Computers and Mathematics with Applications 62 (2011) 2871–2891

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Computers and Mathematics with Applications

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Study of a third grade non-Newtonian fluid flow between two parallel

plates using the multi-step differential transform method
M. Keimanesh a , M.M. Rashidi a,∗ , Ali J. Chamkha b , R. Jafari c
a
Mechanical Engineering Department, Engineering Faculty of Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran
b
Kuwait University, P.O. Box 5969, Safat 13060, Kuwait
c
Department of Computer Science, University of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada J1K 2R1

article info abstract

Article history: In this paper, the multi-step differential transform method (MDTM), one of the most
Received 25 March 2011 effective method, is implemented to compute an approximate solution of the system of
Received in revised form 25 July 2011 nonlinear differential equations governing the problem. It has been attempted to show
Accepted 25 July 2011
the reliability and performance of the MDTM in comparison with the numerical method
(fourth-order Runge–Kutta) and other analytical methods such as HPM, HAM and DTM
Keywords:
in solving this problem. The first differential equation is the plane Couette flow equation
Non-Newtonian fluid
Third grade fluid
which serves as a useful model for many interesting problems in engineering. The second
Couette flow one is the Fully-developed plane Poiseuille flow equation and finally the third one is the
Poiseuille flow plane Couette–Poiseuille flow.
Couette–Poiseuille flow © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Multi-step differential transform method
(MDTM)

1. Introduction

Non-Newtonian fluids have received much attention and importance than Newtonian fluids in recent years because of
its various industrial and technological applications. The differential equations that arise when modeling non-Newtonian
incompressible fluid flow are highly nonlinear and complicated. Among the methods useful for the solution of such equations
is the MDTM [1,2].
A non-Newtonian fluid is one whose flow curve (shear stress versus shear rate) is nonlinear or does not pass through
the origin, i.e. where the apparent viscosity, shear stress divided by shear rate, is not constant at a given temperature and
pressure but is dependent on flow conditions such as flow geometry, shear rate, etc. and sometimes even on the kinematic
history of the fluid element under consideration. Such materials may be conveniently grouped into three general classes:

(1) fluids for which the rate of shear at any point is determined only by the value of the shear stress at that point at that
instant; these fluids are variously known as ‘time independent’, ‘purely viscous’, ‘inelastic’ or ‘generalized Newtonian
fluids’ (GNF);
(2) more complex fluids for which the relation between shear stress and shear rate depends, in addition, upon the duration
of shearing and their kinematic history; they are called ‘time-dependent fluids’, and finally,
(3) substances exhibiting characteristics of both ideal fluids and elastic solids and showing partial elastic recovery, after
deformation; these are categorized as ‘visco-elastic fluids’ [3].

∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +98 811 8257409; fax: +98 811 8257400.
E-mail addresses: mm.rashidi@usherbrooke.ca, mm_rashidi@yahoo.com (M.M. Rashidi).

0898-1221/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.camwa.2011.07.054
2872 M. Keimanesh et al. / Computers and Mathematics with Applications 62 (2011) 2871–2891

Nomenclature
A1 , A2 , A3 Line kinematic tensors
D/Dt Material derivative
f Body force
h Characteristic length
L Gradient of u
p Fluid pressure
p̂ Generalized pressure
T Stress tensor
u Velocity field
U Characteristic velocity
α1 , α2 , β1 , β2 , β3 Material constants
λ Third grade parameter
µ Coefficient of viscosity
ρ Constant fluid density.

Various types of flow situations such as fluid of third grade that is a subclass of fluids of differential type have been
studied successfully and is known to capture the non-Newtonian affects such as shear thinning or shear thickening as well
as normal stresses [4].
The concept of the DTM was first introduced by Zhou [5] in 1986 and it was used to solve both linear and nonlinear initial
value problems in electric circuit analysis. On the other hand, if the DTM is used for solving differential equations with the
boundary conditions at the infinity or problems that have highly nonlinear behavior, the obtained results were incorrect
(when the boundary-layer variable go to infinity, the obtained series solutions are divergent). Besides that, power series
are not useful for large values of independent variable (see Refs. [6–8]). It is the purpose of this study to apply a reliable
algorithm of the DTM that accelerates the convergence of the series solution over a large region and improve the accuracy
of the DTM.

2. Governing equations

The basic laws of the conservation of mass, conservation of momentum and conservation of energy for an incompressible
fluid are given by [9]
∇ · u = 0, (1)
Du
ρ = ρf + ∇ · T . (2)
Dt
The constitutive equation for a third grade fluid is

T = −pI + µA1 + α1 A2 + α2 A21 + β1 A3 + β2 (A1 A2 + A2 A1 ) + β3 (tr A2 )A1 , (3)

where

A1 = (L)T + L, (4)
DAn−1
An = + An−1 L + (L)T An−1 , n = 2, 3, 4, . . . . (5)
Dt

2.1. Plane Couette flow

Consider the steady flow of a third grade fluid between two infinite parallel plates distant 2h apart. The lower plate is
stationary and the upper plate is moving with a constant speed U. The lower and upper plates, respectively, located in the
planes y = −h and y = +h of an orthogonal coordinate system with x-axis in the direction of flow. The external pressure
gradient is zero and the velocity and temperature fields are assumed to be of the form:
u = [u, 0, 0], u = u(y). (6)
The equation of continuity (1) is satisfied identically and, in the absence of body forces, the momentum and the energy
equation (2) becomes
2
d2 u d2 u

du
µ + 6(β2 + β3 ) = 0. (7)
dy2 dy dy2
 M. Keimanesh et al. / Computers and Mathematics with Applications 62 (2011) 2871–2891 2873

Therefore, the problem reduces to solving the differential equation (7) subject to the following conditions of no slip and
no temperature jump at either of the two plates:

u(0) = 0, u(h) = U . (8)

For universal use, the boundary value problems (7) and (8) are written in terms of a set of dimensionless variables. For
this purpose, the following dimensionless variables are introduced
y u
y∗ = , u∗ = , (9)
h U
so that in non-dimensional form, after dropping the asterisks, Eq. (7) becomes
2
d2 u d2 u

du
+ 6λ = 0, (10)
dy2 dy dy2
6β U 2
where λ = µh2 and the corresponding boundary conditions given by Eq. (8) become

u(−1) = 0, u(1) = 1. (11)

The constant β in Eq. (10) are given by

β2 + β3
   2
U
β= . (12)
µ h

2.2. Plane Poiseuille flow

Next, same problem is considered when both the plates are stationary and the fluid motion is driven by the constant
pressure gradient, the other conditions and assumptions on the velocity and the temperature fields remaining unchanged.
In this case the momentum equation (2) yields

