drilling fluid at 0.6% (w/w) concentration.
Viscoelastic fluid passing through the curved pipes with
slip boundary conditions has been studied by Norouzi
et al.6 They employed the Oldroyd-B scheme to the
transport of dilute polymeric solutions in curve pipes,
where Weissenberg number and slip coefficients greatly
affected the viscoelastic flow. It is found that maximum
velocity position changes from pipes center toward the
outer side of curvature when increment occurs in slip
coefficient. Beg et al.7 examined the mathematical
model for steady, force convection, and hydromagnetic
polymeric nanofluids flow under the influence of mag-
netic force. Four types of nanoparticles with three base
fluids are taken into account for the flow model. It is
observed that silver nanoparticles enhance flow, energy,
and induced magnetic field. Unsteady, magnetohydro-
dynamic chemically reactive, rotating micropolar fluid
flow past a vertical plate under the Hall current and vis-
cous dissipation model is investigated by Sheri and
Shamshuddin.8 They used variational finite-element
method and examined physical quantities like skin fric-
tion, wall flux, surface heat flux, and mass flux through
rotational and viscosity parameters. Beg et al.9 devel-
oped a numerical scheme for steady, magnetohydrody-
namic, heat and mass convection flow through the
inclined surface with the effect of heat generation and
Soret diffusion model. Numerical method Nachtsheim–
Swigert shooting iterative technique is used for comput-
ing the result of the flow model. It is observed that the
magnetic field parameter depresses the skin friction,
and mass transfer rate is decreased by heat source para-
meter. Khan et al.10 worked on nanofluids and dis-
cussed the impacts of thermophoresis and Brownian
motion parameters on hydrodynamic thin film second-
grade flow. Zuhra et al.11 discussed thin film non-
Newtonian Casson and Williamson nanofluids flow in
the presence of heat transfer properties with water as
the base fluid which contains graphene nanoparticles.
In addition, magnetic field is also considered in that
flow model. Khan et al.12 studied 2D steady flow prob-
lem with magnetohydrodynamic water-based nanoli-
quids like Al2 O3  H2 O and CuO  H2 O under thin
Zuhra et al.
film, which is sprayed on a stretching cylinder with heat
conduction. The spray rate depends on film size. Zuhra
et al.13 analyzed the gyrotactic microbes and nanoparti-
cles in an unsteady symmetric flow along with heat
transfer in second-grade nanofluid lying between paral-
lel horizontal plates, in which the lower plate is station-
ary. They discussed the notion of unsteadiness
parameter in the situations when two plates are close to
each other or far away. Khan et al.14 analyzed the gra-
phene type of nanoparticles using Powell–Eyring fluid
on time-dependent magnetohydrodynamic 2D thin film
flow, in which the graphene nanomaterial enhances
thermal conductivity with the water base fluid.
On the contrary, an important area for heat conduc-
tivity in industrial applications is the usage of porous
medium containing pores (voids). Porosity of a sub-
stance is the volume of storage capacity that can grip
the fluid. Porous medium is specially characterized by
its porosity while the other medium used on an indus-
trial level is derived from this porosity are tensile
strength, tortuosity, permeability, and electrical con-
ductivity. Porous medium increases the interface sur-
face area between solid and fluid surfaces, as it is the
composition of solid (matrix) and fluid (gas, water, oil,
etc.) which can help to enhance the heat transfer effects.
Other applications of porous medium are heat exchan-
gers, porous burners, solar collectors, and porous
blades. Shamshuddin et al.15 used a porous plate for
Casson fluid with chemical reaction and thermal radia-
tion effects. Relevant parameter impacts are computed
in graphs by finite-element method. The radiative ther-
mal parameter is caused to elevate temperature, while
the chemical reaction parameter depressed the concen-
tration profile. Magnetohydrodynamic micropolar fluid
flow with heat and mass convection under the influence
of viscous dissipation and chemical reaction is investi-
gated by Sheri and Shamshuddin et al.,16 where viscos-
ity parameter has an inverse relation to the flow and
micropolar field.
Palwasha et al.17 analyzed porous medium in a non-
Newtonian nanofluid thin films flow with magnetotac-
tic microbes using the passively controlled nanofluid
model and discussed the effects of different parameters
on heat and mass transfer as well as gyrotactic microor-
ganisms. Khan et al.18 investigated porous and other
parametric influences on momentum and temperature
derived from the steady boundary layer flow and heat
transfer of a second-grade thin film fluid through a por-
ous surface. In that study velocity and temperature pro-
files become slow with porosity. Ramzan and Bilal19
discussed the flow model containing unsteady second-
grade fluid with thermal radiation through a permeable
vertical sheet. Umavathi and Hemavathi20 studied the
flow and heat transport of nanofluid in composite por-
ous medium and investigated the behavior of Grashof
number, solid volume fraction, and Brinkman number
3
using five different types of nanoparticles in the base
fluid. It is concluded that they obtained the maximum
quantity of Nusselt number from silver nanoparticles.
Homogeneous–heterogenous cubic autocatalysis
chemical reactions are new phenomena in nanofluid
field used to illustrate catalysis, for fibrous insula-
tion, in artificial formation of fog, and in environ-
mental science to control water and air pollution.
Raees et al.21 analyzed the homogeneous–
heterogeneous model to scrutinize the mixed convec-
tion gravity-driven thin film flow of nanofluid. Their
further discussion was done on buoyancy parameter
and strength of homogeneous–heterogeneous para-
meters. Homogeneous–heterogeneous chemical reac-
tion is considered in nanofluid due to its significant
role in chemical reaction mechanisms like autocata-
lysis, catalysis oxidation, combustion, and biochem-
ical system on commercial level. Khan et al.22
analyzed the effect chemical reactions over the
entropy generation flow of Williamson fluid in the
presence of viscous dissipation and magnetic field.
Their study elaborated the increase in temperature
distribution for Weissenberg and Eckert numbers.
Kameswaran et al.23 investigated the cubic autocata-
lysis process of homogeneous–heterogeneous chemi-
cal reactions in nanofluid and concluded that
strength of nanofluid heterogenous reaction
decreases the nanofluid concentration at the surface.
Williams et al.24 investigated the isothermal behavior
of homogeneous–heterogeneous chemical reactions
in air on methane/ammonia and propane flowing
over platinum. Significance of autocatalytic
homogeneous–heterogeneous chemical reactions and
Cattaneo–Chirstove heat flux has been studied by
Sarojamma et al.25 for a micropolar fluid. They
proved that concentration of homogeneous nano-
fluid at surface decreases in the presence of micro-
structures and catalyst, and it increases due to
diffusion ratio.
The problems of dynamic world led to the use of
analytical and numerical techniques to find out the
appropriate solutions of highly nonlinear and complex
models. Although advancements in programming (like
Mathematica, MATLAB, Maple, C++, JAVA etc.)
facilitate to solve such heavy, time-consuming, ordi-
nary differential equation/partial differential equation
(ODE/PDE) problems, it is still the focused field for
researchers to create and analyze advance techniques
that evaluates results of the nonlinear equations having
multiple parameters arising from natural phenomena.
In literature, the running techniques are finite differ-
ence method (FDM),26 variational iteration method
(VIM),27 differential transform method (DTM),28
homotopy analysis method (HAM),29–31 homotopy
perturbation method (HPM),32 and optimal homotopy
asymptotic method (OHAM).33–35 Zuhra and
4 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

