Lecture 7: Non-Newtonian

Fluids
Classification of Non-Newtonian
Fluids
Laminar Flow of a Non-Newtonian
fluid in Circular Pipes
Recommended text-book: W.F.
Hughes, J.A. Brighton, Schaum's
outline of theory and problems of
fluid dynamics, New York: McGraw
Hill,1999
1

Examples
Water and simple liquids; air and simple gases are
Newtonian fluids.
Fluids in food industry, gels, polymers, slurries,
drilling muds, blood are Non-Newtonian fluids.
The Non-Newtonian behaviour is frequently
associated with complex internal structure: fluid has
large complex molecules (like a polymer) or fluid is a
heterogeneous solution (like a suspension)...
1: Coal slurries having consistency of over 80% by
volume of powdered or crushed coal in water can be
pumped long distances with much less power
requirements for pumping than pure water.
2

Examples
2: In the fracturing treatment of oil wells, materials have been

developed which when added to water make a fluid so thick

that it suspends sand, glass or metal pellets. Yet the same
fluid can be pumped down a well at enormous rates with less
than half the friction loss of water.
Such materials are used for fracturing of an oil reservoir.
Fracturing is used to increase the production of the well. First,
a crack is initiated in the producing zone. Then, fluid pumped
down the well under high pressure greatly extends this crack.
The sand, or pellets act as propping agents to hold the
fracture open after the treatment. Fluid must be delivered at a
rapid rate to overcome the loss by diffusion of fluid within the
pores of the fractured rock.
3

Definition: Newtonian/NonNewtonian fluids

The viscous stress tensor for incompressible Newtonian fluid is
v v


-- rate of shear strain

x
x
ik

ik

ik

Newtonian fluids: linear proportionality between the shearing tensor

and the shearing rate.
Non-Newtonian fluids: any different relation between the shearing
stress and the shearing rate.

Classification

Time Independent Fluids (the relation between shearing

stress and rate is unique but non-linear)
Bingham plastics
Pseudoplastic fluids
Dilatant plastics
Time Dependent Fluids (the shear rate depends on the
shearing time or on the previous shear rate history)
Thixotropic fluids
Reopectic fluids
Viscoelastic fluids (the shear stress is determined by the
shear strain and the rate of shear strain)
5

Time Independent Fluids

f
ik

ik

0 Newtonian fluid
1 Bingham plastics
2 pseudoplastic fluids
3 dilatant fluids

1
2
0
3

slope

1. Bingham plastics

Examples: slurries, plastics, emulsions such as paints, and

suspensions of finely solids in a liquid (e.g. drilling muds, which consist
primarily of clays suspended in water).
6

2. Pseudoplastic (shear
thinning) fluids
A progressively decreasing slope of shear stress vs. shear rate.
The slope can be defined as apparent viscosity:
At very high rates of shear in real fluids the apparent viscosity becomes
constant.
a

Examples: paper pulp in water, latex paint, blood, syrup, molasses,

ketchup, whipped cream, nail polish
The simplest empirical model is the power law due to Ostwald:

k , n 1
n 1

The power law model is popular due to its simplicity.

For the cases where power law model does not give an adequate
representation, it might be practical to use the actual measured properties
of the fluid.
7

3. Dilatant (shear thickening)

fluids
The apparent viscosity increases with increasing shear
rate.
Can be represented by the power law model with n>1.
Less common (suspensions of corn starch or sand in water).
Applications:
Traction control: some all-wheel drive systems use a viscous
coupling unit full of dilatant fluid to provide power transfer
between front and rear wheels. On high traction surfacing, the
relative motion between primary and secondary drive wheels is
the same, so the shear is low and little power is transferred. When
the primary drive wheels start to slip, the shear increases, causing
the fluid to thicken. As the fluid thickens, the torque transferred to
the secondary drive wheels increases, until the maximum amount
of power possible in the fully thickened state is transferred.
Body armour: application of shear thickening fluids for use as
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body armour, allowing the wearer flexibility for a normal
range of

Time Dependent Fluids

Thixotropic fluids (the shear stress decreases with time as
the fluid is sheared)
As the fluid is sheared from the state of rest, it breaks down (on
molecular scale), but then the structural reformation will
increase with time. An equilibrium situation is eventually
reached where the breakdown rate is equal to build-up rate. If
allowed to rest, the fluid builds up slowly and eventually regains
its original consistency.
Examples: many gels or colloids
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJaLV_r_kNA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn2uonRGKYk
Rheopectic fluids (the shear stress increases with time as
the fluid is sheared).
Molecular structure is formed by shear and behaviour is
opposite to that of thixotropy.
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Viscoelastic Fluids
A viscoelastic material exhibits both elastic and viscous
properties.
The simplest type is one which
is Newtonian in viscosity and obeys
part:
Hookes law for the elastic

is a rigidity modulus.

