Acta Mechanica 188, 93–102 (2007)

DOI 10.1007/s00707-006-0398-4
Printed in The Netherlands
Acta Mechanica

Analytic solution for flow

of a micropolar fluid
F. Shahzad, M. Sajid, T. Hayat, and M. Ayub, Islamabad, Pakistan

Received September 21, 2005; revised July 25, 2006

Published online: October 12, 2006 Ó Springer-Verlag 2006

Summary. The time-independent equations for the two dimensional incompressible micropolar fluid have
been considered. Using group method the equations have been reduced to ordinary differential equations
and then solved analytically. Finally the boundary value problem has been discussed, and the graphical
results are in good agreement with the numerical solution.

1 Introduction
Eringen [1], [2] developed the theory of microfluids which exhibit microscopic effects arising
from the local structure and micro-motions of the fluid elements. Such fluids support stress and
body moments and include the local rotary inertia. The equations based on the theory of
microfluids are much more complicated even for the case of a constitutively linear situation,
and the non-trivial solution in the field is not easy to obtain. There is a subclass of microfluids
namely the micropolar fluids for which one can reasonably hope to obtain a non-trivial analytic
solution. The micropolar fluids support couple stress, body couples, micro-rotational effects
and micro-rotational inertia. The mathematical theory of equations of micropolar fluids
and application of these fluids in the theory of lubrication and in the porous space is given
in [3].
Recently the studies of micropolar fluids have acquired a special status due to their industrial
applications. Such applications include the extrusion of polymer fluids, solidification of liquid
crystals, cooling of a metallic plate in a bath, animal bloods, exotic lubricants and colloidal and
suspension solutions. Undoubtedly, the classical Navier-Stokes theory is inadequate for such
fluids. Several workers in the field have made the useful investigations that involve a micropolar
fluid. For example, Sriniasacharya and Rajyalakshmi [4] studied the creeping flow of a mi-
cropolar fluid past a porous sphere. Iyengar and Vani [5] examined the flow of a micropolar
fluid between two concentric spheres, induced by their rotary oscillations. Kasiviswanathan and
Gandhi [6] discussed the Hartman steady flow of a micropolar fluid between two infinite,
parallel non-coaxially rotating disks. Al-Bary [7] developed the exponential solution of the
problem of two dimensional motion of a micropolar fluid in a half-plane. Dubey et al. [8]
analyzed the flow of a micropolar fluid between two parallel plates rotating about two
non-coincident axes under variable surfaces charges. Gorla et al. [9] studied the heat transfer
analysis on the boundary layer flow of a micropolar fluid. Ibrahem et al. [10] presented the
non-classical heat conduction effects in Stokes’ second problem for unsteady micropolar fluids
flow. Seddek [11] studied the Hartman flow of a micropolar fluid past a continuously moving
94 F. Shahzad et al.

plate. Kim and Lee [12] made an interesting study for the Hartman oscillatory flow problem of
a micropolar fluid. Agrawal [13] presented a finite element solution of unsteady three dimen-
sional micropolar fluid flow at a stagnation point. Abo-Eldahab and Ghonaim [14] discussed
the numerical solution in order to see the radiation effect on heat transfer of a micropolar fluid.
However, most of the previous investigations deal with the numerical solution. The aim here
is to provide an analytic solution for the flow problem of a micropolar fluid. The group analysis
method has been extensively used for unsteady axisymmetric incompressible viscous flow by
Nucci [15]. Recently, Yürüsoy et al. [16] have obtained the solution for the creeping flow of
the second grade fluid using group method. They found the analytic solution for the two-
dimensional flow of a micropolar fluid. The analytic solution is given using group method
[17]–[19]. The translation type symmetry has been taken into account. The graphs are also
plotted and discussed.

2 Equations of motion

The two dimensional equations for an incompressible micropolar fluid are [3]
@u @v
þ ¼ 0; ð1Þ
@x @y