colleagues36,37 applied OHAM to seventh-order time-

dependent Kortewege-de-Vries (Kdv) equations, to
Benjamin–Bona–Mahoney and Sawada Kotera equa-
tions successfully and proved the closed agreement
through comparison with exact and various other
methods. Khan et al.38 implemented OHAM to solve
the nonlinear coupled differential equations evaluating
from Berman’s model of viscous flow in porous chan-
nel and elaborated the effect of Reynolds number in
the process of wall injection/suction. Islam et al.39
solved the singular boundary value problems through
the same technique.
It is proved from the above investigative study
that the dynamic phenomenon is affected by different
Figure 1. Geometric model of the problem with coordinate
parameters, boundary conditions, and geometries like
system.
Palwasha et al.’s40 study on stretching sheet, like Khan
et al.’s41 study on gravity-driven problem, and like
vertical surface while T‘ is the temperature of far field
Khan et al.42, who showed the study in a three-
from the surface (Figure 1). A transverse magnetic field
dimensional rotating system. Literature43–46 also has a
of strength B0 is applied in positive direction, normal to
study under high magnetic field effect, a study which
the surface. There is no applied voltage. Magnetic
shows the effect of inclined magnetic field, a study for
Reynolds number is small, so the induced magnetic
hybrid nanofluid, a study on thin film graphene nanoli-
field and Hall effects are considered as negligible.
quid and so on. However, these studies have not discussed
Chaudhary and Merkin47 represented a simple
homogeneous–heterogeneous chemical reaction effects.
model for homogeneous–heterogeneous reactions that
The homogeneous–heterogeneous chemical reactions
is used in cubic autocatalytic reactions in isothermal
that are produced in forced or in free convective region
catalyst particles
is an emerging area of recent research in gravity-driven
flow. Interest toward this side is rare in literature. For A + 2B ! 3B, rate = kc ab2
this purpose, it is attempted to analyze the behaviors of
homogeneous–heterogeneous chemical reactions and In addition, single and first order reaction exist on
gyrotactic microorganisms in gravity-driven Casson the catalyst surface as
and Williamson nanofluids flow through a porous
medium with heat transfer. Buongiorno’s model has A ! B, with rate = ks a
been used for this purpose. Employing suitable similar-
ity transformations, the governing equations of the where a and b denote the concentrations of species A
model are transformed to non-dimensional system of and B, respectively, and ki (i = c, s) are constant rate of
differential equations which are solved through a pow- concentrations. Reactant A is to be assumed at distant
erful semi-analytical technique named as HAM. field with a‘ concentration, whereas reactant B does
Impacts of relevant parameters on the velocity, tem- not exist in external flow. Furthermore, it is assumed
perature, nanofluid concentration, and density of that the quantity of heat released during the
motile microorganism profiles are displayed through homogeneous–heterogeneous chemical reaction is too
graphs and discussed. small as negligible, so there is no term related to heat
transfer in energy equation.
The basic governing boundary layer equations of
Description of the problem 2D, steady thin film heat and mass transfer flow with
gyrotactic microorganisms and heterogenous–
Two-dimensional, steady, laminar, thin film flow con- homogeneous chemical reactions are as in literature17,21
taining incompressible nanofluids are considered, which
are falling down along a vertical solid surface in the ∂u ∂v
presence of homogeneous–heterogeneous reactions. + =0 ð1Þ
∂x ∂y
Temperature of nanofluid is assumed constant Tw at
Zuhra et al. 5

