Impacts of slip and activation energy on MHD hybrid nanofluid flow past a stretching radiated surface with heat generation/absorption

Abstract The influences of slip and activation energy on the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow of hybrid nanofluid over a permeable stretching radiated surface in attendance of heat source/sink have been studied. <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">Al</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">O</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>3</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:math> and Cu nanoparticles are mixed up in water to produce a hybrid nanofluid which is very important in various industrial sectors as hybrid nanofluid has wider applications in enhancing thermal efficiency to provide efficient and reliable cooling. As no one has yet searched for the collective impacts of radiative heat flux, ‘heat generation/absorption’ and ‘Arrhenius activation energy’ on MHD flow of ‘hybrid nanofluid’ in presence of slip that we are exploring in this article, this identifies the novelty of our work. Using ‘similarity transformations’, the main equations which are partial in nature are transformed to ODEs (ordinary differential equations) which are numerically solved with the assistance of ‘shooting technique and Runge–Kutta method’ using MATHEMATICA software. The outcomes of this investigation have a noteworthy impact on the physical outlook for flow field, transfer of heat and mass. Fluid velocity diminishes due to the rise of magnetic parameter but increasing nature of concentration and temperature are observed. For the rising volume fraction of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">Al</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">O</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>3</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:math> nanoparticles as well as for rising volume fraction of Cu nanoparticles, the heat transfer coefficient rises. Momentum ‘boundary layer thickness’ diminishes for rising velocity slip. 19.694% decrease in rate of surface heat transfer is observed when volume fraction of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">Al</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">O</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>3</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:math> nanoparticles changes from 0.01 to 0.12 whereas 24.394% decrease is noted when volume fraction of Cu nanoparticles changes from 0.2 to 0.14. The consequences of this study can be applied to many thermal systems used in engineering and industrial developments that utilize hybrid nanofluid for heating and cooling purposes.