2 
@u @u @ u @2u @r @p
q u þv ¼ ðl þ k1 Þ þ þ k1
; ð2Þ
@x @y @x2 @y2 @y @x


2 
@v @v @ v @2v @r @p
q u þv ¼ ðl þ k1 Þ 2
þ 2

k1
; ð3Þ
@x @y @x @y @x @y


2 

@r @r @ r @2r @v @u
qj u þv ¼ G1 þ
2k1 r þ k1
; ð4Þ
@x @y @x2 @y2 @x @y
where u and v are the components of the velocity field in the x and y direction, rðx; yÞ is the
micro-rotation component, and p ¼ pðx; yÞ is the pressure distribution. Here q, l; k1 ; G1 and j
are mass density, coefficient of viscosity, coupling constant, micro-rotation constant and local
micro inertia.
Defining

u v x y
u¼ ; v¼ ; x¼ ; y¼ ;
U U L L
p r j
p¼ ; r¼ ; j¼ ; ð5Þ
P r J
Eqs. (1)–(4) reduce to

@u @v
þ ¼ 0; ð6Þ
@x @y

2 
@u @u @ u @2u @r @p
u þv ¼ ð
1 þ
2 Þ þ þ
3

4 ; ð7Þ
@x @y @x2 @y2 @y @x

2 
@v @v @ v @2v @r @p
u þv ¼ ð
1 þ
2 Þ þ

3

4 ; ð8Þ
@x @y @x2 @y2 @x @y
Analytic solution for flow of a micropolar fluid 95

2 

@r @r @ r @2r @v @u
u þv ¼
5 þ

6 r þ
7
; ð9Þ
@x @y @x2 @y2 @x @y
where
l k1 k1 r P

1 ¼ ;
2 ¼ ;
3 ¼ ;
4 ¼ ;
qLU qLU qU 2 qU 2
G1 J 2k1 LJ k1 J

5 ¼ ;
6 ¼ ;
7 ¼ ð10Þ
qLUj qUj qr j
and
1 and
2 are the reciprocal Reynolds numbers.

3 Symmetry analysis

In order to obtain the analytical solution, we use Lie group theory to Eqs. (6)–(9). For this we
write
 
x ¼ x þ en1 ðx; y; u; v; pÞ þ O e2 ;
 
y ¼ y þ en2 ðx; y; u; v; pÞ þ O e2 ;
 
u ¼ u þ eg1 ð x; y; u; v; pÞ þ O e2 ; ð11Þ

 2
v ¼ v þ eg2 ð x; y; u; v; pÞ þ O e ;
 
p ¼ p þ eg3 ðx; y; u; v; pÞ þ O e2 ;
 
r ¼ r þ eg4 ðx; y; u; v; pÞ þ O e2

as the infinitesimal Lie point transformations. We have assumed that Eqs. (6)–(9) are invariant
under the transformations given in Eq. ð11Þ. The corresponding infinitesimal generator is
@ @ @ @ @ @
X ¼ n1 þ n2 þ g1 þ g2 þ g3 þ g4 ; ð12Þ
@x @y @u @v @p @r
where n1 , n2 , g1 , g2 , g3 and g4 are the infinitesimals corresponding to x, y, u, v, p and r,
respectively. Since our equations are at most of order two, therefore, we need second order
prolongation of the generator in Eq. (12) and then apply the invariance condition to get the
following infinitesimals [17]–[19]:
n1 ¼ b; n2 ¼ c;
g1 ¼ 0; g2 ¼ 0; g3 ¼ d; g4 ¼ e: ð13Þ
Therefore, the equations admit a four parameter Lie group of transformations. Parameters b; c;
d and e correspond to translations in the x, y; p and r coordinates, respectively. By considering
the translations in x; y directions and choosing d; e ¼ 0 and solving the corresponding char-
acteristic equation the similarity variables and functions are given as
n ¼ y
mx; u ¼ f ðnÞ; v ¼ gðnÞ; p ¼ hðnÞ;
r ¼ NðnÞ; ð14Þ
where m ¼ c=b is an arbitrary parameter. In view of variables and functions in Eq. (14),
Eqs. (6)–(9) become

mf 0 þ g0 ¼ 0; ð15Þ
96 F. Shahzad et al.

 
ð
mff 0 þ gf 0 Þ ¼ ð
1 þ
2 Þ 1 þ m2 f 00 þ
3 N 0 þ
4 mh0 ; ð16Þ
 
ð
mfg0 þ gg0 Þ ¼ ð
1 þ
2 Þ 1 þ m2 g00 þ
3 mN 0

4 h0 ; ð17Þ
 
ð
mfN 0 þ gN 0 Þ ¼
5 1 þ m2 N 00

6 N

7 ðmg0 þ f 0 Þ: ð18Þ

Integration of Eq. (15) yields

g ¼ mf þ C1 : ð19Þ

Eliminating hðnÞ from Eqs. (16) and (17) and making use of Eq. (18) we get
   2  
1 þ m2 C1 f 0 ¼ ð
1 þ
2 Þ 1 þ m2 f 00 þ
3 1 þ m2 N 0 : ð20Þ

