LAUSR

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to consider heat and mass transfer on magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) Williamson fluid flow over a slendering stretching sheet with variable thickness in the presence of radiation and chemical reaction. All pertinent flow parameters are discussed and their influence on the hydrodynamics, thermal and concentration boundary layer are presented with the aid of the diagram. Design/methodology/approach The governing partial differential equations are reduced into a system of ordinary differential equations with the help of suitable similarity variables. A discrete version of the homotopy analysis method (HAM) called the spectral homotopy analysis method (SHAM) was used to solve the transformed equations. SHAM is efficient, and it converges faster than the HAM. The SHAM provides flexibility when solving linear ordinary differential equations with the use of the Chebyshev spectral collocation method. Findings The findings revealed that an increase in the variable thermal conductivity hike the temperature and the thermal boundary layer thickness, whereas the reverse is the case for velocity close to the wall. Originality/value The uniqueness of this paper is the exploration of combined effects of heat and mass transfer on MHD Williamson fluid flow over a slendering stretching sheet. The Williamson fluid term in the momentum equation is expressed as a linear function and the viscosity and thermal conductivity are considered to vary in the boundary layer.