Instability of hydromagnetic Couette flow for hybrid nanofluid through porous media with small suction and injection effects

Purpose This paper aims to investigate a linear and temporal stability analysis of hybrid nanofluid flow between two parallel plates filled with a porous medium and whose lower plate is fixed and the upper plate animated by a uniform rectilinear motion. Design/methodology/approach The nanofluid is composed of water as a regular fluid, silver (Ag) and alumina (Al 2 O 3 ) as nanoparticles. The mathematical model takes into account other effects such as the magnetic field and the aspiration (injection/suction). Under the assumption of a low magnetic Reynolds number, a modified Orr–Sommerfeld-type eigenvalue differential equation governing flow stability was derived and solved numerically by Chebyshev’s spectral collocation method. The effects of parameters such as volume fraction, Darcy number, injection/suction Reynolds number, Hartmann number were analyzed. Findings It was found the following: the Darcy number affects the stability of the flow, the injection/suction Reynolds number has a negligible effect, the volume fraction damped disturbances and the magnetic field plays a very important role in enlarging the area of flow stability. Originality/value The originality of this work resides in the linear and temporal stability analysis of hydromagnetic Couette flow for hybrid nanofluid through porous media with small suction and injection effects.