Two-fluids plane or axisymmetric Poiseuille flow at optimum: A (quasi)analytical study

Abstract

The solution of the two-fluids plane or axisymetric Poiseuille flow is derived analytically. Then, the conditions for the maximum flow rate of the most viscous fluid are analyzed in terms of fluids volume fractions. The axisymmetric case is totally analytical, whereas the plane one is not. In the axisymmetric case, it is shown that an optimum can be found only if the most viscous fluid (the liquid) is inside and the less viscous one (the gas) is outside. In the plane case, the maximum flow rate of the "liquid" can reach 4 times that of the classical Poiseuille flow in the limit of vanishing viscosity of the "gas".