   
∂u ∂u dU cf 1 ∂2 u conditions17 are better than actively controlled nano-
rf u þv ¼ rf U þ qmf 1 þ
∂x ∂y dx b ∂y2 fluid model boundary conditions30 since these are more
  ∂2 u pffiffiffi  realistic. Note that in Figure 1 geometry, the concentra-
þ ð1  qÞ mwf 0 þ 2 mwf 0
tion notations are used which are handled like.21
f ∂y 2 f
In equations (1)–(7), the velocity components u and v
!
  ∂u ∂2 u are taken in x and y directions, respectively. In equation
G mwf0 (2), a dimensionless number q 2 ½0, 1 is used to switch
f ∂y ∂y2
  the momentum equation to Williamson nanofluid flow
þ q ð1  C Þrf‘ gbTC ðT  T‘ Þ when q = 0 is used and to Casson nanofluid flow when
  q = 1. vf = mf =rf is the kinematic viscosity with mf as
þ ð1  qÞ ð1  C Þrf‘ gbTW ðT  T‘ Þ dynamic viscosity and rf is the constant density of nanoli-
   quid. mcff and mwf
0 denote the dynamic viscosity of Casson
 r p  r f ‘ g ðC  C ‘ Þ and Williamson nanofluids where the superscripts cf and
m  wf denote the Casson and Williamson nanofluids.
f
þ ðg ðN  N‘ Þg av DrÞ  ðu  U‘ Þ U is the free stream velocity of boundary layer. g is
k
 F  the gravitational acceleration. b is the parameter of
k  2 
 pffiffiffi u  U‘2  sB20 u Casson nanofluid, where bTC and bTW are the volu-
k
metric thermal expansions (substance expand or con-
ð2Þ tract in all directions due to changes in temperature) of
∂T ∂T ∂2 T Casson and Williamson nanofluids, respectively.
u +v = am 2 ð3Þ Dr = rcell microbes  rf‘ is the difference between the den-
∂x ∂y ∂y
 2    sities of cell and base fluid, where the subscripts f and
∂a ∂a ∂a ∂2 a DT ∂ 2 T ∂ 2 T f‘ denote nanofluid and base fluid at the far field,
u + v = DA + +   kc ab2
∂x ∂y ∂x2 ∂y2 T‘ ∂x2 ∂y2 respectively. s is the electrical conductivity. P is the
ð4Þ pressure, C is the concentration, T is the fluid tempera-
    ture at the vertical surface. k = kp 0 xffiffiffi is the permeability
∂b ∂b ∂2 b ∂2 b DT ∂ 2 T ∂ 2 T
u + v = DB + +  + kc ab2 of porous medium and k F = k0 F = x is the Forchheimer
∂x ∂y ∂x2 ∂y2 T‘ ∂x2 ∂y2
resistance factor, am = k1 =rf Cp is the thermal diffusiv-
ð5Þ ity of nanofluid defined by thermal conductivity k1 ,
∂N ∂N ∂N ∂(N~v) ∂N 2 density rf , and heat capacity CP . DA and DB are the
+u +v + = Dn 2 ð6Þ coefficients of diffusion rate of species A and B. DT
∂t ∂x ∂y ∂y ∂y
denotes the thermal diffusion (Soret effect) and Dn is
where the microorganisms diffusivity. With reference to
boundary layer approximations, the internal dissipation
dP dU process of energy that takes place in homogeneous ther-
= rf U , U = ð2axÞ1=2 ð7Þ
dx dx modynamics system which has been ignored so all the
The boundary conditions are fluid quantities are constant. Moreover, it is assumed
that buoyancy produced through the nanoparticles con-
∂T centration is insignificant, so there is no difference
u = 0, v = 0,  k1 = hf ðTw  T Þ between C and C‘ . N is the volumetric fraction of
∂y
ð8Þ motile microbes. ~v = (ba Wa =Da)(∂a=∂y) represents the
∂a ∂b
DA + DB = ks a and N = N1 at y = 0 average swimming velocity vector of motile microor-
∂y ∂y
ganisms, where Wa is the maximum speed of motile
u = U (x), T = T‘ , a = a‘ , b = 0, N = N2 at y ! ‘ microorganisms in response to chemical concentration
ð9Þ ba (coefficient of chemotaxis).
To achieve the non-dimensional form of equations
where hf denotes the heat transfer coefficient due to Tw . (2)–(6), (8), and (9), the following similarity transforma-
To satisfy the boundary conditions, N2 must be tions have been used
assigned the value of 0.
k1 (∂T =∂y) = hf (Tw  T ) shows that the surface    
4Uvf x 1=2 3U 1=2
temperature is the result of convective heating proce- cðx, yÞ = f ðhÞ , h= y
3 4vf x
dure which is indicated by the coefficient of heat trans-
port hf and temperature of the hot fluid Tw under the T  T‘ a b ð10Þ
uðhÞ = , f ðh Þ = , f1 ðhÞ = ,
surface. DA (∂a=∂y) + DB (∂b=∂y) = ks a shows the pas- Tw  T‘ a‘ a‘
sively controlled nanofluid model boundary conditions. N  N‘
OðhÞ =
The passively controlled nanofluid model boundary N2  N‘
6 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Using equation (10) in equations (2)–(6), (8), and (9), (Pr = vf =am ), Schmidt number (ScA = vf =Dn ), Lewis
the final set of governing non-dimensional equations of number (Le = (vf )=DB ). e = DB =DA (proportion of the
flow, temperature, homogeneous–heterogeneous chemi- diffusion constants). Peclet number is Pe = (bWa )=(Dn ),
cal reactions and gyrotactic microorganisms concentra- K = (4xa2‘ kc )=3U is the coefficient of strength of homo-
tion are achieved as geneous reaction, whereas Ks = ks =DA (3U =4xvf )1=2 is
  the parameter for strength of heterogeneous chemical
1 000 reaction. NAT is defined as the ratio between Brownian
q 1+ f + ð1  qÞðf 000 + Wf 00 f 000 Þ
b motion and thermophoresis physical diffusivity such
2 2