∂ p̂
2
d2 u d2 u

du
µ + 6(β2 + β3 ) = , (13)
dy2 dy dy2 ∂x
∂ p̂ ∂ p̂
= = 0, (14)
∂y ∂z
where
 2
du
p̂ = p − (2α1 + α2 ) . (15)
dy

Further, from Eqs. (13) and (14), we obtain

∂ p̂
= constant. (16)
∂x
Thus, the problem reduces to solving the following uncoupled differential equations:
2
d2 u d2 u

du dp̂
µ + 6(β2 + β3 ) = , (17)
dy2 dy dy2 dx
subject to the following physical conditions of no slip on boundaries and no temperature jump at either of the two plates,

u′ (0) = 0, u(h) = 0. (18)

As before, the non-dimensional form of Eq. (17) is

2
d2 u d2 u

du dp
+ 6λ = , (19)
dy2 dy dy2 dx
where the constant β is given in Eq. (12). Correspondingly, the boundary conditions (18) become

u(−1) = 0, u(1) = 0. (20)

2874 M. Keimanesh et al. / Computers and Mathematics with Applications 62 (2011) 2871–2891

Table 1
The operations for the one-dimensional differential transform method.
Original function Transformed function

f (t ) = u(t )±v(t ) F (k) = U (k) ± V (k)

f (t ) = λu(t ) F (k) = λU (k)
dn u(t ) (k+n)!
f (t ) = dt n
F (k) = U (k + n)
du(t ) du(t )
∑kk!
f (t ) = dt dt
F (k) = r =0 (r +1)(k−r +1)U (r +1)U (k−r +1)

2.3. Plane Couette–Poiseuille flow

Finally, it assumed that the fluid motion is being produced by motion of the upper plate with constant velocity U as well
as by a constant pressure gradient. All other conditions and assumptions on the temperature and the velocity field remain
the same. Thus, in the absence of body forces, the momentum equation (2) takes the form
2
d2 u d2 u

du dp̂
µ + 6(β2 + β3 ) = . (21)
dy2 dy dy2 dx
In view of Eq. (21), it found that ∂ p̂/∂ x = constant. Consequently, the problem reduces to solving the equations
2
d2 u d2 u

du dp̂
µ + 6(β2 + β3 ) = , (22)
dy2 dy dy2 dx
together with the boundary conditions
u(−h) = 0, u(h) = U . (23)
In non-dimensional variables, the resulting boundary value problem becomes
2
d2 u d2 u

du dp
+ 6λ = , (24)
dy2 dy dy2 dx
subject to the conditions
u(0) = 0, u(h) = U . (25)
In the sequel, we shall use the MDTM to solve the three boundary-value problems described in Sections 2.1–2.3.

3. Basic concepts of the differential transform method

Transformation of the kth derivative of a function in one variable is as follows [10]

dk f (t )
[ ]
1
F (k) = , (26)
k! dt k t = t0

and the inverse transformation is defined by

∞
−
f (t ) = F (k)(t − t0 )k . (27)
k=0

From Eqs. (26) and (27), we obtain


−∞
(t − t0 )k dk f (t ) 
f (t ) = , (28)
dt k 

k=0
k!
t = t0

which implies that the concept of differential transform method results from the Taylor series expansion, but the method
does not calculate the derivatives representatively. However, relative derivatives are calculated by an iterative way which is
described by the transformed equations of the original function. For implementation purposes, the function f (t ) is expressed
by a finite series and Eq. (27) can be written as,
i
−
f (t ) ∼
= F (k)(t − t0 )k , (29)
k =0

where F (k) is the differential transform of f (t )(see Table 1).

 M. Keimanesh et al. / Computers and Mathematics with Applications 62 (2011) 2871–2891 2875

Fig. 1. Velocity function u(y) with respect to y for plane Couette flow.

Fig. 2. Variation of u′ (y) against y for plane Couette flow.

Fig. 3. Velocity function u(y) with respect to λ when dp/dx = −1, for fully-developed plane Poiseuille flow.

4. Basic concepts of the multi-step differential transform method

To describe the MDTM we consider the equally spaced nodal points ti ; 0 = t0 < t1 < · · · < tN −1 < tN = b and
(ti+1 − ti ) = b/N. On i-th subdomain (ti , ti+1 ) ≡ Di , we define f (t )|Di = fi (t ).
2876 M. Keimanesh et al. / Computers and Mathematics with Applications 62 (2011) 2871–2891

Fig. 4. Variation of u′ (y) with respect to λ when dp/dx = −1, for fully-developed plane Poiseuille flow.

Fig. 5. Velocity function u(y) with respect to positive values of dp/dx when λ = 0.1, for fully-developed plane Poiseuille flow.

Fig. 6. Variation of u′ (y) with respect to positive values of dp/dx when λ = 0.1, for fully-developed plane Poiseuille flow.

The differential transform Fi (k) of fi (t ) at t = ti is defined by

dk fi (t )
[ ]
1
Fi (k) = . (30)
k! dt k (t ) t = ti
 M. Keimanesh et al. / Computers and Mathematics with Applications 62 (2011) 2871–2891 2877

Fig. 7. Velocity function u(y) with respect to negative values of dp/dx when λ = 0.1, for fully-developed plane Poiseuille flow.

Fig. 8. Variation of u′ (y) with respect to negative values of dp/dx when λ = 0.1, for fully-developed plane Poiseuille flow.

The differential inverse transform of Fi (k) is defined by

∞
−
fi ( t ) = Fi (k)(t − ti )k . (31)
k=0

Let fi,n (t ) be defined by the finite term Taylor series

n
−
fi,n (t ) = Fi (k)(t − ti )k ≡ si,n (t ). (32)
k=0

It is an issue to give the initial condition fi,n (t ) at each t = ti , i = 0, 1, . . . , N. Since f (0) = a, f ′ (0) = 0 are given by
the initial condition, we have F0 (0) = a, F0 (1) = 0. On each ith (i ≥ 1) subinterval, we approximate fi,n (ti ) and fi,n (ti ) by
computing si−1,n (ti ) and s′i−1,n (ti ), respectively. In other words,

n
−
fi,n (ti ) = Fi−1 (k)(ti − ti−1 )k , (33)
k=0
n
−
fi,′ n (ti ) = Fi−1 (k)k(ti − ti−1 )k−1 . (34)
k=1

Then for each ith (i ≥ 1) subinterval, we have

n
− n
−
Fi (0) = Fi−1 (k)hk , Fi (1) = Fi−1 (k)khk−1 . (35)
k=0 k=1
2878 M. Keimanesh et al. / Computers and Mathematics with Applications 62 (2011) 2871–2891

Fig. 9. Velocity function u(y) with respect to λ when dp/dx = −1, for plane Couette–Poiseuille flow.

Fig. 10. Variation of u′ (y) with respect to λ when dp/dx = −1, for plane Couette–Poiseuille flow.

