Flow in Narrow Curved Channels

Abstract

The flow through narrow, arbitrarily curved channels is formulated using intrinsic coordinates. An exact solution exists for constant curvature or circular arc boundaries. A perturbation scheme is used for the case of small, periodic curvature. The velocities and flow rates depend on both the curvature amplitude and the wave number. It is found that for a given pressure gradient per arc length, the flow may be larger for periodically curved channels than that of straight channels.