2 that NAT = (DA a‘ )=½DT =T‘ (Tw  T‘ ).
+ 1  ðf 0 Þ + ff 00  g 1 f 0  g2 ðf 0 Þ ð11Þ Physical quantities2 used here are the skin friction
3
 Mf 0 + qGtc ðu  f1 uÞ + ð1  qÞGtw ðu  fuÞ coefficient Cfx = (tw )=rf U‘ 2 , local Nusselt number
Nu = (qw x)=k1 (Tw  T‘ ), local wall mass flux coefficient
 Nrf + RbO = 0
Qmx = (qm x)=DB C, and mass flux of microorganisms
u00 + Prf u0 = 0 ð12Þ Qnx = (qn x)=Dn (Nw  N0 ), where t w = m(∂u=∂y)y = 0 ,
  qw = k1 (∂T =∂y), qm = DB (∂a=∂y)y = 0 , and qn = Dn
1 1 00 (∂N =∂y)y = 0 .
f00 + u + f f0  Kff1 2 = 0 ð13Þ
ScA NAT tw is the shear stress, qw is the heat flux, qm is the
  mass flux, and qn is the motile microorganisms flux at
1 1 00
df001 + u + f f01 + Kff1 2 = 0 ð14Þ surface.
ScA NAT Using the similarity transformations of equation
O00 + ScA f O0  PeðO0 f0 + Of00 Þ = 0 ð15Þ (10), the non-dimensional form of skin friction, Nusselt
number, wall mass flux, and wall flux of motile micro-
It is accepted from the application of heterogeneous– organism are as follows
homogeneous chemical reactions process that the diffu- rffiffiffi rffiffiffi
sion coefficients DA and DB of chemical species A and B 0:50 3 00 0:50 3 0
are of different size. On the contrary, if DA and DB are Cfx =ðRex Þ f ð0Þ, Nux =  ðRex Þ u ð 0Þ
4 4
equal, that is, by taking d = 123 and f + f1 = 1, equa- rffiffiffi rffiffiffi
3 0 3 0
tions (13) and (14) are reduced to equation (16) as Qmx = ðRex Þ0:50 f ð0Þ and Qnx= ðRex Þ0:50 O ð 0Þ
4 4
  ð19Þ
1 1 00  
f00 + u + f f0  K f  2f2  f3 = 0
ScA NAT where Rex = Ux=vf is the local Reynolds number.
ð16Þ

consequently, the overall boundary conditions become
f = f 0 = 0, u0 =  gð1  uÞ, f0 = Ks f, O = 1 at h = 0
ð17Þ
f 0 = 1, u = O = 0, f = 1 at h = ‘ ð18Þ
In pffiffiffi equations (11), (12), and (15)–(17),
W = 2GU (3U =4vf x)1=2 is Weissenberg number used
for the viscoelastic flow, Gtc and Gtw are the parameters
of buoyancy forces caused by volumetric expansion
of Casson and Williamson nanofluid, respectively, such
that Gtc = (2rf‘ gBTC (Tw  T‘ ))=3arf , Gtw = (2rf‘ gBTw
(Tw  T‘ ))=3arf . Nr = (2(rf  rf‘ )ga‘ )=3arf is the
buoyancy ratio parameter, Rb = (2ggav Dr(Nw  N‘ ))=
3arf is the Rayleigh number associated with buoyancy-
driven flow. g = (hf )=k1 (4vf x=3U )1=2 is the reduced
heat transfer parameter, g1 = (4v )=3Uk
pfffiffiffiffi
ffi 0 is the porosity
parameter, while g 2 = (4k0 F )=3 k0 is the inertial para-
meter. M = (4sB0 2 x1=2 )=3r21=2 a1=2 is the parameter of
magnetic field. Other parameters are Prandtl number
Series solutions by homotopy analysis
method
HAM29,40–46 is used to compute the semi-analytical
series solutions of equations (11), (12), and (15)–(18).
The initial guesses and auxiliary linear operators pro-
posed by Liao29 for the velocity f (h), temperature u(h),
homogeneous–heterogeneous chemical reactions f(h),
and microorganisms concentration O(h) are as follows
f0 (h) = h  exp ( h) + exp ( 2h), u0 (h)
exp ( 2h)
= exp ( h) 
2+g
1
f0 (h) = 1  exp ( Ks h), O0 (h) = exp ( h)
2
ð20Þ
Lf = f 000  f 0 , Lu = u00  u, Lf = f00  f, LO = O00  O
ð21Þ
with the properties
Zuhra et al. 7

Lf ½K1 + K2 exp (h) + K3 exp ( h) = 0
Lu ½K4 exp (h) + K5 exp ( h) = 0
ð22Þ
Lf ½K6 exp (h) + K7 exp ( h) = 0
LO ½K8 exp (h) + K9 exp ( h) = 0
where Ki (1  9) are the arbitrary constants.
Zeroth-order deformation problems
(1  p)Lf ½f(h, p)  f0 (h) = ph@f ½f (h, p), u(h, p), f(h, p)
ð29Þ
(1  p)LO ½O(h, p)  O0 (h) = p
h@O ½f (h, p), f(h, p), O(h, p)
ð30Þ
where h is non-zero auxiliary parameter.
Equations (27)–(30) have the following boundary
conditions, respectively

Presenting nonlinear operator @ as f (0, p) = 0, f 0 (0, p) = 0, f 0 (‘, p) = 1 ð31Þ