Fig. 11. Velocity function u(y) with respect to positive values of dp/dx when λ = 0.1, for fully-developed plane Couette–Poiseuille flow.

5. General form of the fourth-order Runge–Kutta method (RK4)

The following ordinary differential equation is considered:

g ′ (t ) = f (t , g ). (36)
 M. Keimanesh et al. / Computers and Mathematics with Applications 62 (2011) 2871–2891 2879

Fig. 12. Variation of u′ (y) with respect to positive values of dp/dx when λ = 0.1, for fully-developed plane Couette–Poiseuille flow.

Fig. 13. Velocity function u(y) with respect to negative values of dp/dx when λ = 0.1, for fully-developed plane Couette–Poiseuille flow.

A general p-stage explicit Runge–Kutta method can be written as

k1 = f (tn , gn ),
 
i−1
−
ki = f tn + ci h, gn + h aij kj , i = 2, . . . , p,
j =1 (37)
−p
gn+1 = gn + h bi k i ,
i=1

where h = 1t is the time step, tn = nh, and gn is an approximation to g (tn ) (see Refs. [11,12]).

6. Analytical solutions by means of the MDTM

Applying the MDTM to Eq. (19) gives the following recursive relation in each sub-domain (ti , ti+1 ), i = 0, 1, . . . , N − 1
r2
k −
−
(k + 1)(k + 2)U (k + 2) + 6λ (r1 + 1)(r2 − r1 + 1)(k − r2 + 1)(k − r2 + 2)U (r1 + 1)U (r2 − r1 + 1)
r2 =0 r1 =0

dp∗
× U (k − r2 + 2) = (38)
dx
where U (k) is the differential transforms of u(y).
2880 M. Keimanesh et al. / Computers and Mathematics with Applications 62 (2011) 2871–2891

Fig. 14. Variation of u′ (y) with respect to negative values of dp/dx when λ = 0.1, for fully-developed plane Couette–Poiseuille flow.

Fig. 15. The results obtained by HPM, HAM, DTM and MDTM when λ = 0.1, dp/dx = −1, for fully-developed plane Couette–Poiseuille flow.

Fig. 16. The results obtained by HPM, HAM, DTM and MDTM when λ = 0.1, dp/dx = −1, for fully-developed plane Couette–Poiseuille flow.

The differential transform of the boundary conditions (11) and (20) are as follows

n
−
U (0) = 0, U (k)hk = U , (39)
k=0
 M. Keimanesh et al. / Computers and Mathematics with Applications 62 (2011) 2871–2891 2881

n
−
U (1) = 0, U (k)hk = 0. (40)
k=0

We can consider the boundary conditions (Eqs. (11) and (20)) as follows

u(0) = 0, u′ (0) = a, (41)

u(0) = b, u (0) = 0.
′
(42)

The differential transform of the above initial conditions are as follows

U (0) = 0, U (1) = a, (43)

U (0) = b, U (1) = 0. (44)

Moreover, substituting Eqs. (43) and (44) into Eq. (38) and by the recursive method, we can calculate another values
of U (k). Hence, substituting all U (k), into Eq. (33), we have series solutions. By using boundary condition u(h) = U and
u(h) = 0, we can obtain a, b.
For analytical solution, the convergence analysis was performed and in Eq. (33), the n value is selected equal to 20. We
set the interval equal to 0.01.

7. Analytical approximations by means of the HAM

To investigate the explicit and totally analytic solutions of Eqs. (19), (24) using the HAM, initial approximations of u(η)
are selected as follows, respectively

u0 (y) = 0, (45)
u0 (y) = y, (46)

which satisfy the boundary conditions ((20), (25)). Besides, the auxiliary linear operator L(u) is selected as

L(u) = u′′ , (47)

satisfying the following property

L(c1 η + c2 ) = 0, (48)

where ci , i = 1 − 2, are arbitrary constants. Using the above definition, the so-called zeroth-order deformation equation
could be constructed as

(1 − p)L[û(y; p) − u0 (y)] = p h̄u Hu (y)N [û(y; p)], (49)

subject to the boundary conditions

∂ û(0; p)
= 0, û(1; p) = 0, (50)
∂y
û(0; p) = 0, û(1; p) = 1, (51)

in which the nonlinear operator N is defined as

∂ 2 û(y; p) ∂ û(y; p) 2 ∂ 2 û(y; p)

 
dp
N = + 6λ = . (52)
∂y 2 ∂y ∂y 2 dx
For p = 0 and p = 1, it could be as follows

û(y; 0) = u0 (y), û(y; 1) = u(y). (53)

As p increases from 0 to 1, û(y; p) vary from u0 (y) to u(y). By Taylor’s theorem and Eq. (53) one obtains
+∞
−
û(y; p) = u0 (y) + um (y)pm , (54)
m=1

where

1 ∂ m û(y; p) 

um (η) =  . (55)
m! ∂ pm 
p=0
2882 M. Keimanesh et al. / Computers and Mathematics with Applications 62 (2011) 2871–2891

Table 2
Comparison of obtained results for fully-developed plane Poiseuille flow when
dp
dx
= −1 and various values of parameter λ, for u(y).
y u (y )
λ = 0.1 λ = 0.3
NUM HPM HAM DTM MDTM NUM HPM HAM DTM MDTM

