Stokes flow through a periodically grooved tube

Abstract

This is an analytical study on Stokes flow through a tube of which the wall is patterned with periodic transverse grooves filled with an inviscid gas. In one period of the pattern, the fluid flows through an annular groove and an annular rib subject to no-shear and no-slip boundary conditions, respectively. The fluid may penetrate the groove to a certain depth, so there is an abrupt change in the cross section of flow through the two regions. The problem is solved by the method of domain decomposition and eigenfunction expansions, where the coefficients of the expansion series are determined by matching velocities, stress, and pressure on the domain interface. The effective slip length and pressure distributions are examined as functions of the geometrical parameters (tube radius, depth of fluid penetration into grooves, and no-shear area fraction of the wall). Particular attention is paid to the limiting case of flow through annular fins on a no-shear wall. Results are generated for the streamlines, resistance, and pressure drop due to the fins. It is found that the wall condition, whether no-shear or no-slip, will be immaterial when the fin interval is smaller than a certain threshold depending on the orifice ratio. © 2010 American Society of Mechanical Engineers.