Impact of wedge angle on flow heat mass transfer and entropy generation in Falkner–Skan flow

This study employs the hybrid analytical and numerical method (HAN method) to investigate the influence of wedge angle on the thermo-fluid and mass transfer characteristics of Falkner–Skan boundary layer flow. The analysis examines how the Hartree pressure gradient parameter, ranging from β = 0 (flat plate) to β = 1.0 (90° wedge), affects velocity, temperature, and concentration profiles, as well as entropy generation and the Bejan number. Results demonstrate that increasing the wedge angle substantially enhances the wall gradients of velocity, temperature, and concentration—by 162%, 19.8%, and 19.0%, respectively—which translate directly into corresponding improvements in the engineering coefficients: the skin friction coefficient (85.7% increase), Nusselt number (69.4% increase), and Sherwood number (68.4% increase). This simultaneous enhancement is physically attributed to the favorable pressure gradient generated by larger wedge angles, which accelerates the external flow, compresses the velocity profile near the wall, and consequently steepens the thermal and concentration gradients through the Reynolds analogy. While larger wedge angles intensify entropy generation due to increased velocity and thermal gradients, the Bejan number decreases near the wall, indicating a growing dominance of fluid friction irreversibilities. Unlike previous Falkner–Skan studies that primarily focused on hydrodynamic or thermal aspects in isolation, this work contributes a comprehensive entropy generation analysis that simultaneously quantifies the thermodynamic trade-offs between heat transfer, fluid friction, and mass transfer irreversibilities under varying wedge geometries. Furthermore, the application of the HAN method provides closed-form analytical expressions for the velocity, temperature, and concentration profiles, enabling direct engineering use without recourse to repeated numerical computations. These findings provide valuable design insights for optimizing heat and mass transfer performance in wedge-shaped configurations subjected to favorable pressure gradients, with direct applicability to aerospace components such as turbine blades and aircraft wings, heat exchangers, chemical vapor deposition systems, and thermal management of electronic cooling devices.