Rheologica Acta, Vol.51, No.5, 421-439, 2012
Analysis on creeping channel flows of compressible fluids subject to wall slip
Creeping channel flows of compressible fluids subject to wall slip are widely encountered in industries. This paper analyzes such flows driven by pressure in planar as well as circular channels. The analysis elucidates unsteady flows of Newtonian fluids subject to the Navier slip condition, followed by steady flows of viscoplastic fluids, in particular, Herschel-Bulkley fluids and their simplifications including power law and Newtonian fluids, that slip at wall with a constant coefficient or a coefficient inversely proportional to pressure. Under the lubrication assumption, analytical solutions are derived, validated, and discussed over a wide range of parameters. Analysis based on the derived solutions indicates that unsteadiness alters cross-section velocity profiles. It is demonstrated that compressibility of the fluids gives rise to a concave pressure distribution in the longitudinal direction, whereas wall slip with a slip coefficient that is inversely proportional to pressure leads to a convex pressure distribution. Energy dissipation resulting from slippage can be a significant portion in the total dissipation of such a flow. A distinctive feature of the flow is that, in case of the pressure-dependent slip coefficient, the slip velocity increases rapidly in the flow direction and the flow can evolve into a pure plug flow at the exit.