The Flow and Decay Behavior of a Submerged Shear-Thinning Jet With Yield Stress

Abstract

The flow and decay characteristics of submerged jets of shear-thinning fluids with yield stress are studied. Numerical solutions to the governing mass and momentum conservation equations, along with the Herschel–Bulkley rheological model, are obtained using a finite-difference scheme. A parametric study is implemented to investigate the influence of flow inertia and rheology over the following range of parameters: Reynolds number, 50 ≤ Re ≤ 200; yield number, 0 ≤ Y ≤ 1; and shear-thinning index, 0.6 ≤ n ≤ 1. A large recirculation region exists for Newtonian and shear-thinning non-Newtonian jets. However, the extent and strength of the recirculation region substantially diminish with the yield number and, to a lesser extent, when the shear-thinning index is reduced from 1 to 0.6. Increasing the yield number beyond a critical value eliminates flow recirculation. The centerline velocity and momentum decay of shear-thinning jets with yield stress, in general, increase with the yield number. Velocity- and momentum-based depths of penetration, DPU, and DPM, respectively, are introduced and presented. DPU and DPM are the downstream locations corresponding to 90% decay in the initial centerline velocity and jet momentum, respectively. A substantial decrease in DPU and DPM is observed when the shear-thinning index is reduced from 1 to 0.6 for Y = 0. The presence of yield stress significantly reduces both DPU and DPM of submerged jets. The impact of shear-thinning on the decay characteristics of the jet is more pronounced at low yield numbers.