0.00 0.462906 0.466048 0.463219 0.462906 0.462906 0.421291 0.454966 0.423997 0.421291 0.421291
0.01 0.462856 0.465998 0.463169 0.462856 0.462856 0.421241 0.454916 0.423947 0.421241 0.421241
0.02 0.462706 0.465848 0.463019 0.462705 0.462705 0.421091 0.454766 0.423797 0.42109 0.421091
0.03 0.462456 0.465598 0.462769 0.462452 0.462454 0.420842 0.454517 0.423547 0.420837 0.42084
0.04 0.462106 0.465248 0.462419 0.462095 0.462103 0.420492 0.454167 0.423198 0.420481 0.420488
0.05 0.461656 0.464798 0.46197 0.461635 0.461651 0.420042 0.453717 0.422748 0.420021 0.420037
0.06 0.461107 0.464249 0.46142 0.46107 0.461098 0.419493 0.453168 0.422199 0.419456 0.419485
0.07 0.460457 0.463599 0.46077 0.460398 0.460446 0.418845 0.45252 0.421551 0.418786 0.418833
0.08 0.459708 0.46285 0.460021 0.459619 0.459693 0.418098 0.451773 0.420803 0.418009 0.418082
0.09 0.458859 0.462001 0.459173 0.458732 0.45884 0.417251 0.450926 0.419957 0.417125 0.417232
0.10 0.457911 0.461053 0.458224 0.457736 0.457887 0.416306 0.449981 0.419012 0.416133 0.416282
0.11 0.456863 0.460005 0.457177 0.45663 0.456834 0.415263 0.448938 0.417969 0.415031 0.415234
0.12 0.455716 0.458858 0.45603 0.455411 0.455681 0.414122 0.447797 0.416828 0.41382 0.414087
0.13 0.45447 0.457612 0.454783 0.454081 0.454429 0.412883 0.446558 0.415589 0.412499 0.412843
0.14 0.453125 0.456267 0.453438 0.452637 0.453077 0.411548 0.445223 0.414253 0.411066 0.4115
0.15 0.451681 0.454823 0.451994 0.451078 0.451626 0.410115 0.44379 0.412821 0.409522 0.410061
0.16 0.450139 0.45328 0.450452 0.449403 0.450076 0.408587 0.442262 0.411292 0.407865 0.408525
0.17 0.448497 0.451639 0.448811 0.447611 0.448427 0.406963 0.440638 0.409668 0.406095 0.406893
0.18 0.446758 0.4499 0.447071 0.445701 0.446679 0.405243 0.438918 0.407948 0.404211 0.405165
0.19 0.44492 0.448062 0.445233 0.443672 0.444832 0.403429 0.437104 0.406134 0.402213 0.403342
0.20 0.442985 0.446127 0.443298 0.441523 0.442887 0.401521 0.435196 0.404225 0.400101 0.401425
0.21 0.440952 0.444094 0.441265 0.439252 0.440844 0.399519 0.433194 0.402223 0.397873 0.399414
0.22 0.438821 0.441963 0.439134 0.436859 0.438703 0.397424 0.431099 0.400129 0.395529 0.397309
0.23 0.436593 0.439735 0.436906 0.434342 0.436464 0.395237 0.428912 0.397941 0.39307 0.395111
0.24 0.434268 0.43741 0.434581 0.4317 0.434128 0.392958 0.426633 0.395663 0.390494 0.392822
0.25 0.431847 0.434989 0.43216 0.428932 0.431694 0.390588 0.424263 0.393293 0.387801 0.39044
0.26 0.429329 0.432471 0.429642 0.426036 0.429164 0.388127 0.421802 0.390832 0.38499 0.387968
0.27 0.426714 0.429856 0.427028 0.423013 0.426537 0.385577 0.419252 0.388282 0.382062 0.385406
0.28 0.424004 0.427146 0.424317 0.41986 0.423814 0.382937 0.416612 0.385643 0.379016 0.382754
0.29 0.421198 0.42434 0.421512 0.416576 0.420994 0.380209 0.413884 0.382916 0.375852 0.380014
0.30 0.418297 0.421439 0.41861 0.41316 0.418079 0.377393 0.411068 0.380101 0.372569 0.377185
0.31 0.415301 0.418443 0.415614 0.409611 0.415068 0.37449 0.408165 0.377198 0.369168 0.374268
0.32 0.41221 0.415352 0.412523 0.405927 0.411963 0.3715 0.405175 0.37421 0.365648 0.371265
0.33 0.409025 0.412167 0.409338 0.402108 0.408762 0.368425 0.4021 0.371136 0.362008 0.368176
0.34 0.405745 0.408887 0.406058 0.398152 0.405467 0.365264 0.398939 0.367977 0.35825 0.365001
0.35 0.402372 0.405514 0.402685 0.394058 0.402077 0.362019 0.395694 0.364734 0.354372 0.361742
0.36 0.398905 0.402047 0.399219 0.389825 0.398594 0.358691 0.392366 0.361407 0.350375 0.358398
0.37 0.395346 0.398488 0.395659 0.385451 0.395017 0.355279 0.388954 0.357998 0.346259 0.354971
0.38 0.391693 0.394835 0.392006 0.380935 0.391347 0.351785 0.385461 0.354506 0.342023 0.351462
0.39 0.387948 0.39109 0.388261 0.376276 0.387585 0.348209 0.381885 0.350933 0.337668 0.34787
0.40 0.384111 0.387253 0.384424 0.371472 0.383729 0.344553 0.378229 0.347279 0.333195 0.344198
0.41 0.380183 0.383324 0.380496 0.366522 0.379782 0.340816 0.374493 0.343545 0.328603 0.340445
0.42 0.376162 0.379304 0.376476 0.361425 0.375743 0.336999 0.370678 0.339731 0.323893 0.336612
0.43 0.372051 0.375193 0.372365 0.35618 0.371613 0.333104 0.366784 0.335839 0.319066 0.3327
0.44 0.36785 0.370992 0.368163 0.350785 0.367391 0.32913 0.362812 0.331868 0.314122 0.328709
0.45 0.363558 0.3667 0.363871 0.345238 0.363079 0.325079 0.358763 0.327819 0.309062 0.324641
0.46 0.359176 0.362318 0.359489 0.339538 0.358677 0.320951 0.354637 0.323693 0.303888 0.320496
0.47 0.354705 0.357847 0.355018 0.333684 0.354185 0.316747 0.350436 0.319491 0.298601 0.316274
0.48 0.350145 0.353287 0.350458 0.327674 0.349604 0.312468 0.346159 0.315213 0.293203 0.311976
0.49 0.345496 0.348638 0.345809 0.321507 0.344933 0.308113 0.341808 0.310859 0.287696 0.307604
0.50 0.340758 0.3439 0.341072 0.315181 0.340174 0.303684 0.337383 0.30643 0.282083 0.303157
0.51 0.335933 0.339075 0.336246 0.308694 0.335327 0.299182 0.332886 0.301927 0.276365 0.298636
0.52 0.33102 0.334162 0.331333 0.302045 0.330391 0.294607 0.328315 0.297349 0.270548 0.294042
0.53 0.32602 0.329162 0.326333 0.295233 0.325368 0.289959 0.323673 0.292699 0.264635 0.289375
0.54 0.320934 0.324075 0.321247 0.288254 0.320258 0.28524 0.31896 0.287975 0.25863 0.284637
0.55 0.31576 0.318902 0.316073 0.281108 0.315062 0.280449 0.314176 0.283178 0.25254 0.279827
0.56 0.310501 0.313643 0.310814 0.273793 0.309779 0.275589 0.309322 0.27831 0.24637 0.274947
0.57 0.305157 0.308298 0.30547 0.266307 0.30441 0.270658 0.304398 0.273369 0.240128 0.269996
0.58 0.299727 0.302868 0.30004 0.258648 0.298956 0.265658 0.299405 0.268357 0.233823 0.264976
0.59 0.294212 0.297353 0.294525 0.250813 0.293416 0.260589 0.294343 0.263274 0.227464 0.259888
0.60 0.288613 0.291754 0.288926 0.242802 0.287792 0.255452 0.289212 0.25812 0.221062 0.254731
0.61 0.28293 0.286071 0.283243 0.23461 0.282084 0.250248 0.284012 0.252896 0.21463 0.249506
0.62 0.277164 0.280304 0.277476 0.226238 0.276292 0.244977 0.278744 0.247602 0.208181 0.244214
0.63 0.271314 0.274453 0.271626 0.217681 0.270416 0.239639 0.273407 0.242238 0.201732 0.238856
0.64 0.265382 0.26852 0.265693 0.208937 0.264457 0.234236 0.268001 0.236805 0.195301 0.233432
0.65 0.259367 0.262505 0.259678 0.200005 0.258416 0.228767 0.262527 0.231304 0.188909 0.227942
 M. Keimanesh et al. / Computers and Mathematics with Applications 62 (2011) 2871–2891 2883

