Flow in groovy curved channels with thin gap

Abstract

A pressure-driven viscous flow through groovy curved channels of small width compared to the groove wavelength is studied. The Reynolds number is assumed to be very small, such that the flow is dominated by the viscous and the pressure-gradient forces. The effects of the channel geometry on the inertial free flow are analyzed. Two distinct flow directions are considered: (i) flow transverse to the grooves and (ii) flow longitudinal to the grooves. The velocities for both flow directions are obtained, and their distributions are found to be significantly affected by the grooves and channel curvature. The axial pressure gradient for the transverse flow is examined as a function of the amplitude and the phase difference. The results further indicate that the flow rate can be increased by the grooves for longitudinal flow, irrespective of the phase difference, unlike transverse flow This is because the latter is more affected by grooves for the same radius of curvature and phase difference.