Received: 3 July 2020

DOI: 10.1002/mma.6795

SPECIAL ISSUE PAPER

Natural convection flows of carbon nanotube Prabhakar-

like fractional second-grade nanofluids over an infinite
plate with Newtonian heating

Thanaa Elnaqeeb1,2 | Nehad Ali Shah3,4 | Abdul Rauf5

1
Department of Mathematics and
Statistics, Faculty of Science, Taif In this article, the free convection flow of second-grade nanofluids based on
University, Taif, 888, Saudi Arabia carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with Prabhakar-like fractional and Newtonian
2
Department of Mathematics, Faculty of heating over a vertical plate has been studied. The fractional model of governing
Science, Zagazig University, Zagazig,
44519, Egypt
equations is defined by the time-dependent fractional Prabhakar derivative.
3
Informetrics Research Group, Ton Duc Using the Laplace transform method, analytical solutions are determined for
Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, the dimensionless thermal and velocity profiles. Prabhakar-like fractional
758307, Vietnam
second-grade fluids with generalized thermal transport velocity and heat transfer
4
Faculty of Mathematics and Statistics,
Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh
are compared with ordinary second-grade fluids with ordinary thermal transport
City, Vietnam and ordinary viscous fluids with classical Fourier thermal flux. The effects of
5
Department of Computer Science and fractional and physical parameters are expressed graphically.
Engineering, Air University Multan
Campus, Multan, 60000, Pakistan KEYWORDS
carbon nanotubes, natural convection flows, Newtonian heating, Prabhakar-like fractional
Correspondence
derivative, second-grade nanofluids
Nehad Ali Shah, Faculty of Mathematics
and Statistics, Ton Duc Thang University,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Email: nehad.ali.shah@tdtu.edu.vn

1 | INTRODUCTION

Convection-induced heat transfer has attracted wide attention in view of their importance in numerous technical uses
and industrial applications as well as many scientific concerns. It is frequently significant in atmospheric and oceanic
circulation, space ship construction, filtration, processing of porous materials in textile factories, electronic goods and
cooling systems for nuclear power plants, heated or cooled storage rooms, power electronic devices, nuclear reactors,
and solar collectors.1
Natural convection mechanism takes place due to large temperature differences which can effect on the fluid
density and then cause relative buoyancy of the fluid. It has numerous applications in several technological and
scientific concerns. Natural convection in many tools, procedures, and systems is incredibly significant in exothermic
reactions challenges. It is indeed appropriate for security considerations under circumstances where the usual mode
continues to fail and when the process relies on natural convection to dispose the produced heat. This has special
importance in digital systems and devices as well as in energy production in which such configuration is necessary to
prevent excessive heat.2
Extensive theoretical and analytical researches on natural convection flows were carried out in the past years to
interpret many environmental phenomena and attribute in understanding numerous scientific situations. Javaid et al.3
studied the free convection flow of second-grade fluid in cylindrical domain. It has been reported that under the

Math Meth Appl Sci. 2020;1–14. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/mma © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 1
2 ELNAQEEB ET AL.