@f ½f (h, p), u(h, p), f(h, p), O(h, p) u0 (0, p) =  g(1  u(0, p)), u(‘, p) = 0 ð32Þ
 
1 ∂3 f (h, p) f0 ð0, pÞ = Ks fð0, pÞ, fð‘, pÞ = 1 ð33Þ
=q 1+
b ∂3 h
 3  Oð0, pÞ = 1, Oð‘, pÞ = 0 ð34Þ
∂ f (h, p) ∂2 f (h, p) ∂3 f (h, p)
+ ð1  qÞ + W
∂3 h ∂2 h ∂3 h When the parameter p = 0 (initial value of range)
  !
2 ∂f (h, p) 2 ∂2 f (h, p) and p = 1 (final value of range), the following equa-
+ 1 + f (h, p) tions become
3 ∂h ∂h2
ð23Þ
∂f (h, p) p = 0 ) f (h, 0) = f0 (h) and p = 1 ) f (h, 1) = f (h)
 g2
∂h ð35Þ
 
∂f (h, p) 2
 g3 + qGtc uðh, pÞð1  fðh, pÞÞ p = 0 ) u(h, 0) = u0 (h) and p = 1 ) u(h, 1) = u(h)
∂h
ð36Þ
+ ð1  qÞGtw uðh, pÞð1  fðh, pÞÞ
∂f (h, p) p = 0 ) f(h, 0) = f0 (h) and p = 1 ) f(h, 1) = f(h)
 Nrfðh, pÞ + RbOðh, pÞ  M
∂h ð37Þ

∂2 u(h, p) ∂u(h, p) p = 0 ) O(h, 0) = O0 (h) and p = 1 ) O(h, 1) = O(h)

@u ½f (h, p), u(h, p) = + Prf (h, p)
∂h2 ∂h ð38Þ
ð24Þ
f (h, p) becomes f0 (h, 0) to f (h) for p = 0 ! p = 1,
∂2 f(h, p) u(h, p) becomes u0 (h, 0) to u(h), f(h, p) becomes
@f ½f (h, p), u(h, p), f(h, p) = f0 (h, 0) to f(h) and O(h, p) becomes O0 (h, 0) to O(h)
∂h2
1 ∂2 u(h, p) ∂f(h, p) when p assumes the values from 0 to 1. Using Taylor’s
+ + ScA f (h, p) ð25Þ expansion on equations (35)–(38), it is obtained as
NAT ∂h2 ∂h
  follows
 KScA f(h, p)  2ðf(h, p)Þ + ðf(h, p)Þ3
2

X
‘
2
∂ O(h, p) f (h, p) = f0 (h) + fm (h)pm where
@O ½f (h, p), f(h, p), O(h, p) = m=1
ð39Þ
∂h2
1 ∂ f (h, p)
m
∂O(h, p) fm (h) =
+ ScA f (h, p) ð26Þ m! ∂pm p = 0
∂h
 
∂f(h, p) ∂O(h, p) ∂2 f(h, p) X
‘
Pe + O(h, p) u(h, p) = u0 (h) + um (h)pm where
∂h ∂h ∂h2
m=1
ð40Þ
where p is an embedding parameter such that 0 ł p ł 1. 1 ∂ u(h, p)
m
um (h) =
According to homotopy, zeroth-order deformations m! ∂pm p = 0
are
X
‘
f(h, p) = f0 ( h) + fm (h)pm where
(1  p)Lf ½f (h, p)  f0 (h) = ph@f
ð27Þ m=1
ð41Þ
½f (h, p), u(h, p), f(h, p), O(h, p) 1 ∂ f(h, p)
m
fm (h) =
(1  p)Lu ½u(h, p)  u0 (h) = ph@u ½f ðh, pÞ, uðh, pÞ ð28Þ m! ∂pm p = 0
8 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

X
‘ X
m1
O(h, p) = O0 (h) + Om (h)pm where <um (h) = u00m1 + Pr fm1k u0k ð52Þ
m=1 k =0
ð42Þ
1 ∂ O(h, p)
m
Om (h) = Lu ðfm (h)  x m fm1 (h)Þ = h<fm (h) ð53Þ
m! ∂pm p = 0
f0m (0) = Ks fm (0), fm (‘) = 0 ð54Þ
Convergence of series solutions depends on auxiliary
parameter h. The value of h is taken in such a way that 1 00 X
m1
<fm (h) = f00m1 + u m1 + ScA fm1k f0k
the series in equations (39)–(42) converges at p = 1, NAT k =0
hence results of equations (39)–(42) are
 KScA fm1
X
‘ X
m1 X
m1
f (h, p) = f0 (h) + fm (h) ð43Þ + 2KScA fm1k fk  KScA fm1k
m=1 k =0 k =0

X
‘ X
k

u(h, p) = u0 (h) + um (h) ð44Þ fkl fl

l=0
m=1
ð55Þ
X
‘
f(h, p) = f0 (h) + fm (h) ð45Þ LO ½Om (h)  x m Om1 (h) = h<O ð56Þ
m (h)
m=1

X
‘ Om (0) = O0m (‘) = 0 ð57Þ
O(h, p) = O0 (h) + Om (h) ð46Þ X
m1 X
m1
00
m=1 <O
m (h) = Om1 + ScA fm1k O0 k  Pe
k =0 k =0 ð58Þ
0 0 00
mth-order deformation problems ðf m1k O k + f m1k Ok Þ

