A Hybrid High-Order method for creeping flows of non-Newtonian fluids

In this paper, we design and analyze a Hybrid High-Order discretization method for the steady motion of non-Newtonian, incompressible fluids in the Stokes approximation of small velocities. The proposed method has several appealing features including the support of general meshes and high-order, unconditional inf-sup stability, and orders of convergence that match those obtained for Leray-Lions scalar problems. A complete well-posedness and convergence analysis of the method is carried out under new, general assumptions on the strain rate-shear stress law, which encompass several common examples such as the power-law and Carreau-Yasuda models. Numerical examples complete the exposition.

Non-Isothermal Creeping Flows in a Pipeline Network: Existence Results

This paper deals with a 3D mathematical model for the non-isothermal steady-state flow of an incompressible fluid with temperature-dependent viscosity in a pipeline network. Using the pressure and heat flux boundary conditions, as well as the conjugation conditions to satisfy the mass balance in interior junctions of the network, we propose the weak formulation of the nonlinear boundary value problem that arises in the framework of this model. The main result of our work is an existence theorem (in the class of weak solutions) for large data. The proof of this theorem is based on a combination of the Galerkin approximation scheme with one result from the field of topological degrees for odd mappings defined on symmetric domains.

Analogy between Thermodynamic Phase Transitions and Creeping Flows in Rectangular Cavities

An analogy is found between the streamline function corresponding to Stokes flows in rectangular cavities and the thermodynamics of phase transitions and critical points. In a rectangular cavity flow, with no-slip boundary conditions at the walls, the corners are fixed points. The corners defined by a stationary and a moving wall, are found to be analogous to a thermodynamic first-order transition point. In contrast, the corners defined by two stationary walls correspond to thermodynamic critical points. Here, flow structures, also known as Moffatt eddies, form and act as stagnation regions where mixing is impeded. A third stationary point occurs in the middle region of the channel and it is analogous to a high temperature thermodynamic fixed point. The numerical results of the fluid flow modeling are correlated with analytical work in the proximity of the fixed points.