A comparative study of poiseuille flow of a polar fluid under various boundary conditions with applications to blood flow

Abstract

In this paper, Poiseuille flow of a polar fluid (model of a red blood cell suspension) under various boundary conditions at the wall, viz., slip or no-slip in the axial velocity and couple stresses zero or non-zero at the boundary, is considered from the point of view of its applications to blood flow. Analytic expressions for axial and rotational velocities, flow rate, effective viscosity and stresses are obtained. The magnitudes of the length ratioL and the coupling number N are determined in accordance with concentration and tube radius (in the existing literature, values ofL andN are chosen arbitrarily). Velocity profiles (both axial and rotational) and the variation of the effective viscosity with concentration, tube radius and for various values of the boundary condition parameters are shown graphically. The analytic results obtained are compared with experimental results (for blood flow). It is found that they are in a reasonably good agreement. The effective viscosity exhibits the Inverse Fahraeus-Lindquist Effect in all the cases (including the slip or no-slip in the velocity fields). A method is given for determining the non-zero couple stress boundary condition for a given concentration. Applications of this theory to blood flow are briefly discussed.