Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 May 2016
A theoretical study is presented for the problem of orthogonal axisymmetric stagnation flow towards an infinite horizontal plate with a constant velocity in the presence of viscous dissipation and heat generation. The governing equations are reduced to a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations by means of appropriate transformations for the velocity components and temperature. The similarity equations are solved numerically using the Matlab routine bvp4c. The results are compared with those known from the literature and an excellent agreement is found. The effects of involved parameters on the x-wise velocity component, temperature, skin friction, heat transfer and entropy generation rate are presented in graphical and tabular forms. It was found that the Eckert number Ec, the Prandtl number Pr and the heat generation parameter α play a significant role on the temperature, heat transfer and entropy generation rate.