The Falkner–Skan Wedge Flows of Power-Law Fluids Embedded in a Porous Medium

The non-Darcy flow characteristics of power-law non-Newtonian fluids past a wedge embedded in a porous medium have been studied. The governing equations are converted to a system of first-order ordinary differential equations by means of a local similarity transformation and have been solved numerically, for a number of parameter combinations of wedge angle parameter m, power-law index of the non-Newtonian fluids n, first-order resistance A and second-order resistance B, using a fourth-order Runge–Kutta integration scheme with the Newton–Raphson shooting method. Velocity and shear stress at the body surface are presented for a range of the above parameters. These results are also compared with the corresponding flow problems for a Newtonian fluid. Numerical results show that for the case of the constant wedge angle and material parameter A, the local skin friction coefficient is lower for a dilatant fluid as compared with the pseudo-plastic or Newtonian fluids.     

Mass transfer effects on the non-Newtonian fluids past a vertical plate embedded in a porous medium with non-uniform surface heat flux

 The present study is devoted to investigate the influences of mass transfer on buoyancy induced flow over vertical flat plate embedded in a non-Newtonian fluid saturated porous medium. The Ostwald–de Waele power-law model is used to characterize the non-Newtonian fluid behavior. Similarity solution for the transformed governing equations is obtained with prescribed variable surface heat flux. Numerical results for the details of the velocity, temperature and concentration profiles are shown on graphs. Excess surface temperature as well as concentration gradient at the wall associated with heat flux distributions, which are entered in tables, have been presented for different values of the power-law index n, buoyancy ration B and the exponent λ as well as Lewis number Le. Received on 26 April 2000     

On thermal boundary layer of a non-Newtonian fluid on a power-law stretched surface of variable temperature with suction or injection

 Heat transfer characteristics of a non-Newtonian fluid on a power-law stretched surface of variable temperature with suction or injection were investigated. Similarity solutions of the laminar boundary layer equations describing heat transfer and fluid flow in a quiescent fluid were obtained and solved numerically. Velocity and temperature profiles as well as the Nusselt number, Nu, were studied for two thermal boundary conditions; uniform surface temperature and variable surface temperature, for different parameters; Prandtl number Pr, temperature exponent b, velocity exponent m, injection parameter d and power-law index n. It was found that decreasing injection parameter d, and power-law index n and increasing Prandtl number Pr and surface temperature exponent b enhance the heat transfer coefficient. Received on 27 April 2000     

Boundary-layer non-Newtonian flow over vertical plate in porous medium saturated with nanofluid

The free convective heat transfer to the power-law non-Newtonian flow from a vertical plate in a porous medium saturated with nanofluid under laminar conditions is investigated. It is considered that the non-Newtonian nanofluid obeys the mathematical model of power-law. The model used for the nanofluid incorporates the effects of Brownian motion and thermophoresis. The partial differential system governing the problem is transformed into an ordinary system via a usual similarity transformation. The numerical solutions of the resulting ordinary system are obtained. These solutions depend on the power-law index n, Lewis number Le, buoyancy-ratio number N _r, Brownian motion number N _b, and thermophoresis number N _t. For various values of n and Le, the effects of the influence parameters on the fluid behavior as well as the reduced Nusselt number are presented and discussed.     

Soret and Dufour effect on double diffusion mixed convection from a vertical surface in a porous medium saturated with a non-Newtonian fluid

A non-similar boundary layer analysis is presented to study the flow, heat and mass transfer characteristics of non-Darcian mixed convection of a non-Newtonian fluid from a vertical isothermal plate embedded in a homogeneous porous medium with the effect of Soret and Dufour and in the presence of either surface injection or suction. The value of the mixed-convection parameter lies between 0 and 1. In addition, the power-law model is used for non-Newtonian fluids with exponent n < 1 for pseudoplastics n = 1 for Newtonian fluids and n > 1 for dilatant fluids. Furthermore, the coordinates and dependent variables are transformed to yield computationally efficient numerical solutions that are valid over the entire range of mixed convection, from the pure forced-convection limit to the pure free-convection limit, and the whole domain of non-Newtonian fluids, from pseudoplastics to dilatant fluids. The numerical solution of the problem is derived using a Runge–Kutta integration scheme with Newton–Raphson shooting technique. Distributions for velocity, temperature and concentration, as well as for the rate of wall heat and mass transfer, have been obtained and discussed for various physical parametric values.     

