Velocity field and energy dissipation in viscoplastic flow in tubes of non-circular cross-section

An analytical method for determining the velocity field, shear stress and energy dissipation in viscoplastic flow in non-circular straight tubes is presented. Bingham's model of fluid is used for the case of tubes with several cross-sectional contours that can be arbitrarily chosen through a shape factor imposed in the solution for the longitudinal velocity. The analysis is extended to steady flow in tubes in which the cross-section contour exhibits sharp corners. In these cases three flow zones are distinguished: stagnant, non-zero deformation, and plug zones. The method provides the expressions for determining the boundaries and characteristics of those three zones for a wide variety of cross-section shapes. In particular the dynamics of plug-zones for large values of the yield stress and for contours that markedly differ from circumferences is analyzed. Energy dissipation is determined throughout the entire cross-section, so that the effect of shape on mechanical energy loss is assessed in terms of the yield stress and viscosity of the fluid. Some general expressions that help understand energy dissipation mechanisms are derived by using natural coordinates for the velocity field and related variables. These results draw on several recent works from other researchers and the present authors, which have highlighted the significant difficulty of determining the zones of zero deformation in viscoplastic flow when the related solid boundaries are not elementary.