influence of dimensionless parameters (Prandtl number and Grashof number), the velocity values for Newtonian fluid
were higher than the velocity values for second-grade fluid. The study of transient electro-osmotic flow of generalized
second-grade fluids under slip boundary conditions was adequately discussed by Wang et al.4 Analytical solution has
been obtained with the help of Laplace transform. Several special cases existing in literature have been recovered. Nisa
et al.5 have considered the free convection flow of the incompressible fractional second-grade fluid between two vertical
plates of finite width in the presence of radiation influence between parallel plates. Closed form of the solution was
found with the help of Laplace transform. Various research topics based on the free convection fluid flow models can
be seen in the previous studies.6–15
Based on the above presentation, it can be concluded that the thermal transfer has a significant role in many
heating/cooling processes and in various industrial applications. Such thermal conductivity can be enhanced by
suspending the nanometallic particles into the base fluid. The suspension of nanometallic particles into the base fluid is
named as nanofluid by Choi.16 The nanofluids are superior in thermal conductivity relative to their base fluids. It shows
numerous science and engineering applications, particularly in refrigeration processes.17–20
Scientists are actively finding their way through theoretical and experimental as well as computational studies
identifying nanofluids for such composition of base fluids and nanoparticles which have high thermal efficiency.
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are of considerable interest when compared with other nanoparticles due to their significant
heat capacity and mechanical power. They can be twisted without harm; this feature makes them more effective for
microscopy of high-resolution scanning probes. Their heat capacity is influenced by the diameter and length that makes
them important for different applications to be designed in the optimal way. CNTs are considered as extremely high
heat conductive materials. Owing to their high thermal conductivity, CNTs have usage in fuel cells gas diffusion layers,
molecular electronics, and current repositories.
Since CNTs can improve the efficiency of the heat transfer performance, therefore many researchers discussed
pertinent nanofluid flow models by using CNTs as suspended nanoparticles. Zhang et. al.21 studied the thermal
conductivity and suspension stability of CNT-based nanofluids and found that surface modifications of CNTs enhance
the suspension stability and the thermal conductivity. The entropy generation of the second-grade nanofluids flow in a
thin film with a Cattaneo–Christov heat flux using both single-walled CNTs and multi-walled CNTs as suspended
nanoparticles has been introduced by Shah et al.22 It has been found that the entropy generation increases with the
increase in Reynolds and Brickman numbers. Anam et al.23 discussed the problem of natural convection flow of
CNT-based Maxwell nanofluid over a vertical static wall and explored that temperature and velocity were enhanced by
increasing Grashof number. Saqib et al.24 introduced analytical solutions for the problem of the generalized Jeffery fluid
mixed with the Carboxy-Methyl-Cellulose-based CNTs between two parallel plates. Limiting cases for the classical
Jeffery fluid, the second-grade fluid, and the Newtonian fluid have been also discussed. Elnaqeeb et al.25 studied the
effect of the fractional parameters and memory effect on the nanofluid flow features such as velocity and temperature
for the problem of natural convection nanofluid with suspended CNTs near an infinite vertical heated plate by using
the Prabhakar-like thermal transport. Xiao et al.26 declared the magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD)-free convection flow
in a vertical cylinder of viscous CNTs nanofluids by considering memory effects for the thermal equation using
Caputo–Fabrizio and Atangana–Baleanu fractional derivatives. Several other attempts with CNTs mixed with the base
fluids can be seen in the previous studies.27–33
Due to memory effects, the dynamical analysis of fluid by using fractional systems is recognized to be more efficient
compared to the analysis by using ordinary systems. Further, memory and nonlocal effects have significant impacts on
the thermal transport process as well as the velocity profiles. Thus, the analysis of fractional calculus over the last few
years has attained significant development due to its applications in various fields such as biology and medicine, heat
transfer elasticity, complex rheological media, fluid flow, and electromagnetic radiation in dielectric media. Fractional
derivative operators in the context of the concepts Riemann–Liouville, Caputo–Liouville, or Caputo–Fabrizio were
effectively used in complex media anomalous models of diffusion.34–39 Hristov gives an enlightening analysis of
fractional derivatives applications in transport phenomena.40
In this work, our goal is to study the free convection flow of nanofluids based on CNTs with Prabhakar-like
fractional and Newtonian heating over a vertical plate. Corresponding fractional system of the governing equations is
introduced by using the time-dependent fractional Prabhakar derivative. Using the Laplace transform method,
analytical solutions are determined for the dimensionless thermal and velocity profiles. Prabhakar-like fractional
second-grade fluids with generalized thermal transport velocity and heat transfer are compared with ordinary
second-grade fluids with ordinary thermal transport and ordinary viscous fluids with classical Fourier thermal flux. The
effects of fractional and physical parameters are expressed graphically.
ELNAQEEB ET AL. 3

2 | F O R M U L A T I O N O F TH E PR O B L E M

Consider the free convection flow over a vertical flat plate of second-grade CNTs nanofluid. In a fixed Cartesian
coordinate system, the flow geometry presented, the x-axis is taken upward along the plate, and the y-axis is orthogonal
to the plate. Both the plate and the nanofluid are originally rest at ambient temperature T∞. Then, after this moment,
the right plate slides in their plane along x-direction with velocity Uf(t), with maintained Newtonian heating. The
function f(
) is piecewise continuous and exponential order at infinity with f(0) = 0.
We can assume that all physical entities characterizing the fluid motion and heat transfer are functions of y and
!
t only. For the velocity field V = ðuðy, t Þ, 0, 0Þ, the continuity equation is identically satisfied.
The governing equations in the absence of pressure gradient in the flow direction and Boussinesq's approximation
are expressed as follows:


∂uðy, t Þ ∂ ∂ 2 uðy, t Þ
ρnf = μnf 1 + α1 + gðρβT Þnf ½T ðy, t Þ −T ∞ , ð1Þ
∂t ∂t ∂y2