Natural convection of non-Newtonian power-law fluid over axisymmetric and two-dimensional bodies of arbitrary shape in fluid-saturated porous media

Numerical analysis of the free convection coupled heat and mass transfer is presented for non-Newtonian power-law fluids with the yield stress flowing over a two-dimensional or axisymmetric body of an arbitrary shape in a fluid-saturated porous medium. The governing boundary layer equations and boundary conditions are cast into a dimensionless form by the similarity transformation. The resulting system of equations is solved by a finite difference method. The parameters studied are the rheological constants, the buoyancy ratio, and the Lewis number. Representative velocity, temperature, and concentration profiles are presented and discussed. It is found that the results depend strongly on the values of the yield stress parameter and the power-law index of the non-Newtonian fluid.     

Natural convection of non-Newtonian power-law fluid over axisymmetric and two-dimensional bodies of arbitrary shape in fluid-saturated porous media

Numerical analysis of the free convection coupled heat and mass transfer is presented for non-Newtonian power-law fluids with the yield stress flowing over a two-dimensional or axisymmetric body of an arbitrary shape in a fluid-saturated porous medium. The governing boundary layer equations and boundary conditions are cast into a dimensionless form by the similarity transformation. The resulting system of equations is solved by a finite difference method. The parameters studied are the rheological constants, the buoyancy ratio, and the Lewis number. Representative velocity, temperature, and concentration profiles are presented and discussed. It is found that the results depend strongly on the values of the yield stress parameter and the power-law index of the non-Newtonian fluid.     

Radiative and Thermal Dispersion Effects on Non-Darcy Natural Convection with Lateral Mass Flux for Non-Newtonian Fluid from a Vertical Flat Plate in a Saturated Porous Medium

The problem of natural convective heat transfer for a non-Newtonian fluid from an impermeable vertical plate embedded in a fluid-saturated porous medium has been analyzed. Non-Darcian, radiative and thermal dispersion effects have been considered in the present analysis. The governing boundary layer equations and boundary conditions are cast into a dimensionless form and simplified by using a similarity transformation. The resulting system of equations is solved by using a double shooting Runge–Kutta method. The effect of viscosity index n, the conduction–radiation parameter R, the non-Darcy parameter Gr*, the thermal dispersion parameter Ds and the suction/injection parameter f_w on the fluid velocities, temperatures and the local Nusselt number are discussed.     

Effects of viscous dissipation on a power-law fluid over plate embedded in a porous medium

The present study is devoted to investigate the influences of viscous dissipation on buoyancy induced flow over a horizontal or a vertical flat plate embedded in a non-Newtonian fluid saturated porous medium. The Ostwald-de Waele power-law model is used to characterize the non-Newtonian fluid behavior. Similarity solutions for the transformed governing equations are obtained with prescribed variable surface temperature (PT) or with prescribed variable surface heat flux (PHF) for the horizontal plate case. While, the similarity solutions are obtained with prescribed variable surface heat flux for the vertical plate case. Different similar transformations, for each case, are used. Numerical results for the details of the velocity and temperature profiles are shown on graphs. Nusselt number associated with temperature distributions and excess surface temperature associated with heat flux distributions which are entered in tables have been presented for different values of the power-law index n and the exponent as well as Eckert number.     

Modelling of Power-law Fluid Flow Through Porous Media Using Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics

The flow of non-Newtonian fluids through two-dimensional porous media is analyzed at the pore scale using the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method. A fully explicit projection method is used to simulate incompressible flow. This study focuses on a shear-thinning power-law model (n < 1), though the method is sufficiently general to include other stress-shear rate relationships. The capabilities of the proposed method are demonstrated by analyzing a Poiseuille problem at low Reynolds numbers. Two test cases are also solved to evaluate validity of Darcy’s law for power-law fluids and to investigate the effect of anisotropy at the pore scale. Results show that the proposed algorithm can accurately simulate non-Newtonian fluid flows in porous media.     