Taking mth derivative of the pairs of equations ((27), 0, m ł 1

xm = ð59Þ
(31)), ((28), (32)), ((29), (33)), and ((30), (34)) then divid- 1, m.1
ing by m! and substituting p = 0 result the following
General solution of equations (47), (50), (53), and
Lf ½fm (h)  x m fm1 (h) = h<fm (h) ð47Þ (56) with particular solutions fm (h), um (h), fm (h), and
Om (h) are the following
fm (0) = fm0 (0) = fm0 (‘) = 0 ð48Þ
  fm (h) = fm (h) + K1 + K2 exp (h) + K3 exp ( h) ð60Þ
1 000
<fm (h) = q 1 + f m1 + ð1  qÞ um (h) = um (h) + K4 exp (h) + K5 exp ( h) ð61Þ
b
!
X
m1 fm (h) = fm (h) + K6 exp (h) + K7 exp ( h) ð62Þ
f 000m1 + W f 00m1k f 000k
k=0 Om (h) = Om (h) + K8 exp (h) + K9 exp ( h) ð63Þ
! !
2 X
m1 X
m1
+ 1 f 0 m1k f 0k + ½fm1k f 00k Results and discussion
3 k =0 k =0
X
m1 HAM is used to evaluate the solution of the nonlinear
+ qGtc um1 + qGtc um1k fk differential equations with boundary conditions derived
k =0 from non-Newtonian nanofluids flow model using the
X
m1
homogeneous–heterogeneous chemical reactions in the
+ (1  q)Gtw um1 + (1  q)Gtw um1 fm1 presence of a magnetic field. The homotopic solution
k =0
derived from equations (11), (12), (15), and (18) is
 Nrfm1 expressed for non-dimensional velocity profile f (h),
X
m1 non-dimensional temperature profile u(h), non-
+ RbOm1  g2 f 0m1  g3 ðf 0m1k f 0k Þ dimensional chemical concentration profile f(h), and
k =0
non-dimensional motile density microorganisms con-
 Mf 0m1 centration profile O(h). The h-curves are drawn in
ð49Þ Figures 2-5. Effects of different parameters related to
these profiles have been discussed through graphs in
Lu ½um (h)  xm fm1 (h) = h<um (h) ð50Þ Figures 6–24. For the convergence region formulated
u0m (0)  g 1 um (0) = 0, um (‘) = 0 ð51Þ by Liao29 for the HAM, h plays a key role in the con-
vergence of the semi-analytical solution to exact form.
Zuhra et al. 9

Figure 2. h curve29 of f (h) for Williamson and Casson nanofluids respectively.

Figure 3. h curve29 of u(h) for Williamson and Casson nanofluids respectively.

Figure 4. h curve29 of f(h) for Williamson and Casson nanofluids respectively.

Appropriate  h curve for velocity f (h) is drawn in range (blue line) and Casson (red line) nanofluids,
h 2 ½1:00, 0:40 and h 2 ½0:40, 0:10, for tempera-
 respectively.
ture curve range is h 2 ½1:50, 1:00 and
h 2 ½0:60, 0:40, the range of chemical concentration

h 2 ½2:00, 2:00 and h 2 ½0:50, 0:50, for
profile is  Velocity profile
microorganisms concentration interval is Figure 6 shows the effect of magnetic field on fluid
h 2 ½0:60, 0:10 and h 2 ½0:60, 0:10 for Williamson
 flow, which in combination with shear stresses
10 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Figure 5. h curve29 of O(h) for Williamson and Casson nanofluids respectively.

Figure 6. Velocity behavior f (h) for variations in M. Figure 7. Velocity behavior f (h) for variations in W.

