Laminar Flow and Heat Transfer to a Non-Newtonian Fluid in an Entrance Region of a Square Duct with Prescribed Constant Axial Wall Heat Flux

Abstract

Forced-convection heat transfer information as a function of the pertinent nondimensional numbers is obtained numerically for laminar incompressible non-Newtonian fluid flow in the entrance region of a square duct with simultaneously developing temperature and velocity profiles for constant axial wall heat flux with uniform peripheral wall temperature. The power-law model characterizes the non-Newtonian behavior.

Finite-difference representations are developed for the equations of the mathematical model, and numerical solutions are obtained assuming uniform inlet velocity and temperature distributions. Results are presented for local and mean Nusselt numbers as functions of the Graetz number and the Prandtl number in the entrance region. Comparisons are made with previous analytical work for Newtonian fluids. The results show a strong effect of the Prandtl number on the Nusselt numbers with fully developed and uniform velocity profiles representing the lower and upper limits, respectively. The results provide a new insight into the true three-dimensional character of the pseudoplastlc fluid flow in the entrance region of a square duct and are accurate.