Theoretical prediction of the mass transfer coefficients in bubble columns operating in churn-turbulent flow regime. Study in Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids under different operation conditions

 A comprehensive experimental study of the volumetric transfer coefficient k _L a with Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids in bubble columns using CO₂ as gas phase is the objective of this work. The evaluation of the hydrodynamic characteristics of the bubble columns and delineated the different hydrodynamic regimes considering column geometry, gas flow, liquid height and type of fluid (Newtonian and non-Newtonian) suggest a general applicability of the proposed model. An explanation about of the k _L a values in non-Newtonian fluid is offered take into account shear rate, column geometry, viscosity and results reported in the literature previously. Received on 31 July 1999     

Displacement of a Newtonian fluid by a non-Newtonian fluid in a porous medium

This paper presents an analytical Buckley-Leverett-type solution for one-dimensibnal immiscible displacement of a Newtonian fluid by a non-Newtonian fluid in porous media. The non-Newtonian fluid viscosity is assumed to be a function of the flow potential gradient and the non-Newtonian phase saturation. To apply this method to field problems a practical procedure has been developed which is based on the analytical solution and is similar to the graphic technique of Welge. Our solution can be regarded as an extension of the Buckley-Leverett method to Non-Newtonian fluids. The analytical result reveals how the saturation profile and the displacement efficiency are controlled not only by the relative permeabilities, as in the Buckley-Leverett solution, but also by the inherent complexities of the non-Newtonian fluid. Two examples of the application of the solution are given. One application is the verification of a numerical model, which has been developed for simulation of flow of immiscible non-Newtonian and Newtonian fluids in porous media. Excellent agreement between the numerical and analytical results has been obtained using a power-law non-Newtonian fluid. Another application is to examine the effects of non-Newtonian behavior on immiscible displacement of a Newtonian fluid by a power-law non-Newtonian fluid.     

Non-similar Solution for Natural Convective Boundary Layer Flow Over a Sphere Embedded in a Porous Medium Saturated with a Nanofluid

A boundary layer analysis is presented for the natural convection past an isothermal sphere in a Darcy porous medium saturated with a nanofluid. Numerical results for friction factor, surface heat transfer rate, and mass transfer rate have been presented for parametric variations of the buoyancy ratio parameter N _r, Brownian motion parameter N _b, thermophoresis parameter N _t, and Lewis number L _e. The dependency of the friction factor, surface heat transfer rate (Nusselt number), and mass transfer rate (Sherwood number) on these parameters has been discussed.     

Lie-group method of solution for steady two-dimensional boundary-layer stagnation-point flow towards a heated stretching sheet placed in a porous medium

The boundary-layer equations for two-dimensional steady flow of an incompressible, viscous fluid near a stagnation point at a heated stretching sheet placed in a porous medium are considered. We apply Lie-group method for determining symmetry reductions of partial differential equations. Lie-group method starts out with a general infinitesimal group of transformations under which the given partial differential equations are invariant. The determining equations are a set of linear differential equations, the solution of which gives the transformation function or the infinitesimals of the dependent and independent variables. After the group has been determined, a solution to the given partial differential equations may be found from the invariant surface condition such that its solution leads to similarity variables that reduce the number of independent variables of the system. The effect of the velocity parameter λ, which is the ratio of the external free stream velocity to the stretching surface velocity, permeability parameter of the porous medium k ₁, and Prandtl number Pr on the horizontal and transverse velocities, temperature profiles, surface heat flux and the wall shear stress, has been studied.     

Flow of power-law fluids over a moving wedge surface with wall mass injection

The boundary layer problem of a power-law fluid flow with fluid injection on a wedge whose surface is moving with a constant velocity in the opposite direction to that of the uniform mainstream is analyzed. The free stream velocity, the injection velocity at the surface, moving velocity of the wedge surface, the wedge angle and the power law index of non-Newtonian fluid are assumed variables. The fourth order Runge–Kutta method modified by Gill is used to solve the non-dimensional boundary layer equations for non-Newtonian flow field. Without fluid injection, for every angle of wedge β, a limiting value for velocity ratio λ _cr (velocity of the wedge surface/velocity of the uniform flow) is found for each power-law index n. The value of λ _cr increases with the increasing wedge angle β. The value of wedge angle also restricts the physical characteristics of the fluid to be used. The effects of the different parameters on velocity profile and on skin friction are studied and the drag reduction is discussed. In case of C = 2.5 and velocity ratio λ = 0.2 for wedge angle β = 0.5 with the fluid with power law-index n = 0.5, 48.8% drag reduction is obtained.     

