Effect of slip on the linear stability of flow through a tube

Abstract

A theoretical investigation of the linear stability of the flow of a Newtonian fluid through a tube is presented using an alternative boundary condition to the standard no-slip condition. The linear stability analysis is based on the classical method of infinitesimal axially symmetric harmonic perturbations super-imposed on the steady state solution. In this analysis the standard no-slip boundary condition is replaced with the Navier boundary condition, independently proposed over a hundred years ago by both Navier and Maxwell. This boundary condition contains an extra parameter, which may be regarded as a positive slip length. The aim of this analysis is to assess the effect of a nonzero slip length on the behavior of infinitesimal disturbances in the flow through a tube. It is demonstrated that for positive slip the rate of decay of the least damped disturbance is reduced, although the flow still remains stable to all infinitesimal disturbances of the type considered, as it does for the no-slip boundary condition.