The Instantaneous Wall Viscosity in Pipe Flow of Power Law Fluids: Case Study for a Theory of Turbulence in Time-Independent Non-Newtonian Fluids

Abstract

This paper presents a new theory of turbulence in time-independent non-Newtonian fluids. The wall layer is modelled in terms of unsteady exchange of viscous momentum between the wall and the main stream, following the classic visualisation of inrush-sweep-ejection/burst. The thickness of the wall layer is found to be the same for Newtonian and purely viscous non-Newtonian fluids, when normalised with the instantaneous wall parameters at the onset of bursting. The results indicate that the mechanisms of turbulence in Newtonian and time-independent fluids are identical when structural similarity relations in turbulence are based on phase-locked parameters linked with the development of secondary flows rather than on time-averaged wall parameters. This similarity analysis collapses the local critical instantaneous friction factor data of both Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids at the point of bursting into a single curve. The method greatly simplifies the analysis of turbulent transport phenomena in non-Newtonian fluids. Keywords: Turbulence, time-independent non-Newtonian, Power law, pipe flow, wall layer