From Eqs. (18) and (19) one can write

   
C1 N 0 ¼
5 1 þ m2 N 00

6 N

7 1 þ m2 f 0 : ð21Þ

Now integrating Eq. (17) and then using Eqs. (19) and (20) we obtain

C2
h¼ ð22Þ

4
in which C1 and C2 are any arbitrary constants. Eliminating f ðnÞ between Eqs. (20) and (21) we
have
N iv
AN 000 þ BN 00 þ CN 0 ¼ 0; ð23Þ
where
C1 ð
5 þ
1 þ
2 Þ
A¼ ;

5 ð1 þ m2 Þð
1 þ
2 Þ
 2   
C1
1 þ m2 f
6 ð
1 þ
2 Þ þ
3
7 g
B¼ 2
; ð24Þ

5 ð1 þ m2 Þ ð
1 þ
2 Þ
C1
6
C¼ 2
:

5 ð1 þ m2 Þ ð
1 þ
2 Þ
The solution of Eq. (23) is given by
N ðnÞ ¼ C3 ea1 n þ C4 ea2 n þ C5 ea3 n þ C6 ; ð25Þ
where C3 ; C4 ; C5 and C6 are any arbitrary constants and ai ði ¼ 1; 2; 3Þ are the roots of the
following equation:

a3
Aa2 þ Ba þ C ¼ 0: ð26Þ

From Eqs. (21) and (25) the expression for f ðnÞ is

6 C6 n
f ðnÞ ¼ b1 ea1 n þ b2 ea2 n þ b3 ea3 n
þ C7 ; ð27Þ

7 ð1 þ m2 Þ

in which C7 is any arbitrary constant and bi (i=1; 2; 3) are given through the following
expression:
   
Ciþ2
5 1 þ m2 a2i

6
C1 ai
bi ¼ : ð28Þ

7 ð1 þ m2 Þai
Analytic solution for flow of a micropolar fluid 97

In the form of the original variable we have

6 C6 ðy
mxÞ
uðx; yÞ ¼ b1 ea1 ðy
mxÞ þ b2 ea2 ðy
mxÞ þ b3 ea3 ðy
mxÞ
þ C7 ; ð29Þ

7 ð1 þ m2 Þ
0 1
b1 ea1 ðy
mxÞ þ b2 ea2 ðy
mxÞ
B C
vðx; yÞ ¼ m@
6 C6 ðy
mxÞ A þ C1 ; ð30Þ
þb3 ea3 ðy
mxÞ
2
þ C7

7 ð1 þ m Þ

rðx; yÞ ¼ C3 ea1 ðy
mxÞ þ C4 ea2 ðy
mxÞ þ C5 ea3 ðy
mxÞ þ C6 ; ð31Þ

C2
pð x; yÞ ¼ : ð32Þ

4
Equations (29)–(32) give the solution of Eqs. (6)–(9) that involve seven unknown constants. For
determining the values of these constants we consider a problem that occurs in geology.
Consider a magmatic micropolar fluid and a plate over it. The plate occupies the position
y ¼ 0. The positive y goes deep into the fluid beneath the plate. The relevant boundary con-
ditions are of the form:
@u
uðx; 0Þ ¼ U0 ; uðx; 1Þ ¼ 0; ð0; yÞ ¼ 0; vðx; 0Þ ¼
V0 ;
@x
rðx; 0Þ ¼ 0; rðx; 1Þ ¼ 0; pðx; 1Þ ¼ p0 ; ð33Þ

where U0 is the velocity of the plate, V0 is the magmatic fluid penetrating into the plate and p0 is
the pressure deep in the magmatic fluid. The expressions (29) to (32) after using conditions (33)
give

U0
uðx; yÞ ¼ ðc e
ay
c2 e
by Þ; ð34Þ
c2
c1 1



U0 
ay 
vðx; yÞ ¼ m c1 e
c2 e
by
mU0
V0 ; ð35Þ
c2
c1

U0 
ay 
rðx; yÞ ¼ e
e
by ; ð36Þ
c2
c1

pðx; yÞ ¼ p0 ; ð37Þ
where

5 ð1 þ m2 Þa2

6 þ C1 a
c1 ¼ ; ð38Þ


7 ð1 þ m2 Þa

5 ð1 þ m2 Þb2

6 þ C1 b
c2 ¼ ð39Þ


7 ð1 þ m2 Þb
and
a and
b are the negative roots of Eq. (26).

