Pulsatile Flow of Thixotropic Fluids through a Partially-Constricted Tube

Abstract

Pulsatile flow of thixotropic fluids is investigated numerically in a partially-constricted tube assuming that the fluid obeys Moore's structural model as is constitutive equation. Assuming that the flow is laminar, incompressible, two-dimensional and axisymmetric, the equations of motion are simplified using lubrication theory. The simplified equations are then solved numerically using the finite difference method. A suitable coordinate transformation is used to immobilize the boundary of the tube. The effect of the structure breakdown/reformation parameters is investigated on the velocity field and wall shear stress distribution. The importance of the geometrical parameters of the constriction is also investigated on the flow characteristics.

Thixotropic pumping in a cylindrical pipe

“…A key motivation is the transport of crude oil and drilling fluids in pipelines [2,[5][6][7][8]. Other related applications include extrusion [9], peristaltic pumping [10], and pulsatile flow [11,12]. Such applications often involve complex geometries and time-dependent effects, and so there is a role for the study of paradigm problems that bridge the gap between them and much simpler rheometric flows (e.g., Refs.…”