Viscous Dissipation and Joule Heating Effects in Non-Fourier MHD Squeezing Flow, Heat and Mass Transfer Between Riga Plates with Thermal Radiation: Variational Parameter Method Solutions

A Riga plate is an electromagnetic actuator which comprises permanent magnets and alternating electrodes placed on a plane surface. The present article investigates the influence of viscous and Joule heating (Ohmic dissipation) in the magnetohydrodynamic squeezing flow, heat and mass transfer between two Riga plates. A non-Fourier (Cattaneo–Christov) heat flux model is employed which generalizes the classical Fourier law to incorporate thermal relaxation time. Via suitable transformations, the governing partial differential conservation equations and boundary conditions are non-dimensionalized. The resulting nonlinear ordinary differential boundary value problem is well posed and is solved analytically by the variational parameter method (VPM). Validation of the solutions is included for the special case of non-dissipative flow. Extensive graphical illustrations are presented for the effects of squeeze parameter, magnetic field parameter, modified Hartmann number, radiative parameter, thermal Biot number, concentration Biot number, Eckert number, length parameter, Schmidt number and chemical reaction parameter on the velocity, temperature and concentration distributions. Additionally, the influence of selected parameters on reduced skin friction, Nusselt number and Sherwood number are tabulated. An error analysis is also included for the VPM solutions. Detailed interpretation of the results is provided. The study is relevant to smart lubrication systems in biomechanical engineering and sensor design.