Table 2 (continued)

y u(y)
λ = 0.1 λ = 0.3
NUM HPM HAM DTM MDTM NUM HPM HAM DTM MDTM

0.66 0.25327 0.256407 0.253581 0.190881 0.252292 0.223234 0.256983 0.225733 0.182577 0.222387
0.67 0.247092 0.250227 0.247402 0.181563 0.246087 0.217636 0.251368 0.220094 0.176333 0.216768
0.68 0.240833 0.243966 0.241141 0.172048 0.2398 0.211975 0.245682 0.214388 0.170204 0.211086
0.69 0.234492 0.237623 0.2348 0.162332 0.233432 0.206251 0.239924 0.208613 0.164222 0.20534
0.70 0.228072 0.2312 0.228379 0.152413 0.226983 0.200463 0.234093 0.202772 0.158424 0.199531
0.71 0.221571 0.224696 0.221877 0.142288 0.220455 0.194614 0.228186 0.196864 0.152848 0.19366
0.72 0.214991 0.218111 0.215295 0.131952 0.213846 0.188703 0.222202 0.190889 0.147539 0.187727
0.73 0.208332 0.211447 0.208634 0.121403 0.207158 0.182731 0.216139 0.184849 0.142546 0.181733
0.74 0.201594 0.204703 0.201894 0.110637 0.200391 0.176699 0.209993 0.178743 0.137923 0.175678
0.75 0.194777 0.197879 0.195075 0.0996495 0.193545 0.170606 0.203763 0.172572 0.133728 0.169562
0.76 0.187883 0.190975 0.188177 0.0884369 0.186621 0.164453 0.197444 0.166337 0.130028 0.163387
0.77 0.18091 0.183992 0.181202 0.0769947 0.179619 0.158241 0.191034 0.160038 0.126896 0.157153
0.78 0.173861 0.17693 0.174149 0.0653186 0.17254 0.151971 0.184526 0.153676 0.12441 0.15086
0.79 0.166735 0.169788 0.167019 0.0534037 0.165383 0.145642 0.177918 0.147252 0.122657 0.144508
0.80 0.159532 0.162567 0.159812 0.0412452 0.15815 0.139255 0.171203 0.140765 0.121734 0.138098
0.81 0.152253 0.155266 0.152528 0.0288379 0.150841 0.132811 0.164375 0.134218 0.121745 0.131631
0.82 0.144899 0.147885 0.145168 0.0161764 0.143456 0.12631 0.157428 0.127611 0.122805 0.125106
0.83 0.137469 0.140423 0.137731 0.00325503 0.135995 0.119752 0.150354 0.120945 0.125039 0.118525
0.84 0.129965 0.132881 0.130219 −0.0099322 0.128459 0.113138 0.143147 0.114221 0.128582 0.111888
0.85 0.122385 0.125257 0.122632 −0.0233915 0.120848 0.106468 0.135796 0.10744 0.133585 0.105194
0.86 0.114732 0.117552 0.11497 −0.0371295 0.113163 0.099743 0.128293 0.100603 0.140208 0.0984456
0.87 0.107005 0.109763 0.107233 −0.0511531 0.105404 0.092963 0.120628 0.0937119 0.148628 0.0916418
0.88 0.0992042 0.101889 0.0994216 −0.0654693 0.097571 0.0861285 0.112789 0.0867679 0.159035 0.0847835
0.89 0.0913305 0.0939304 0.0915361 −0.0800859 0.0896649 0.0792398 0.104765 0.0797725 0.171637 0.0778709
0.90 0.083384 0.0858841 0.0835768 −0.0950106 0.0816859 0.0722975 0.0965431 0.0727273 0.186657 0.0709045
0.91 0.0753653 0.0777486 0.0755441 −0.110252 0.0736344 0.0653017 0.0881098 0.0656341 0.20434 0.0638846
0.92 0.0672745 0.0695217 0.0674382 −0.125818 0.0655107 0.058253 0.0794506 0.0584949 0.224947 0.0568117
0.93 0.0591122 0.0612007 0.0592595 −0.141719 0.0573152 0.0511517 0.07055 0.0513117 0.248763 0.0496861
0.94 0.0508786 0.0527826 0.0510084 −0.157964 0.0490482 0.0439982 0.0613917 0.0440866 0.276095 0.0425081
0.95 0.042574 0.0442639 0.0426851 −0.174563 0.0407101 0.0367927 0.0519584 0.0368221 0.307272 0.0352782
0.96 0.0341989 0.0356407 0.0342901 −0.191526 0.0323013 0.0295358 0.0422321 0.0295205 0.342651 0.0279966
0.97 0.0257537 0.0269082 0.0258236 −0.208865 0.0238221 0.0222277 0.0321935 0.0221846 0.382616 0.0206639
0.98 0.0172385 0.0180614 0.0172862 −0.226591 0.0152728 0.0148688 0.0218226 0.0148172 0.427579 0.0132802
0.99 0.00865384 0.00909428 0.00867816 −0.244716 0.0066539 0.00745943 0.0110987 0.00742126 0.477983 0.00584595
1.00 0 0 0 −0.263253 −0.0020344 0 0 0 0.534306 −0.0016385

Fig. 17. The results obtained by HPM, HAM, DTM and MDTM when λ = 0.3, dp/dx = −1, for fully-developed plane Couette–Poiseuille flow.

