A METHOD FOR THE STUDY OF FULLY-DEVELOPED PARALLEL FLOW IN STRAIGHT DUCTS OF ARBITRARY CROSS-SECTION

A method is presented for the study of fully developed parallel flow of Newtonian viscous fluid in uniform straight ducts of very general cross-section. The method is based upon the concept of contour lines of constant velocity in a typical cross section of the duct, and uses the function which describes the contour lines as an independent variable to derive the integral momentum equation. The resulting ordinary integro-differential equation is, in principle, much easier to solve than the original momentum equation in partial differential equation form. Several illustrative examples of practical interest are included to explain the method of solution. Some of these solutions are compared with available solutions in the literature. All details are explained by graphs and tables. The method has several interesting features. The study has relevance to biomedical engineering research for blood and urinary tract flow.