A three dimensional exact equation for the turbulent dissipation rate of Generalised Newtonian Fluids

The flow of non-Newtonian fluids is of interest in many biological and industrial applications, including nanofluids. Most of the papers of the literature on turbulent non-Newtonian fluids focused the attention on viscoelastic fluids. In order to make accurate and low cost prediction of turbulent inelastic non-Newtonian fluids, a RANS Generalised Newtonian Fluid (GNF) turbulence model, based on the exact equations for the turbulent variables, is required. In a previous paper of the same authors the exact equations for the turbulent kinetic energy and the dissipation rate have been derived in a two-dimensional (2D) domain, through the introduction of an apparent viscosity equation. The aim of the present paper is to extend the approach to a three-dimensional (3D) domain, giving the full mathematical demonstration of the exact equations. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.