Laminar Power-Law Fluid Flow in a T-Shaped Channel at Given Pressure Differences

Abstract

The steady laminar flow of an incompressible power-law fluid in a plane T-shaped channel is studied at given pressure differences between the inflow and outflow sections. A non-Newtonian fluid, whose rheological behavior is governed by the Ostwald—de Waele law is called the power-law fluid. The mathematical formulation of the problem includes the equations of motion and continuity. The no-slip condition is imposed on solid walls. The problem solution is obtained using a finite-difference method invoking the SIMPLE procedure. A parametric investigation of the kinematic and dynamic flow parameters is carried out for different values of the relevant parameters of the problem. The flow regime map is constructed for different pressure differences between the inflow and outflow boundaries and different nonlinearity exponents of the rheological model.