As pointed by Liao [13], the convergence of the series (54) depends strongly on auxiliary parameter h̄. Assume that h̄ is
selected such that the series (54) is convergent at p = 1, then due to Eq. (53), the final series solution becomes
+∞
−
u(η) = u0 (y) + um (y). (56)
m=1

In series (56), the terms um (y) is unknown. For the mth-order deformation equation, Eq. (49) is differentiated m times
with respect to p, divide by m! and then set p = 0. With assumption H (y) = 1, the resulting deformation equation at the
2884 M. Keimanesh et al. / Computers and Mathematics with Applications 62 (2011) 2871–2891

Table 3
Comparison of obtained results for plane Couette–Poiseuille flow when
dp
dx
= −1 and various values of parameter λ, for u(y).
y u(y)
λ = 0.1 λ = 0.3
NUM HPM HAM DTM MDTM NUM HPM HAM DTM MDTM

0.00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0.01 0.0128753 0.0115533 0.0128748 0.0128752 0.0128752 0.0116515 0.00968598 0.0116504 0.0116514 0.0116514
0.02 0.0257003 0.0230577 0.0256993 0.0256997 0.0256999 0.0232738 0.0193149 0.0232717 0.0232735 0.0232736
0.03 0.038475 0.0345107 0.0384733 0.0384727 0.038474 0.034867 0.02889 0.0348638 0.0348657 0.0348664
0.04 0.051199 0.0459104 0.0511966 0.0511935 0.0511971 0.0464309 0.0384142 0.0464267 0.0464277 0.0464298
0.05 0.0638722 0.0572554 0.0638691 0.0638613 0.0638692 0.0579654 0.0478899 0.0579602 0.0579591 0.0579637
0.06 0.0764943 0.0685447 0.0764905 0.0764754 0.07649 0.0694704 0.0573194 0.0694641 0.0694594 0.0694678
0.07 0.0890652 0.0797773 0.0890606 0.0890349 0.0890592 0.0809457 0.0667045 0.0809385 0.0809282 0.0809422
0.08 0.101585 0.0909526 0.101579 0.101539 0.101577 0.0923913 0.0760466 0.0923831 0.092365 0.0923868
0.09 0.114053 0.10207 0.114046 0.113987 0.114043 0.103807 0.0853469 0.103798 0.103769 0.103801
0.10 0.126469 0.11313 0.126462 0.126378 0.126456 0.115193 0.0946061 0.115183 0.115141 0.115186
0.11 0.138833 0.124132 0.138825 0.138711 0.138817 0.126549 0.103825 0.126538 0.126479 0.12654
0.12 0.151144 0.135075 0.151136 0.150985 0.151126 0.137874 0.113003 0.137862 0.137782 0.137864
0.13 0.163403 0.145959 0.163394 0.163199 0.163382 0.14917 0.122141 0.149157 0.149052 0.149157
0.14 0.17561 0.156784 0.1756 0.175353 0.175585 0.160435 0.131239 0.160421 0.160286 0.16042
0.15 0.187764 0.167551 0.187753 0.187444 0.187735 0.171669 0.140296 0.171654 0.171485 0.171653
0.16 0.199864 0.178258 0.199852 0.199473 0.199831 0.182873 0.149312 0.182857 0.182648 0.182854
0.17 0.211911 0.188906 0.211899 0.211438 0.211874 0.194046 0.158286 0.194029 0.193773 0.194025
0.18 0.223905 0.199494 0.223891 0.223338 0.223863 0.205188 0.167217 0.20517 0.204862 0.205164
0.19 0.235845 0.210022 0.23583 0.235172 0.235798 0.2163 0.176106 0.21628 0.215912 0.216272
0.20 0.24773 0.220489 0.247715 0.246939 0.247678 0.22738 0.184952 0.227359 0.226923 0.22735
0.21 0.259562 0.230895 0.259546 0.258637 0.259504 0.238429 0.193753 0.238407 0.237896 0.238395
0.22 0.271339 0.241241 0.271322 0.270265 0.271275 0.249446 0.20251 0.249424 0.248828 0.24941
0.23 0.283061 0.251524 0.283044 0.281823 0.282992 0.260432 0.211222 0.260409 0.259719 0.260392
0.24 0.294729 0.261745 0.29471 0.293308 0.294652 0.271387 0.219887 0.271363 0.270569 0.271343
0.25 0.306341 0.271904 0.306322 0.304719 0.306258 0.28231 0.228507 0.282284 0.281377 0.282262
0.26 0.317898 0.281999 0.317878 0.316056 0.317808 0.293201 0.23708 0.293174 0.292141 0.293149
0.27 0.329399 0.292031 0.329378 0.327316 0.329302 0.30406 0.245605 0.304032 0.302861 0.304004
0.28 0.340845 0.301998 0.340823 0.338497 0.340739 0.314887 0.254083 0.314858 0.313537 0.314826
0.29 0.352234 0.311901 0.352211 0.3496 0.352121 0.325682 0.262512 0.325652 0.324167 0.325617
0.30 0.363567 0.321739 0.363543 0.360621 0.363445 0.336444 0.270894 0.336413 0.334751 0.336374
0.31 0.374843 0.331511 0.374819 0.371559 0.374713 0.347174 0.279225 0.347142 0.345287 0.347099
0.32 0.386063 0.341217 0.386037 0.382413 0.385923 0.357871 0.287508 0.357838 0.355774 0.357791
0.33 0.397225 0.350856 0.397199 0.39318 0.397077 0.368536 0.29574 0.368502 0.366212 0.368451
0.34 0.40833 0.360429 0.408303 0.403858 0.408172 0.379168 0.303921 0.379132 0.3766 0.379077
0.35 0.419378 0.369933 0.41935 0.414447 0.419209 0.389766 0.312051 0.38973 0.386936 0.38967
0.36 0.430367 0.37937 0.430338 0.424943 0.430189 0.400332 0.320129 0.400294 0.397219 0.400229
0.37 0.441299 0.388737 0.441269 0.435345 0.44111 0.410864 0.328155 0.410825 0.407448 0.410755
0.38 0.452172 0.398035 0.452141 0.44565 0.451972 0.421363 0.336126 0.421323 0.417622 0.421248
0.39 0.462986 0.407263 0.462955 0.455857 0.462775 0.431828 0.344043 0.431787 0.427739 0.431706
0.40 0.473742 0.416421 0.473709 0.465962 0.473519 0.442259 0.351905 0.442217 0.437799 0.442131
0.41 0.484438 0.425507 0.484405 0.475964 0.484203 0.452657 0.35971 0.452613 0.447799 0.452522
0.42 0.495075 0.434521 0.495041 0.485859 0.494828 0.463021 0.367458 0.462976 0.457738 0.462878
0.43 0.505653 0.443462 0.505617 0.495645 0.505392 0.47335 0.375148 0.473304 0.467616 0.4732
0.44 0.51617 0.452329 0.516134 0.50532 0.515896 0.483645 0.382778 0.483598 0.477429 0.483488
0.45 0.526627 0.461122 0.52659 0.51488 0.52634 0.493906 0.390348 0.493857 0.487177 0.493741
0.46 0.537023 0.46984 0.536985 0.524322 0.536723 0.504132 0.397856 0.504082 0.496858 0.503959
0.47 0.547359 0.478481 0.54732 0.533644 0.547044 0.514323 0.405302 0.514272 0.50647 0.514142
0.48 0.557634 0.487046 0.557594 0.542841 0.557304 0.524479 0.412684 0.524427 0.516011 0.52429
0.49 0.567847 0.495532 0.567806 0.55191 0.567503 0.5346 0.420002 0.534547 0.525479 0.534403
0.50 0.577999 0.50394 0.577957 0.560848 0.577639 0.544686 0.427254 0.544631 0.534872 0.54448
0.51 0.588089 0.512269 0.588045 0.569651 0.587713 0.554737 0.43444 0.554681 0.544188 0.554521
0.52 0.598116 0.520516 0.598072 0.578315 0.597724 0.564752 0.441558 0.564694 0.553424 0.564527
0.53 0.608081 0.528682 0.608036 0.586835 0.607673 0.574731 0.448606 0.574672 0.562579 0.574497
0.54 0.617983 0.536766 0.617937 0.595208 0.617558 0.584675 0.455584 0.584614 0.571649 0.584431
0.55 0.627822 0.544766 0.627775 0.603428 0.62738 0.594582 0.46249 0.59452 0.580633 0.594328
0.56 0.637598 0.55268 0.63755 0.611491 0.637138 0.604453 0.469322 0.60439 0.589526 0.604189
0.57 0.64731 0.560509 0.64726 0.619392 0.646831 0.614288 0.476078 0.614223 0.598327 0.614014
0.58 0.656958 0.568249 0.656907 0.627125 0.656461 0.624086 0.482755 0.62402 0.607032 0.623801
0.59 0.666541 0.575901 0.66649 0.634685 0.666025 0.633847 0.489351 0.63378 0.615638 0.633552
0.60 0.67606 0.58346 0.676008 0.642065 0.675525 0.643572 0.495862 0.643503 0.624142 0.643265
0.61 0.685514 0.590926 0.685461 0.64926 0.684959 0.653259 0.502283 0.653189 0.63254 0.652941
0.62 0.694903 0.598296 0.694848 0.656264 0.694328 0.662909 0.508609 0.662837 0.640828 0.66258
0.63 0.704226 0.605566 0.70417 0.663069 0.703631 0.672522 0.514835 0.672448 0.649002 0.672181
0.64 0.713484 0.612734 0.713426 0.669667 0.712867 0.682097 0.520952 0.682022 0.657059 0.681744
0.65 0.722675 0.619794 0.722616 0.676053 0.722036 0.691634 0.526955 0.691557 0.664993 0.691268
 M. Keimanesh et al. / Computers and Mathematics with Applications 62 (2011) 2871–2891 2885