4 Discussion

This Section deals with the interpretation of the translational parameter m and the magmatic
fluid penetrating parameter V0 on the x and y components of the velocity and on the angular
velocity r. Figures 1, 2 and 4–7 have been prepared for the velocity components whereas Fig. 3
holds for the angular velocity. It is found from Figs. 1 and 2 that the velocity components u and
98 F. Shahzad et al.

1.5
u (y)

1 m=1
m=2
m=3

0.5

0
0 5 10 15 20
y

Fig. 1. Variation of the dimensionless velocity distribution along the x-axis with the value of m
(
1 !
4 ;
6 ;
7 ¼ 0:5;
5 ¼ 2; U0 ¼ V0 ¼ 2)

–2
m=1
m = 1.5
m=2
–3
v (y)

–4

–5

–6
0 5 10 15 20
y

Fig. 2. Variation of the dimensionless velocity distribution along the y-axis with the value of m
(
1 !
4 ;
6 ;
7 ¼ 0:5;
5 ¼ 2; U0 ¼ V0 ¼ 2)

v are decreasing functions of m. It is also evident from Fig. 3 that the behavior of m on the
angular velocity is opposite to that of u and v.
From Eqs. (34) to (36) we note that the magmatic fluid penetrating parameter only enters
into the y-component of velocity. The x-component of velocity u and r are independent of
Analytic solution for flow of a micropolar fluid 99

0.25

0.2

0.15
s (y)

m=1
m=2
0.1
m=3

0.05

0
0 5 10 15 20
y

Fig. 3. Variation of the dimensionless angular velocity with the value of m (
1 !
4 ;
6 ;
7 ¼ 0:5;

5 ¼ 2; U0 ¼ V0 ¼ 2)

1.5
u (y)

1 V0 = 1
V0 =2
V0 =3

0.5

0
0 5 10 15 20
y

Fig. 4. Variation of the dimensionless velocity distribution along the x-axis with the value of V0
(
1 !
4 ;
6 ;
7 ¼ 0:5;
5 ¼ 2; U0 ¼ 2)

V0 . It is found from Figs. 4 and 5 that the x-component of velocity increases by increasing
the value of V0 either V0 > 0 or V0 < 0. It is clear from Figs. 6 and 7 that the behavior of
V0 on the y-component of the velocity is opposite to that of the x-component of the
velocity distribution.
100 F. Shahzad et al.

1.5
u (y)

1 V0 = –1
V0 = –0.8
V0 = –0.5

0.5

0
0 5 10 15 20
y

Fig. 5. Variation of the dimensionless velocity distribution along the x-axis with the value of V0
(
1 !
4 ;
6 ;
7 ¼ 0:5;
5 ¼ 2; U0 ¼ 2)

–1

V0 = 1
–2 V0 = 2
V0 = 3
v (y)

–3

–4

–5
0 5 10 15 20
y

Fig. 6. Variation of the dimensionless velocity distribution along the y-axis with the value of V0
(
1 !
4 ;
6 ;
7 ¼ 0:5;
5 ¼ 2, U0 ¼ 2Þ

5 Concluding remarks

In this communication we presented the analytical solution for the steady two dimensional
equations of a micropolar fluid. Lie group analysis has been employed and the solutions
Analytic solution for flow of a micropolar fluid 101

0.5

0
v (y)

V0 = –1
V0 = –0.8
–0.5
V0 = –0.5

–1

–1.5
0 5 10 15 20
y

Fig. 7. Variation of the dimensionless velocity distribution along the y-axis with the value of V0
(
1 !
4 ;
6 ;
7 ¼ 0:5;
5 ¼ 2, U0 ¼ 2Þ

corresponding to the translational symmetry are developed. The results are also sketched
graphically and show the similar behaviour of the numerical solution [14].

Acknowledgement
The authors are grateful to the referees for the useful suggestions.

References

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Authors’ addresses: F. Shahzad, T. Hayat, and M. Ayub, Department of Mathematics, Quaid-i-Azam

University 45320, Islamabad 44000 (E-mail: faisal_74_2000@yahoo.com); M. Sajid, Physics Research
Division, PINSTECH, P.O. Nilore, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan