On the steady flow of non-newtonian fluid through multi-stenosed elliptical artery: A theoretical model

Abstract

The study of blood flow through stenotic arteries is more important as the existence and progression of stenosis may lead to severe damage. The current study aims to analyze and understand the non-Newtonian nature of blood flow through the multi-stenosed artery of an elliptical cross-section. The Carreau fluid model accounts for the non-Newtonian nature of blood. The mathematical equations are transformed to dimensionless form, and assumptions of mild stenosis are employed to reduce the non-linearity of the mathematical model. The perturbation method via polynomial technique is utilized to solve the resulting equations by considering We2 as the perturbation parameter. The results of the velocity and wall shear stress are examined graphically. It is found that stenosis severity substantially impacts flow velocity in the narrower portion of the artery. The stenosis growth strongly affects the flow velocity and wall shear stress in the stenotic region. The non-Newtonian effects are found to dominate along the minor axis. This fact assures that the conduit’s narrower cross-section strengthens the fluid’s non-Newtonian behavior. It is observed that the non-Newtonian fluid has a smaller velocity than the Newtonian fluid. Moreover, non-Newtonian fluid has a different nature along the minor and major axes, but Newtonian fluid has the same behavior.