A comparison of numerical methods for non-Newtonian fluid flows in a sudden expansion

Abstract

A numerical study on incompressible laminar flow in symmetric channel with sudden expansion is conducted. In this work, Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids are considered, where non-Newtonian fluids are described by the power-law model. Three different computational methods are employed, namely a semi-implicit Chorin projection method (SICPM), an explicit algorithm based on fourth-order Runge–Kutta method (ERKM) and a Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). The aim of the work is to investigate on the capabilities of the LBM for the solution of complex flows through the comparison with traditional computational methods. In the range of Reynolds number investigated, excellent agreement with the literature results is found. In particular, the LBM is found to be accurate in the prediction of the fluid flow behavior for the problem under consideration.