  ∂T ðy, t Þ ∂qðy, t Þ
ρcp =− , ð2Þ
nf ∂t ∂y

∂T ðy, t Þ
qðy, tÞ = −k nf , ð3Þ
∂y

where u(y,t) and T(y,t) are velocity and temperature of the nanofluid, μnf is the dynamic viscosity of nanofluid, g is the
gravitational acceleration, (β)nf is the thermal expansion coefficient of nanofluid, ρnf is the density of nanofluid, (cp)nf is
the specific heat at constant pressure, and knf is the thermal conductivity,25

      μf
ρnf = ð1 −ϕÞρf + ϕρCNT , ρcp nf = ð1 −ϕÞ ρcp f + ϕ ρcp CNT , μnf = ,
ð1 −ϕÞ2:5

   
kCNT + k f
knf 1 −ϕ + 2ϕ kCNT − kf ln
k CNT
  2kf
ðρβÞnf = ð1 −ϕÞ ρcp f
+ ϕðρβÞCNT , =    ,
kf k k +k
1 −ϕ + 2ϕ kCNT f− kf ln CNT2kf f

and ϕ is the nanofluid volume fraction parameter and the indices f and CNT refer to the fluid and carbon nanotubes,
respectively.
The corresponding initial and boundary conditions for temperature and velocity are follows:

uðy, 0Þ = 0, T ðy, 0Þ = T ∞ ; y≥0, ð4Þ


∂T ðy, t Þ h
uð0,t Þ = Uf ðt Þ, = − T ð0, t Þ; t > 0, ð5Þ
∂y y = 0 k

uðy,t Þ ! 0, T ðy,t Þ ! T ∞ as y ! ∞, ð6Þ

where h is the heat transfer coefficient for Newtonian heating.

4 ELNAQEEB ET AL.

By introducing the dimensionless variables and functions

2

0 h 0 h 0 u 0 T −T ∞ 0 q h
y = y, t = νnf t, u = , T = , q = ,q0 = T∞,
k k U T∞ q0 k

2 "
 # ð7Þ
h t0 k 2
β1 = α1 νnf f 0 ðt 0 Þ = f ,
k νnf h

and dropping out the prime notation, we attain to the following dimensionless initial boundary values problem:


∂uðy, tÞ ∂ ∂ 2 uðy, t Þ
= 1 + β1 + GrT ðy, t Þ; y∈½0, 1,t≥0, ð8Þ
∂t ∂t ∂y2

∂T ðy, t Þ ∂qðy, t Þ
Pr =− , ð9Þ
∂t ∂y

∂T ðy, t Þ
qðy, tÞ = − , ð10Þ
∂y

uðy, 0Þ = 0, T ðy, 0Þ = 0; y≥0, ð11Þ


∂T ðy, t Þ
uð0, t Þ = f ðt Þ, = − ½1 + T ð0, t Þ; t≥0, ð12Þ
∂y y = 0

uðy, t Þ ! 0, T ðy, t Þ ! 0 as y ! ∞, ð13Þ

gðβ Þ  2 ðμcp Þ
where Gr = νnfTUnf hk T ∞ and Pr = knf nf are the thermal Grashof number and the Prandtl number, respectively.
In this paper, we proposed a new mathematical model in which the generalized thermal memory effects
are considered. To achieve this goal, we introduce a generalized Fourier's law based on the Prabhakar fractional
derivative, namely,

∂T ðy, t Þ
qðy, t Þ = − C Dγα,β,a : ð14Þ
∂y

Let m = [β] be the integer part of the parameter β and f ∈ ACm(0,b). The regularized Prabhakar derivative is
defined by41,42

C
Dγα,β,a f ðt Þ = E α,m-β,a
−γ −γ
f ðmÞ ðt Þ = eα,m − β ða; t Þ  f
ðmÞ
ðt Þ =
ðt ð15Þ
−γ
= ðt −τÞm − β − 1 E α,m-β ðaðt −τÞα Þf ðmÞ ðτÞdτ,
0

where “*” represent the convolution product, f(m) denotes the mth derivative of f(t), and ACm(0,b) stands for the set of
real-valued functions f(t) whose derivatives are continuous up to order (m − 1) on the interval (0,b) and such that
f(m − 1)(t) is absolutely continuous function.
ELNAQEEB ET AL. 5