Simplest and popular model -- Maxwell liquids:

exp

Under steady flow,

. If the motion is stopped the stress relaxes as

Movies:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1C4qNyrUjU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwz3R0IG9Xc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcNWLIpv8gc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmUx-1o3Lzs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX6GxoiCneY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQ8FP0sa_hk

Examples: polymers, metals at

temperature close to their melting
point
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Laminar flow of Bingham

plastics
R

rp

We consider steady plane parallel flow. The

governing equations are reduced to

p 1
r rz (*)

z r r
p
By denoting
A and integrating (*) we obtain
z
Ar c 1
rz

2 r
z projection :

c1 = 0 as the stress tensor must be bounded at r = 0,

i.e.
Ar
rz
rz
rp R
r
2
y
11

For Bingham plastics, the rate of stress tensor is related to the shearing
stress as y : 0,

rz y
y :
,

or

v
0
r
v
1
rA
2
r
z

(**)

rz

at r r :
p

for

for

2
v
0 r
r
A

12

Integration of (**) gives

1
1
A
R r
v rA dr

2
4
r

Setting r r
p

R r , r r R

2
gives
A
y

v
1 , r r 0

A r

The volumetric flow rate

R A
4 2 1 2
Q


1
8
3 RA 3 RA
4

At y we will have the formulae earlier obtained for the Poiseuille flow.
13

Eugene Cook Bingham, born 8 December

1878, died 6 November 1945. Bingham made
many contributions to rheology.

14

Lecture 8: Flow fields with

negligible inertia forces
Flow in slowly-varying channel
Lubrication theory

15

Flow in slowly-varying channels

For Poiseuille
flow:

v
0
t
Steady flow

v v 0

v 0

Plane-parallel
flow

v v 0 but
small

v v
We can always make the ratio 1
v
For steady flow in
a slowly varying
channel

by choosing a sufficiently slow rate of variation of

the cross-section.
16

Consider a steady flow along a circular tube with

R(x), with
dp
dR
A x
and
x
dx
dx
2
V

V
v r ~ v z
In such a flow,
.
u ~ 2 , v v ~
R
R
And

v v
RV
nce,
1 , i.e. inertia force is negligi
~
v

Thus, the flow profile and the volumetric flow

flux are
A 2 2
R 4 A
v z x ,r R r
Q
4
8
This approximation is useful in many different
circumstances e.g. the flow of a fluid squeezed out
radially by pressing close together two plane disks. 17

Lubrication theory
It is a matter of common experience that two solid bodies
can slide over one another easily when there is a thin
layer of fluid between them and that under certain
conditions a high positive pressure is set up in the fluid
layer. This is used as a means of substituting fluid-solid
friction for the much larger friction between two solid
bodies in contact. In some case the fluid layer is used to
support a useful load, and is then called a lubrication
bearing.

h1

Reynolds
theory,
1886
h
2
U

RU
1

which is usually satisfied

under practical
18
conditions of lubrication

Flow profile:

A
h y
u yh y U
2
h
Poiseuille
flow

Couette
flow

Ah 3 1
Volumetric
Q u dy
Uh
flow flux:
12 2
0

From here, the pressure gradient is

p
U 2Q
A 6 2 3
x
h
h

(1
)
h h1 x

Q must be independent of x. In
addition,
Integration of (1)
gives
1
6 1 1
1
p p0 U Q 2 2
h h1
h h1

19

Suppose the sliding block is completely

immersed in the fluid, so p=p0 when h=h2, which
enables ushto
determine Q,
1h 2
Q U
h1 h 2
and

6U h1 h h h 2
p p0

h 2 h1 h 2

p p 0 0 if
p-p0

p max

LU
2
h1

h 2 h1 A lubrication layer will be able to

support a load normal to the
layer only when the layer is so
arranged that the relative motion
x
of the two surfaces tends to drag
fluid from the wider to the
pmax cannarrow
be high
if h1 is
end.
small (L is a layer
20
length)

The total normal force exerted on either of the two

boundaries by the fluid layer is
L

6U
0 p p0 dx 2

h1
h1 h 2
ln h 2 h h

2
1
2

The total tangential force exerted by the fluid on

the lower plate
L

u
0 y

2U
dx

y 0

h1 h 2
h1
3 h h 2 ln h

1
2
2

The tangential force on the upper boundary is

L
u
2U h1 h 2
h1

dx
3
ln

y y h
h1 h 2
h2
0
21

 tangential force on the block f

normal force on the block

h1 h1
~
h2
L

This ratio is independent of the viscosity, and can be

made indefinitely small by reduction of h1 with h1/h2
held constant.

is regarded as a given quantity, although in

any case in which the sliding block is free to
move, may be a variable, but consideration of
this is beyond of our scope.

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