A numerical study of thin film flow of a non-Newtonian fluid on a vertically moving belt using variational iteration approach

Abstract

This paper provides an investigation regarding the modeling and analysis of a thin film flow of an Oldroyd 8-constant fluid on a vertically moving belt. The governing nonlinear problem is solved by using Variational Iteration Method (VIM). The results of the present method are then compared with those obtained by Adomian Decomposition Method (ADM) and an excellent agreement is observed. This comparison reveals that VIM may be considered as an efficient alternative method for solving nonlinear problems arising in non-Newtonian fluid mechanics. Expressions for some important physical quantities such as volume flux, average velocity, the belt speed for the lifting of the non-Newtonian fluid are also derived.