Ðt
In Equation 15, E γα,β,a f ðt Þ = ðt − τÞβ − 1 E γα,β ðaðt −τÞα Þf ðτÞdτ denotes the Prabhakar integral, and
P
∞ 0
E γα,β ðzÞ = Γðγ + nÞzn
n!Γðγ ÞΓðαn + βÞ , α, β, γ, z∈ℂ, ReðαÞ > 0 is the three-parametric Mittag–Leffler function.
n=0
The function eγα,β ða;t Þ = t β − 1 E γα,β ðatα Þ, t∈R, α, β, γ,a∈ℂ, ReðαÞ > 0 is called the Prabhakar kernel.
The Laplace transform of the regularized Prabhakar derivative is defined as follows:
n o n o n o n o
L C Dγα,β,a f ðt Þ = L eα,m −γ
− β ða; t Þ  f
ðmÞ −γ
ðt Þ = L eα,m − β ða; t Þ L f
ðmÞ
ðt Þ
n o ð16Þ
= sβ − m ð1 −as − α Þγ L f ðmÞ ðt Þ :

−γ
Let hP ðα, β,γ, a, t Þ = eα,m − β ða;t Þ be the Prabhakar kernel of the regularized Prabhakar derivative. The classical
Fourier's law will be obtained for β = γ = 0.

3 | S O L U T I O N O F T H E PR O B L E M

3.1 | Solution of the temperature

Applying the Laplace transform to Equations 9, 14, 122, and 132, using the initial condition 112, we obtain the
transformed problem for the temperature field

 ðy,sÞ = − ∂
qðy, sÞ
PrsT , ð17Þ
∂y

 ðy, sÞ
∂T
ðy, sÞ = − sβ ð1 −as − α Þγ
q , ð18Þ
∂y


 ðy, sÞ
∂T 1 
  ðy, sÞ ! 0, y ! ∞:asy ! ∞,
= − + T ð0,sÞ , T ð19Þ
∂y y = 0 s

Ð∞
where 
χ ðy, sÞ = χ ðy,t Þe − st dt denotes the Laplace transform of the function χ(y,t) and s is the transform parameter.
0

By substituting from Equation 18 into Equation 17 and rearrange, we have the following differential equation:

 ðy, sÞ
∂2 T Prs
− β  ðy,sÞ = 0:
T ð20Þ
∂y2 s ð1 −as − α Þγ

The solution of Equation 20 which satisfies boundary conditions in Equation 19 is given by

 ðy,sÞ = 1 T
T  1 ðy, sÞ, ð21Þ
s

pffiffiffiffiffi
 1 ðy,sÞ = p
where T ffiffiffiffiffiffiffi and wðsÞ = sβ ð1 −Prs
e −y wðsÞ
:.
w ð sÞ − 1 as −α Þγ
pffi
Let be the auxiliary function h ðy, sÞ = pe −ffi y s with the inverse Laplace
s−1

y2

e − 4t y pffiffi
ðy, wðsÞÞ,
 1 ðy, sÞ = h
hðy, tÞ = pffiffiffiffiffi + e − y + t erfc pffiffi − t , because T
πt 2 t
6 ELNAQEEB ET AL.

which implies that

ð
∞

T 1 ðy, t Þ = hðy, ηÞgðη, t Þdη, ð22Þ

0

where

n o X ∞
ð −PrηÞk ðβ − 1Þk − 1 γk
gðη, t Þ = L − 1 e − ηwðsÞ = t E α,ðβ − 1Þk ðat α Þ: ð23Þ
k=0
k!

The inverse Laplace transform of the transformed temperature 21 is

ðt
T ðy, t Þ = H ðt Þ  T 1 ðy,t Þ = T 1 ðy, τÞdτ: ð24Þ
0

3.2 | Classical thermal transport (β = γ = 0)

By using Equation 16, it can be seen that

n o n o
−γ −γ
L eα,β ða; tÞ = L t β − 1 E α,β ðat α Þ = sβ ð1 −as − α Þγ : ð25Þ

For β = γ = 0, Equation 25 becomes

 
L e0α,0 ða; t Þ = 1 = Lfδðt Þg, ð26Þ

where δ(
) is Dirac's distribution. In this particular case, the generalized Fourier's law in Equation 14 becomes the
classical Fourier's law, so the ordinary thermal transport is recovered.
In this particular case, Equation 21 becomes
pffiffiffiffiffi

 1 e − y Prs
T ðy, sÞ = pffiffi : ð27Þ
ð s −1Þ s

The inverse Laplace transforms of function 27 is

pffiffiffiffiffi
y Pr
T ðy, t Þ = f 1 ðt Þerfc pffiffi , ð28Þ
2 t

 

pffiffi 
1 1 1 1 t t
f 1 ðt Þ = L − 1 pffiffi = pffiffiffiffiffi pffiffiffiffiffi + pffiffiffiffiffi ePr erfc − pffiffiffiffiffi , ð29Þ
s −1 Pr πt Pr Pr

where erfc(
) is the complementary Gauss error function.

