This paper studies the steady flow and heat transfer of Bingham plastic fluid over a rotating disk of finite radius with variable thickness radially in boundary layer. The boundary layer flow is caused by the rotating disk when the extra stress is greater than the yield stress of the Bingham fluid. The analyses of the velocity and temperature field related to the variable thickness disk have not been investigated in current literatures. The governing equations are first simplified into ordinary differential equations owing to the generalized von Kármán transformation for seeking solutions easily. Then semi-similarity approximate analytical solutions are obtained by using the homotopy analysis method for different physical parameters. It is found that the Bingham number clearly influences the velocity field distribution, and the skin friction coefficient Cfr is nonlinear growth with respect to the shape parameter m. Additionally, the effects of the involved parameters (i.e. shape parameter m, variable thickness parameter β, Reynolds number Rev, and Prandtl number Pr) on velocity and temperature distribution are investigated and analyzed in detail.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.