MHD Flow of Power-Law Fluids in Locally-Constricted Channels

Abstract

In the present study, the effect of a transverse magnetic field is investigated on the flow separation phenomenon at the lee of a single, two-dimensional symmetric constriction assuming that the fluid of interest is of the power-law type. For steady, two-dimensional, and incompressible flow, the equations of motion will be solved using the finite volume formulation based on a staggered grid. Numerical results obtained for the velocity and pressure fields suggest that flow separation occurring downstream the constriction can be controlled by manipulating the degree of the shear-thinning behavior of the fluid and/or by applying an external magnetic field. That is, the size of the separation bubble formed in flow through constrictions is predicted to decrease by an increase in the power-law exponent and/or the strength of the externally imposed magnetic field. The wall shear stress is also predicted to increase by an increase in the strength of the magnetic field.

Numerical Simulation of MHD Fluid Flow inside Constricted Channels using Lattice Boltzmann Method

“…The Present paper follows another objective which is to see if flow separation occurring downstream a partially-constricted passage can be controlled through the use of an external magnetic field. This idea has been investigated in several studies (Bandyopadhyay and Layek, 2011;Cramer and Pai , 1973;Esmaeili and Sadeghy, 2009;Gad-el-Hak and Bushnell, 1991;Midya et al, 2004) especially in biology and medicine (Barnothy, 1964;Vardanyan, 1973;Ponalagusamy and Tamil, 2013;Sinha and Misra, 2012;Ikbal et al, 2009;Mustapha et al, 2009;Tashtoush and Magableh, 2007;Tzirtzilakis, 2005) but the novelty of current study is the application of a different numerical method for simulation of the mentioned idea.…”