decreases the flow speed. Magnetic field produces the

magnetic impact of electric charges in motion of fluid.
Due to collaboration with nano-sized particles, this
electric charge produces resistance to the flow of fluid.
When parameter M increases from 0.5 to 2.5, it shows
the decrement in velocity profile. Weissenberg para-
meter W is a non-Newtonian Williamson nanofluid
parameter showing its effect in Figure 7. Physically, W
shows the comparison between elastic and viscous
forces. It is related to stress relation time of fluid with
the specific duration of time. The effect of W is seemed
to the direct consequence of normal stress. Figure 7
shows clear rise in velocity as small increment in W
occurs. In Figure 8, increasing values of Casson para-
meter b causes decrement in the yield stress and sup- Figure 8. Velocity behavior f (h) for variations in b.
presses the velocity field. Physically, Casson nanofluid
parameter produces a resistance in fluid flow. It pos-
sesses shear thinning property with infinite viscosity at medium. With large porosity, porous drag force
zero shear rate. Equation (11) shows the porosity para- increases, causing low motion of nanofluid. Figure 9
meter g 1 present in the non-dimensional form of velo- depicts the effect of porosity parameter g 1 that sup-
city equation. Shelter effect of porous fence porosity presses velocity because of the damping effect of
produces resistance due to the solid fibers in porous Darcy’s resistance (defined as the direct proportional
Zuhra et al.
Figure 9. Velocity behavior f (h) for variations in g1 .
Figure 10. Velocity behavior f (h) for variations in g 2 .
relation between the fluid flow rate through porous
media). Inertial parameter g2 is the coefficient of
second-order nonlinear term representing the high pres-
sure on fluid velocity. Figure 10 shows the decreasing
effect for the values of g2 that develops the
Forchheimer resistance and so the flow decreases. The
behavior of the buoyancy ratio parameter Nr seems
against the velocity profile in Figure 11. Greater values
of the buoyancy forces increase the nanoparticles in
base fluid which produce more viscosity in fluid caus-
ing to slow down the motion of fluid. Rayleigh number
is directly related to buoyancy force. Figure 12 illus-
trate the volumetric buoyancy forces parameters of
Williamson fluid impact on fluid flow causing to
decrease the motion thereby control the flow.
Temperature profile
Equation (12) reveals that temperature profile depends
on heat convection of non-Newtonian nanofluid hav-
ing the auto catalyst chemical reactions. Non-dimen-
sional parameters that affect temperature are Prandtl
11
Figure 11. Velocity behavior f (h) for variations in Nr.
Figure 12. Velocity behavior f (h) for variation in Gtw .
number Pr and reduced heat transfer parameter g.
Prandtl number is reliant to heat transfer from moving
fluid to solid body. It signifies the thickness of thermal
boundary layer and thickness of hydrodynamic bound-
ary layer. If Prandtl number is one then it indicates that
the thickness of thermal boundary layer is equal to the
velocity boundary layer. In Figure 13, temperature rises
as Prandtl number increases from a lower value to a
higher value. Figure 14 displays the increasing behavior
of temperature profile against the increasing values of
reduced heat transfer parameter g.
Homogeneous–heterogeneous chemical reactions
profile
The main feature of this article is the chemical reaction
in fluid flow in the presence of gyrotactic microorgan-
isms concentration based on homogeneous–
heterogeneous auto catalyst. Both the reactions are
combined through f(h) + f1 (h) = 1 with d = 1.
Considering the buoyancy forces, left irrotational free
stream is unaffected by keeping the thermal boundary
12
Figure 13. Temperature behavior u(h) for variations in Pr.
Figure 14. Temperature behavior u(h) for variations in g.
layer less than free stream velocity. That is why, the
value of Prandtl number is taken larger than one,
which means that the thermal boundary layer thickness
is not beyond the velocity boundary layer thickness.
Discussing various parameters of concentration of
chemical reaction on the surface f(0), Figure 15 shows
the decreasing behaviors of f(0) against the strength of
homogeneous parameter K with the small variations of
Ks (rate of heterogeneous reaction parameter). Small
increment in the rate of heterogeneous reaction rapidly
drops the chemical concentration against K. Figure 16
reveals that the strength of homogeneous reaction
decreases at surface against parameter NAT , as in NAT ,
the temperature difference (Tw  T‘ ) is inversely pro-
portional to the reaction at the surface. Figure 17 dis-
plays the dual behavior of concentration profile for the
ascending range of homogeneous reaction parameter
K. Physically homogeneous reaction parameter refers
to the chemical reaction, in which reactant and product
are in the same phase. Initial half range shows the
decreasing concentration, while in other half range,
Advances in Mechanical Engineering
Figure 15. Chemical reaction concentration behavior f(0)
against K for variations in Ks .
concentration function increases gradually. While the
heterogeneous chemical reaction Ks defines the measur-
ing of strength of heterogeneous reaction used for
two phases increasing the efficiency of chemical con-
centration. NAT (ratio of Brownian motion parameter
Nb and thermophoresis parameter Nt ) is inversely pro-
portional to the concentration field. As fast Brownian
motion causes high chemical reaction on the surface,
the non-uniformity of chemical concentration of nano-
particles increases, where considering high thermophor-
esis parameter results in less homogeneity in
concentration. Figure 18 projects that reduction of
chemical reaction is happened on the species concentra-
tion for high range of NAT . Schmidt number is the ratio
between rate of viscous diffusion to molecular diffusion
rate. So, with rising quantities of Schmidt number Sc,
viscosity of fluid becomes high, which provides resis-
tance to fluid flow, so increasing the Schmidt number
enhances the viscosity rate causing high chemical reac-
tion which is displayed in Figure 19.
Density of motile aquatic microorganisms profile
The movement of microorganisms is affected by the
external stimuli (optical, chemical, and light taxes),
magnetic field, porous medium, and chemical reaction
created by homogeneous–heterogeneous auto catalyst.
It is noticed that variation occurs on magnitude of
motile density concentration due to homogeneous reac-
tion parameter K and heterogeneous reaction para-
meter Ks in the presence of magnetic field and the
porous medium. Other parameters like buoyance Gtc
and Gtw of Casson and Williamson nanofluid, Peclet
number Pe, and the ratio parameter NAT of Brownian
motion versus thermophoresis are also discussed.
Figure 20 reveals that enlarging of homogeneous
Zuhra et al.
Figure 16. Chemical reaction concentration behavior f(0)
against parameter NAT for variations in Ks .
Figure 17. Chemical reaction concentration behavior f(h)
against h for variations in K.
strength rate in single phase can evaluate the bioconvec-
tion concentration profile, while heterogenous chemical
reaction rate effect is opposite as seen in Figure 21.
With the increasing strength rate of heterogeneous reac-
tion, two different phase reactions cause prevention to
concentration process. Similarly, the buoyancy forces
increase via larger Gtc and Gtw , yielding faster velocity
which can elevate the microorganism concentration
field slowly. In Figure 22, the larger values of M causes
high magnitude of microorganism concentration since
implementation of magnetic property on fluid flow cre-
ates the Lorentz forces (resistive type forces), which
slows the momentum of fluid thereby making faster the
distribution of microorganisms concentration. In
Figure 23, the magnitude of motile density microorgan-
isms decreases when the porous parameter enlarges due
to the large porosity, the velocity at which the fluid
decelerates, which disturb the micro swimmers moment.
13
Figure 18. Chemical reaction concentration behavior f(h)
against h for variations in NAT .
Figure 19. Chemical reaction concentration behavior f(h)
against h for variations in ScA .
The inertial parameter g 2 related to microorganism
concentration has the same effect of g1 as in Figure 23.
Figure 24 shows the impact of Peclet number Pe on
density of motile microorganism concentration which is
reliant to the function of micro swimmers speed and the
diffusion rate of microbes.
Skin friction coefficient, local Nusselt number, local
wall mass flux and local wall microorganisms flux
Skin friction coefficient, Nusselt number, wall mass
flux, and wall microorganisms flux are important phys-
ical quantities. The impact of porosity parameter g1 on
Cfx (Rex )0:50 , Nux (Rex )0:50 , Qm x (Rex )0:50 , and Qn x (Rex )0:50
in the form of numerical values is tabulated in Table 1,
where other parameters are fixed. For validation of the
results, comparison has been made with Zuhra et al.2
in Table 1.
14 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Figure 20. Microorganisms concentration O(h) for variations in K. Figure 22. Microorganisms concentration O(h) for variations in M.

