Analytical Solutions for Simple Turbulent Shear Flows on a Basis of a Generalized Newton's Law

Polymers (Basel). 2022 Aug 14;14(16):3308. doi: 10.3390/polym14163308.

Abstract

In the presented article a generalization of Newton's formula for the shear stress in a fluid is carried out by giving it a power-law form. After the introduction of the corresponding strain rate tensor, a generalization is made to the spatial case of flow and the rheological relation is presented in tensor form. Depending on the power value in this rheological ratio, one can come either to a description of a laminar flow regime (in the form of Navier-Stokes equations), or to a description of the flow in turbulent regime. In the latter case, a set of differential equations with the no-slip boundary condition is specified, which is significantly different from that for the laminar flow regime, but which also allows one to obtain analytical solutions for simple shear flows and obtain the Blasius resistance law for the flow in a pipe. Therefore, the considered approach to solving problems of turbulent flows compares favorably with modern differential turbulence models. Solutions are given for simple shear flows of a fluid, when there is only one longitudinal component of the velocity, which depends on the transversal coordinate only. These solutions in terms of velocity profiles and resistance coefficients are in satisfactory agreement with the experimental data.

Keywords: Blasius formula; Newton’s formula; Toms effect; laminar flow; non-Newtonian fluids; power relation; resistance; rheology; simple share flow; turbulent flow.