Flow of viscoelastic fluids through a porous channel—I

The flow of viscoelastic fluids through a porous channel with one impermeable wall is computed. The flow is characterized by a boundary value problem in which the order of the differential equation exceeds the number of boundary conditions. Three solutions are developed: (i) an exact numerical solution, (ii) a perturbation solution for small R, the cross-flow Reynold's number and (iii) an asymptotic solution for large R. The results from exact numerical integration reveal that the solutions for a non-Newtonian fluid are possible only up to a critical value of the viscoelastic fluid parameter, which decreases with an increase in R. It is further demonstrated that the perturbation solution gives acceptable results only if the viscoelastic fluid parameter is also small. Two more related problems are considered: fluid dynamics of a long porous slider, and injection of fluid through one side of a long vertical porous channel. For both the problems, exact numerical and other solutions are derived and appropriate conclusions drawn.     

Non-Newtonian flow in microporous structures under the electroviscous effect

Single phase non-Newtonian microporous flow combined with the electroviscous effect is investigated in the pore-scale under conditions of various rheological properties and electrokinetic parameters. The lattice Boltzmann method is employed to solve both the electric potential field and flow velocity field. The simulation of commonly used power-law non-Newtonian flow shows that the electroviscous effect on the flow depends on both the fluid rheological behavior and pore surface area ratio significantly. For the shear thinning fluid with power-law exponent n < 1, the fluid viscosity near the wall is smaller and the electrovicous effect plays a more important role compared to the Newtonian fluid and shear thickening fluid. The high pore surface area ratio in the porous structure increases the electroviscous force and the induced flow resistance becomes important even to the flow of Newtonian and shear thickening fluids.     

Effects of viscous dissipation and heat generation (absorption) in a thermal boundary layer of a non-Newtonian fluid over a continuously moving permeable flat plate

The problem of boundary-layer flow and heat transfer of a non-Newtonian power-law fluid over a moving porous infinite flat plate in the presence of viscous dissipation and heat generation or absorption is investigated analytically. It is assumed that both the momentum and the energy equations are coupled by the stress friction factor, and an assumption is introduced regarding the heat-transfer index. It is found that exact analytical solutions for velocity and temperature exist only for pseudoplastic fluids in the presence of suction at the surface. The effects of the suction parameter, Eckert number, and the heat generation or absorption parameter on the velocity and temperature profiles, as well as on the skin-friction coefficient and Nusselt number are discussed.     

Extension of the Darcy�CForchheimer Law for Shear-Thinning Fluids and Validation via Pore-Scale Flow Simulations

Flow of non-Newtonian fluids through porous media at high Reynolds numbers is often encountered in chemical, pharmaceutical and food, as well as petroleum and groundwater engineering, and in many other industrial applications. Under the majority of operating conditions typically explored, the dependence of pressure drops on flow rate is non-linear and the development of models capable of describing accurately this dependence, in conjunction with non-trivial rheological behaviors, is of paramount importance. In this work, pore-scale single-phase flow simulations conducted on synthetic two-dimensional porous media are performed via computational fluid dynamics for both Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids and the results are used for the extension and validation of the Darcy?CForchheimer law, herein proposed for shear-thinning fluid models of Cross, Ellis and Carreau. The inertial parameter ?? is demonstrated to be independent of the viscous properties of the fluids. The results of flow simulations show the superposition of two contributions to pressure drops: one, strictly related to the non-Newtonian properties of the fluid, dominates at low Reynolds numbers, while a quadratic one, arising at higher Reynolds numbers, is dependent on the porous medium properties. The use of pore-scale flow simulations on limited portions of the porous medium is here proposed for the determination of the macroscale-averaged parameters (permeability K, inertial coefficient ?? and shift factor ??), which are required for the estimation of pressure drops via the extended Darcy?CForchheimer law. The method can be applied for those fluids which would lead to critical conditions (high pressures for low permeability media and/or high flow rates) in laboratory tests.     

Heat transfer to non-Newtonian flows over a cylinder in cross flow

Over a range of 102<Re^*<5800, 6.5<Pr^*<79, and 0.6<n<1, circumferential wall temperatures for water and aqueous polymer (purely viscous) solution flows over a smooth cylinder were measured experimentally. The cylinder was heated by passing direct electric current through it. Aqueous solutions of Carbopol 934 and EZ1 were used as power-law non-Newtonian fluids. The peripherally averaged heat transfer coefficient for purely viscous non-Newtonian fluids, at any fixed flow rate, decreases with increasing polymer concentration. A new correlation is proposed for predicting the peripherally averaged Nusselt number for power-law fluid flows over a heated cylinder in cross flow.