Table 3 (continued)

y u(y)
λ = 0.1 λ = 0.3
NUM HPM HAM DTM MDTM NUM HPM HAM DTM MDTM

0.66 0.7318 0.626742 0.73174 0.682216 0.731139 0.701133 0.532832 0.701055 0.6728 0.700755
0.67 0.740857 0.633573 0.740796 0.68815 0.740175 0.710594 0.538574 0.710514 0.680476 0.710203
0.68 0.749848 0.640281 0.749786 0.693845 0.749142 0.720017 0.54417 0.719935 0.688014 0.719613
0.69 0.758771 0.646859 0.758707 0.699292 0.758042 0.729401 0.549608 0.729317 0.695411 0.728983
0.70 0.767626 0.653299 0.767561 0.704482 0.766874 0.738746 0.554875 0.738661 0.702659 0.738315
0.71 0.776413 0.659595 0.776347 0.709403 0.775636 0.748052 0.559957 0.747965 0.709753 0.747607
0.72 0.785132 0.665738 0.785064 0.714044 0.78433 0.757319 0.564842 0.75723 0.716686 0.75686
0.73 0.793782 0.67172 0.793713 0.718395 0.792955 0.766547 0.569517 0.766456 0.723452 0.766074
0.74 0.802362 0.677532 0.802292 0.722444 0.80151 0.775735 0.57397 0.775642 0.730044 0.775247
0.75 0.810873 0.683168 0.810801 0.726176 0.809995 0.784883 0.578193 0.784788 0.736454 0.78438
0.76 0.819314 0.688623 0.819241 0.72958 0.818409 0.793991 0.58218 0.793894 0.742674 0.793473
0.77 0.827685 0.693892 0.82761 0.73264 0.826753 0.803059 0.585929 0.80296 0.748696 0.802526
0.78 0.835986 0.698976 0.835908 0.735343 0.835026 0.812087 0.589448 0.811985 0.754511 0.811538
0.79 0.844215 0.703878 0.844136 0.737671 0.843227 0.821074 0.592751 0.82097 0.760109 0.820509
0.80 0.852373 0.708609 0.852292 0.739608 0.851357 0.83002 0.595863 0.829913 0.765482 0.829438
0.81 0.86046 0.713187 0.860377 0.741138 0.859414 0.838925 0.598828 0.838815 0.770618 0.838327
0.82 0.868474 0.71764 0.868389 0.74224 0.867399 0.847789 0.601702 0.847676 0.775506 0.847173
0.83 0.876416 0.722011 0.876329 0.742897 0.875311 0.856611 0.60457 0.856496 0.780135 0.855978
0.84 0.884286 0.726358 0.884196 0.743086 0.88315 0.865392 0.607539 0.865273 0.784493 0.864741
0.85 0.892082 0.730758 0.891991 0.742788 0.890915 0.87413 0.610753 0.874009 0.788567 0.873462
0.86 0.899805 0.735316 0.899711 0.741978 0.898606 0.882826 0.614395 0.882702 0.792343 0.88214
0.87 0.907454 0.740166 0.907358 0.740632 0.906223 0.89148 0.618697 0.891353 0.795806 0.890775
0.88 0.915028 0.745477 0.914931 0.738726 0.913765 0.900091 0.623945 0.899961 0.798943 0.899367
0.89 0.922529 0.751464 0.92243 0.736232 0.921232 0.908659 0.630495 0.908527 0.801736 0.907916
0.90 0.929954 0.758394 0.929854 0.733122 0.928623 0.917184 0.63878 0.917051 0.804169 0.916421
0.91 0.937304 0.766597 0.937203 0.729367 0.935939 0.925665 0.649323 0.925532 0.806224 0.924883
0.92 0.944578 0.776473 0.944478 0.724935 0.943178 0.934103 0.662755 0.933971 0.807883 0.9333
0.93 0.951776 0.788512 0.951677 0.719794 0.950341 0.942497 0.67983 0.942367 0.809125 0.941674
0.94 0.958898 0.803301 0.958802 0.713908 0.957426 0.950846 0.701441 0.950721 0.809929 0.950002
0.95 0.965943 0.821546 0.965853 0.70724 0.964434 0.959151 0.728644 0.959034 0.810275 0.958286
0.96 0.97291 0.844087 0.972829 0.699754 0.971365 0.967412 0.76268 0.967306 0.810138 0.966525
0.97 0.9798 0.87192 0.979731 0.691407 0.978217 0.975627 0.805002 0.975537 0.809494 0.974718
0.98 0.986612 0.906222 0.986559 0.682157 0.98499 0.983797 0.857302 0.983729 0.808317 0.982866
0.99 0.993345 0.948376 0.993315 0.67196 0.991685 0.991921 0.921544 0.991883 0.806581 0.990968
1.00 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.660767 0.9983 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.804257 0.999023