ELNAQEEB ET AL. 7

3.3 | The solution of fluid velocity

Fluid velocity solution can be obtained by applying the Laplace transform to Equations 8, 121, and 131, using the initial
condition for velocity 111; we obtain the following transformed problem of velocity field:

ðy,sÞ
∂2 u  ðy, sÞ,
uðy, sÞ = ð1 + β1 sÞ
s + Gr T ð30Þ
∂y2

ð0, sÞ = F ðsÞ, u
u ðy, sÞ ! 0asy ! ∞: ð31Þ

By substituting from Equation 21 into Equation 30, we obtain

ðy, sÞ
∂2 u s Gr pffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
− y w ð sÞ
− 
u ð y, s Þ = − p ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi e : ð32Þ
∂y2 1 + β1 s sð1 + β1 sÞ wðsÞ − 1

The solution of Equation 32 subject to conditions in Equation 31 can be written as

FIGURE 1 Temperature profile versus y for β variation and

different values of time [Colour figure can be viewed at
wileyonlinelibrary.com]
8 ELNAQEEB ET AL.

" pffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ffi pffiffiffiffiffiffiffi #
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ffi Gr e
−y s
1 + β1 s
e−y w ð sÞ
−y s
ðy, sÞ = F ðsÞe
u 1 + β1 s
+ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi − : ð33Þ
wðsÞ −1 ½ð1 + β1 sÞwðsÞ−s s s

Equation 33 can be written in the following equivalent form

" pffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ffi pffiffiffiffiffiffiffi #

pffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ffi e
− y 1 +sβ s
e − y wðsÞ
−y  
s 1
ðy, sÞ = F ðsÞe
u 1 + β1 s
+ Gr M 1 ðsÞM 2 ðsÞ − , ð34Þ
s s

 1 ðsÞ = pffiffiffiffiffiffi
where M 1ffi 
, M 2 ðsÞ = ½ð1 + β 1
:
w ð sÞ − 1 1 sÞwðsÞ − s

By taking inverse Laplace transform of Equation 34, we obtain


0 1 1
uðy, t Þ = f ðt Þ  φ y, t; , +
β1 β1
"
 X # ð35Þ
∞ k
1 1 ð −yÞk ðPrÞ2 γk2 α
+ GrM 1 ðt ÞM 2 ðt Þ φ y, t; , − E ð1 −βÞk ðat Þ ,
β1 β 1 k=0
k! α,1 + 2

F I G U R E 2 Temperature profile versus y for γ variation and

different values of time [Colour figure can be viewed at
wileyonlinelibrary.com]
ELNAQEEB ET AL. 9

where

 ( pffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ffi) ð
∞
− y 1 +sβ s
sinðpyÞ − ð1 +tpβ1 p2 Þ
2
1 1 −1 e 1 2
φ y, t; , =L = 1− e dp,
β1 β1 s π p ð1 + β 1 p 2 Þ
0

ð
∞
X
∞ ð
∞
X
∞ X
∞
ð −PrÞk ðPrÞk k!βj
M 1 ðt Þ = δðt Þ f ðpÞdp + t βðk − 1Þ − 1 E γk α
α,βðk − 1Þ ðat Þ pk f ðpÞdp,M 2 ðt Þ = − 1 ðβk − jÞ γk
t E α,βk + 1− j ðatα Þ:
k=1
k! k=0 j=0
j!ðk −jÞ!
0 0

For classical velocity β = γ = 0,


0 1 1
uðy, t Þ = f ðt Þ  φ y,t; , +
β1 β1



pffiffiffiffiffi
ð36Þ
Pr −1 1 1 y Pr
+ GrM 3 ðt Þ  exp − t  φ y, t; , −erfc pffiffi ,
Prβ1 β1 β1 2 t

  h qffiffiffiffii t
where M 3 ðt Þ = L −1 pffiffiffiffi
1ffi
= 1 + erf t
ePr −1:
sð Prs − 1Þ Pr

FIGURE 3 Temperature profile versus y for ϕ variation and

different values of time [Colour figure can be viewed at
wileyonlinelibrary.com]
10 ELNAQEEB ET AL.

