Newtonian and Power-Law fluid flow in a T-junction of rectangular ducts

Abstract

The aim of the present study is the numerical investigation of the shear-thinning and shear-thickening effects of flow in a T-junction of rectangular ducts. The employed CFD code incorporates the SIMPLE scheme in conjunction with the finite volume method with collocated arrangement of variables. The code enables multi-block computations in domains with multiple apertures, thus coping with the two-block, two-outlet layout of the current 3D computational domain. The shear-thinning and shear-thickening behaviours of the flow are covered by changing the index n of the Power-Law model within a range from 0.20 to 1.25, and the subsequent effects are investigated by means of different flow parameters namely the Reynolds (Re) number and the boundary conditions at the outlets. Results exhibit the extent of the effect of the Re number on the velocity profiles at different positions in the domain for both Newtonian and non-Newtonian cases. Similarly, the trend of the effect of shear-thinning and shear-thickening behaviours on the flow rate ratio between inlet and outlets, in the case of equal pressure imposed on outlets, is shown.