Combined Heat and Mass Transfer in Mixed Convection over a Horizontal Flat Plate

The combined effects of buoyancy forces from thermal and species diffusion on the heat and mass transfer characteristics are analyzed for laminar boundary layer flow over a horizontal flat plate. The analysis is restricted to processes with low concentration levels such that the interfacial velocities due to mass diffusion and the diffusion-thermo/thermo-diffusion effects can be neglected. Numerical results for friction factor, Nusselt number, and Sherwood number are presented for gases having a Prandtl number of 0.7, with Schmidt numbers ranging from 0.6 to 2.0. In general, it is found that, for the thermally assisting flow, the surface heat and mass transfer rates as well as the wall shear stress increase with increasing thermal buoyancy force. These quantities are further enhanced when the buoyancy force from species diffusion assists the thermal buoyancy force, but are reduced when the two buoyancy forces oppose each other. While a higher heat transfer rate is found to be associated with a lower Schmidt number, a higher mass transfer rate occurs at a higher Schmidt number.