Fig. 18. The results obtained by HPM, HAM, DTM and MDTM when λ = 0.3, dp/dx = −1, for fully-developed plane Couette–Poiseuille flow.

mth-order is

L[um (y) − χm um−1 (y)] = h̄Rm (y), (57)

with the following boundary conditions

u′m (0) = 0, um (1) = 0, (58)

um (0) = 0, um (1) = 1, (59)
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Fig. 19. The results obtained by HPM, HAM, DTM and MDTM when λ = 0.1, dp/dx = −2, for fully-developed plane Couette–Poiseuille flow.

Fig. 20. The results obtained by HPM, HAM, DTM and MDTM when λ = 0.1, dp/dx = −2, for fully-developed plane Couette–Poiseuille flow.

where

∂ 2 um−1 (y) m
− −1
∂ um−1−n (y) −n
∂ un−l (y) ∂ 2 ul (y) dp
Rem (y) = + 6 λ − (1 − χm ), (60)
∂ y2 n =0
∂y l=0
∂y ∂ y2 dx

and
0, m = 1,

χm = (61)
1, m > 1.

The symbolic software MATHEMATICA is used to solve the linear equation (57) with the boundary conditions (58)–(59).
For analytical solution, the m value is selected equal to 20. If we set h̄ = −1, a special case of the HAM, HPM, will obtain.

8. Results and discussion

Eqs. (7), (19) and (24) with transformed boundary conditions were solved analytically using the HPM, HAM, DTM, MDTM
and numerically using the fourth-order Runge–Kutta method. In order to give a comprehensive approach of the problem, a
comparison between HPM, HAM, DTM, MDTM and numerical solutions for various parameters is presented.
Figs. 1 and 2 show the DTM solution for plane Couette flow. For the case of a plane Couette flow, we note that the velocity
field of a third grade fluid is same as in the case of Newtonian viscous fluid. In Figs. 3–8, the results obtained by DTM and
MDTM in comparison with the numerical solutions for Fully-developed plane Poiseuille flow are shown. From Figs. 3–8, it
can be concluded that an increase in third grade non-Newtonian and gradient parameters λ, dx , results in the decrease
dp

of velocity profile u(y). Conversely, an increase in parameters λ, dx , causes an increase in function u′ (y). The influence
dp

of different parameters in plane Couette–Poiseuille flow is shown in Figs. 9–14. It is observed that u(y) is decreased by
increasing parameters λ, dx . The negative pressure gradient dx < 0, aids the viscously due motion to overcome the shear
dp dp
 M. Keimanesh et al. / Computers and Mathematics with Applications 62 (2011) 2871–2891 2887

Fig. 21. The results obtained by HPM, HAM, DTM and MDTM when λ = 0.1, dp/dx = −3, for fully-developed plane Couette–Poiseuille flow.

Fig. 22. The results obtained by HPM, HAM, DTM and MDTM when λ = 0.1, dp/dx = −3, for fully-developed plane Couette–Poiseuille flow.

Fig. 23. The results obtained by HPM, HAM, DTM and MDTM when λ = 0.1, dp/dx = −1, for plane Couette–Poiseuille flow.

force at the surface. On the other hand, dx > 0, opposes the motion which is induced by the motion of the upper plate. It is
dp

observed that as we increase the value of third order parameter λ, the flow profiles desire to approach a linear distribution
showing the fact that shearing from the boundary develops to the whole domain. In order to verify the efficiency of the
proposed method in comparison with the HPM, HAM, DTM and numerical solution, the obtained results are reported in
2888 M. Keimanesh et al. / Computers and Mathematics with Applications 62 (2011) 2871–2891

Fig. 24. The results obtained by HPM, HAM, DTM and MDTM when λ = 0.1, dp/dx = −1, for fully plane Couette–Poiseuille flow.

Fig. 25. The results obtained by HPM, HAM, DTM and MDTM when λ = 0.3, dp/dx = −1, for plane Couette–Poiseuille flow.

Fig. 26. The results obtained by HPM, HAM, DTM and MDTM when λ = 0.3, dp/dx = −1, for plane Couette–Poiseuille flow.

Figs. 15–22 and Table 2 for Fully-developed plane Poiseuille flow and in Figs. 23–30 and Table 3 for plane Couette–Poiseuille
flow, respectively. It is obvious that the MDTM is a reliable algorithm method for solving highly nonlinear differential
equations.
 M. Keimanesh et al. / Computers and Mathematics with Applications 62 (2011) 2871–2891 2889

Fig. 27. The results obtained by HPM, HAM, DTM and MDTM when λ = 0.1, dp/dx = −2, for fully plane Couette–Poiseuille flow.

Fig. 28. The results obtained by HPM, HAM, DTM and MDTM when λ = 0.1, dp/dx = −2, for plane Couette–Poiseuille flow.

Fig. 29. The results obtained by HPM, HAM, DTM and MDTM when λ = 0.1, dp/dx = −3, for plane Couette–Poiseuille flow.
2890 M. Keimanesh et al. / Computers and Mathematics with Applications 62 (2011) 2871–2891

Fig. 30. The results obtained by HPM, HAM, DTM and MDTM when λ = 0.1, dp/dx = −3, for plane Couette–Poiseuille flow.

9. Conclusion

In this paper, the multi-step differential transform method was utilized successfully to find the analytical solution of the
resulting ordinary differential equation. The present method reduces the computational difficulties of the other methods
(same as the HAM, VIM, ADM and HPM) [14–19]. The method has been applied directly without requiring linearization,
discretization, or perturbation. The accuracy of the method is excellent. The obtained results demonstrate the reliability of
the algorithm and give it a wider applicability to nonlinear differential equations. By comparing the DTM and MDTM, the
advantages and disadvantages of DTM and its improved technique MDTM are shown. DTM is a reliable method for solving
nonlinear problems but for problems that have highly nonlinear behavior it diverges. So the MDTM should be used. But for
applying the MDTM, too much CPU time is needed to calculate specially if the value of the interval is very low.

Acknowledgments

We express our gratitude to the anonymous referees for their constructive reviews of the manuscript and for helpful
comments. The second author acknowledges gratefully one year as invited professor in Université de Sherbrooke (Canada),
during 2010–2011.

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