Transition to turbulence in a heated non-Newtonian pipe flow

A simplified mono-dimensional model for investigating the transition to turbulence in nonisothermal and non-Newtonian pipe flows is proposed. The flow stability is analyzed within the framework of such a model, showing that uniformly heating the pipe wall leads to an earlier transition to turbulence, while differentially heating the pipe wall produces a stabilizing effect. For power-law fluids, we also demonstrate that an increase in the power-law index, i.e., passing from shear-thinning to shear-thickening fluids, leads to a stabilization of the system.

Automated summary

A simplified one-dimensional model is proposed to investigate the transition to turbulence in nonisothermal and non-Newtonian pipe flows. The study reveals that uniformly heating the pipe wall results in earlier transition to turbulence, while differential heating produces a stabilizing effect. Additionally, it is demonstrated that an increase in the power-law index leads to stabilization of the system for power-law fluids.