Steady flow of non-Newtonian fluids through rectangular ducts

Abstract

The present paper contains a numerical study for the secondary flow of a Reiner-Rivlin non-Newtonian fluid in laminar flow through ducts of square and rectangular cross section. Finite difference methods are developed to obtain the primary flow, the secondary flow, and the friction factor. The influence of the second normal stress coefficient, the Reynolds number, and the aspect ratio on the magnitude of the secondary flow are considered. In general, the effect of the secondary flow on the primary flow rate and friction factor is found to be negligible.