F I G U R E 4 Temperature distributions for both fractional and

classical models at different values of time [Colour figure can be
viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

F I G U R E 5 Velocity profile for cosine and sine oscillations versus y for β variation and two values of time [Colour figure can be viewed
at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
ELNAQEEB ET AL. 11

F I G U R E 6 Velocity profile for cosine and sine oscillations versus y for γ variation and two values of time [Colour figure can be viewed
at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

F I G U R E 7 Velocity profile for cosine and sine oscillations versus y for ϕ variation and two values of time [Colour figure can be viewed
at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

F I G U R E 8 Velocity distributions for both fractional and classical models at different values of time [Colour figure can be viewed at
wileyonlinelibrary.com]
12 ELNAQEEB ET AL.

4 | NUMERICAL R ESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

In order to highlight the physical insight of our results, the numerical values extracted from the analytical solutions of
temperature and velocity are plotted through Figures 1–8. For the numerical results, we have considered the values of
thermo physical parameters for CNTs (nanoparticles) and water (base fluid) as follows: ρf = 997,ρs = 2600, cpf = 4197,
cps = 425, kf = 0.613, and ks = 6600, which are found in many literatures.25,26 In the introduced analysis, we consider
the functions f(t) = cos(πt/3) and sin(πt/3), for the motion of the wall.
The impact of fractional parameter β on temperature profile at different small and large values of time is
plotted in Figure 1. It is pointed out that for small values of time, the temperature is increased by increasing
the values of β. For large values of time, an opposite trend is shown. Fractional parameter γ influences on
temperature profile at different values of time are clarified in Figure 2. The results illustrated that temperature
values are increased by increasing the time values. It is pointed out that for small as well as for large values of
time, the temperature is decreased by increasing the values of γ. The temperature layer difference is increased by
increasing the values of time t. Figure 3 is drawn to illustrate the impact of volume fraction ϕ on temperature
values. It is observed that temperature is increased by increasing values of ϕ, which is expected because the pure
fluid has less thermal conductivity, so by adding nanoparticles into fluids, the heat transfer is improved. Figure 4
shows a comparison between both the fractional model and the classical model of temperature distribution. It is
found that, for small values of time, the classical model has less temperature values than the fractional model,
while for large values of time, the temperature results for the fractional model are smaller than the results for the
classical model.
The impact of fractional parameters β and γ on velocity distribution for cosine and sine oscillations is presented in
Figures 5 and 6, respectively. It is observed that velocity is decreased by increasing the values of fractional parameters.
The boundary layer difference is more for sine oscillation. The velocity is increased by increasing the value of CNTs
volume fraction ϕ as shown in Figure 7. In Figure 8, a comparison between the fractional model and the classical
model is presented for the velocity field. It is observed that the classical model has significant higher velocity values
than the fractional model.

5 | C ON C L US I ON S

The aim of this article is to study the free convection flow of second-grade nanofluids based on CNTs with
Prabhakar-like fractional and Newtonian heating over a vertical plate. The fractional model of governing equations
is defined by the time-dependent fractional Prabhakar derivative. Using the Laplace transform method, analytical
solutions are determined for the dimensionless thermal and velocity profiles. Prabhakar-like fractional second-grade
fluids with generalized thermal transport velocity and heat transfer are compared with ordinary second-grade fluids
with ordinary thermal transport and ordinary viscous fluids with classical Fourier thermal flux. The main observations
are as follows:

• For small time values, temperature is increased by increasing the values of β, whereas an opposite trend is shown for
large time values.
• For small as well as for large values of time, the temperature is decreased by increasing the values of γ.
• Temperature is increased by increasing values of ϕ, which is expected because the pure fluid has less thermal
conductivity, so by adding nanoparticles into fluids, the heat transfer is improved.
• Velocity is decreased by increasing the values of fractional parameters.
• Velocity is increased by increasing the value volume fraction ϕ.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST
This work does not have any conflicts of interest.

ORCID
Thanaa Elnaqeeb https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1492-9518
Nehad Ali Shah https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1949-5643
Abdul Rauf https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8173-9496
ELNAQEEB ET AL. 13

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Rep. 2020;10(1):8327.
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How to cite this article: Elnaqeeb T, Shah NA, Rauf A. Natural convection flows of carbon nanotube
Prabhakar-like fractional second-grade nanofluids over an infinite plate with Newtonian heating. Math Meth
Appl Sci. 2020;1–14. https://doi.org/10.1002/mma.6795