Finite Element Approach to Electrically Conductive Maxwell Ternary Hybrid Nanofluid Flow Under Viscous Dissipation and Cattaneo-Christov Flux Over a Stretching Surface

Abstract

This study investigates the steady, two-dimensional, incompressible magnetohydrodynamic flow, heat, and mass transfer over a linearly stretched surface within a porous medium of a Maxwell-type ternary hybrid nanofluid. The base fluid, ethylene glycol, is enhanced with aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ), copper (Cu), and titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanoparticles to improve thermophysical properties. The model accounts for viscous dissipation, Joule heating, porous resistance, and finite heat and mass flux relaxation times using the Cattaneo-Christov theory. Governing nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) are derived from conservation rules, transformed into coupled ordinary differential equations (ODEs) via similarity variables, numerically solved using the finite element method (FEM), and their accuracy verified against previous studies. The effects of porosity, relaxation durations, viscous effects, magnetic field strength, and nanoparticle volume fractions on temperature, concentration, and velocity distributions are all examined by parametric analysis. The findings demonstrate that optimal parameter tweaking can greatly improve transport characteristics, providing useful information for real-world uses such complex fluid chemical processing, microelectronic cooling, medicinal drug delivery, and thermal regulation in energy systems.