Asymmetric Channel Divider in Stokes Flow

Abstract

This article examines the classic problem of Stokes flow into a divided channel with, in contrast to previous literature, the divider barrier asymmetrically placed with respect to the moving, parallel channel walls. The boundary value problem is reduced to a Wiener–Hopf equation that is of matrix form and of a class for which no exact solution is known. An explicit approximate solution, in general accurate to any specified degree, is obtained by a recent method which employs Pade approximants. Numerical results exhibit the flows due to moving walls or various combinations of downstream pressure gradients.