Figure 21. Microorganisms concentration O(h) for variations in Ks . Figure 23. Microorganisms concentration O(h) for variations in g 1 .

Conclusion
Steady, laminar, thin film flow containing non-
Newtonian nanofluid model is considered, in which the
homogeneous–heterogeneous chemical reactions have
been taken into account. The salient features of related
parameters have been discussed as follows:

 Velocity profile elevates with the Weissenberg

number W , while it declines for the rising values
of magnetic field parameter M, Casson nano-
fluid parameter b, inertial parameter g 2 , buoy-
ancy ratio parameter Nr, Rayleigh number Rb,
and volumetric buoyancy expansion parameters
Gtw , Gtc of Williamson and Casson nanofluids
parameters, respectively. Figure 24. Microorganisms concentration O(h) for variations
 in Pe.
Temperature increases with the Prandtl number
and reduced heat transfer parameter g.
 Behavior of the heterogeneous reaction para- weakens the chemical reaction when heteroge-
meter Ks against the homogeneous reaction neous reaction parameter Ks increases. Schmidt
parameter K and NAT weakens the chemical con- number ScA and reduced heat transfer parameter
centration. Homogeneous reaction parameter K g enhance the concentration.
Zuhra et al. 15

Table 1. Numerical values of skin friction, Nusselt number, mass flux, and microorganisms flux for different values of g 1 where
h =  1:10, q = 0, Gtc = 0:50, Gtw = 0:50, Nr = 0:60, Rb = 0:70, NAT = 0:90, Sc = 0:70, Le = 0:60, Pe = 1, b = 0:50,
g2 = 0:70, Pr = 5, Ks = 0:23, K = 0:80, M = 1, and W = 0:60.

Parameter Cfx (Rex )0:50 Nux (Rex )0:50 Qm x (Rex )0:50 Qn x (Rex )0:50
g1 Zuhra et al.2 Present Zuhra et al.2 Present Zuhra et al.2 Present Zuhra et al.2 Present

0.5 3.29861 3.29895 –0.27008 –0.173205 –0.224834 –0.224358 –1.31944 –1.31947

0.6 3.71026 3.29933 –0.27132 –0.199852 –0.224834 –0.224629 –1.32509 –1.31336
0.7 4.11636 3.29969 –0.27244 –0.224525 –0.224834 –0.224880 –1.32786 –1.30725
0.8 4.50061 3.30002 –0.27343 –0.247436 –0.224834 –0.225113 –1.32371 –1.30114
0.9 4.83509 3.30032 –0.27430 –0.268767 –0.224834 –0.225320 –1.30678 –1.29503
1.0 5.07484 3.30061 –0.27502 –0.288675 –0.224834 –0.225533 –1.26871 –1.28892

 Homogeneous reaction parameter K increases the
density of motile aquatic microorganisms while
heterogeneous coefficient Ks, magnetic field para-
meter M, porosity parameter g 1 , inertial parameter
g 2 , Peclet number Pe, and NAT show resistance to
the motile microorganisms concentration.
 Skin friction coefficient and wall flux of micro-
organisms increase gradually with the porosity
parameter g 1 . With high porosity parameter,
Nusselt number and mass flux are reduced.
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with
respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article.
ORCID iD
Noor Saeed Khan https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0991-7846
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Zuhra et al. 17

Appendix 1
Notation

Parameter names Notations Defined mathematical values

 
Weissenberg number W pffiffiffi 3U 1=2
2GU
4vf x
Volumetric expansion of Casson nanofluid Gtc 2rf‘ gBTC ðTw  T‘ Þ
3arf
Volumetric expansion of Williamson nanofluid Gtw 2rf‘ gBTw ðTw  T‘ Þ
3arf
Buoyancy ratio parameter Nr 2(rf  rf‘ )ga‘
3arf
Rayleigh number Rb 2gg av DrðNw  N‘ Þ
3arf
 
Reduced heat transfer parameter g hf 4vf x 1=2
k1 3U
Porosity parameter g1 4vf
3Uk0
Inertial non-dimensional parameter g2 4k0 F
pffiffiffiffiffi
3 k0
1
Magnetic field parameter M 4sB0 2 x2
3rð2aÞ1=2
Prandtl number Pr vf
am
Schmidt number ScA vf
Dn
Lewis number Le vf
DB
Proportion of the diffusion constants e DB
DA
Peclet number Pe bWa
Dn
Homogeneous reaction parameter K 4xa‘ 2 k1
3U
 
Heterogeneous reaction parameter Ks ks 3U 1=2
DA 4xvf
Ratio between Brownian motion and thermophoresis NAT NAT = (DA a‘ )=½DT =T‘ ðTw  T‘ Þ

Skin friction coefficient Cfx tw

r f U‘ 2
Local Nusselt number Nux qw x
k1 (Tw  T‘ )
Local wall mass flux coefficient Qmx qm x
DB C
Local mass flux of microorganisms Qnx qn x
Dn (Nw  N‘ )