Analytical and numerical investigation of various nanofluid boundary layer flow across a moving flat plate

This study investigates the two-dimensional, steady-state, laminar boundary layer flow of water-based nanofluids across a non-permeable horizontally moving flat plate. Nanofluids are comprised of six different nanoparticles consisting of CuO, Ag, SiO2, Cu, Al2O3, and TiO2. The flat plate is considered to be moving at a constant velocity. By employing similarity transformations, the governing equations of mass and momentum are converted into a nonlinear ordinary differential equation defined on a semi-infinite domain. The resulting equations are solved using a newly developed hybrid analytical technique, known as the least-squares homotopy perturbation method (LSHPM). The velocity and stream function profiles for various nanoparticles and a range of nanoparticle volume fractions are illustrated. The effects of the nanoparticle volume fraction and skin friction coefficient on the fluid flow characteristics are thoroughly examined. To compare and validate the solutions, we solved the subsequent equations using the homotopy perturbation method (HPM) and a MATLAB numerical solver, bvp5c. The results are compared with those of bvp5c and other existing techniques reported in the literature. The numerical and graphical comparison of the absolute residual errors of solutions obtained utilizing HPM and LSHPM confirms the superiority of LSHPM over HPM in terms of accuracy and fast convergence. A comparative analysis of HPM, BVP5C, and earlier numerical approaches indicates that LSHPM is a more efficient, fast-convergent, and reliable tool for solving boundary layer flow problems.