Couette Flow

Couette flow is the laminar flow of a viscid fluid matter betwixt two parallel plates, while under
the condition where one plate is moving relative to the other plate. The fluid’s transit is attributed
to viscous drag force acting on the fluid and exerted pressure gradient parallel to the plates.
Multitude applications of Couette flow are found in hydro-static lubrication, viscosity pumps and
turbine.
It is extensively employed in bearings which are quite greatly used in mechanical systems. When
the bearing exerted a small load, condition satisfying that the rotating shaft and bearing remain
concentric. The flow of the lubricant inserted can be viewed as the flow between the parallel
plates where top plate moves at a constant velocity.
Analytical Approach Towards Couette Flow
The direction along which the particles move is chosen to x-direction and the plates are infinitely large in
z-direction, so the z-dependence is not there.

∙ 𝒖 ≠ 𝟎, 𝒗 = 𝒘 = 𝟎

Invoking
Means 𝒖 = 𝒖(𝒚, 𝒛)
Steady Navier-Stroke equation can be reduced to:

𝟎 𝟎 𝟎 𝟎 2 0 2 2 0
𝝏𝒖 𝝏𝒖 𝝏𝒖 𝝏𝒖 𝛛𝐩
+ 𝒑𝒈𝟎𝒙 + 𝝁 (
𝜕 𝑢 𝜕 𝑢 𝜕 𝑢
𝒑(
𝝏𝒕
+𝒖
𝝏𝒙
+𝒗
𝝏𝒚
+𝒘
𝝏𝒛
) =−
𝛛𝐱 2 + 2+ 2 )
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧
X-momentum

means 𝒑 = 𝒑(𝒙) 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚

The governing equation is:

The boundary conditions are:

i. y=0 , u=0
ii. y=h, u=U
After involving boundary conditions C2 = 0 and

so,

Let
Where P is the non-dimensional pressure dimension gradient.
 Steady Axial Laminar Flow in Annula
The flow of fluids through concentric and eccentric annuli (specifically non-Newtonian)
represents an idealization of several industrially important processes. One important example is
in oil well drilling where a heavy drilling mud is circulated through the annular space around the
drill pipe in order to carry the drilling debris to the surface. These drilling muds are typically
either Bingham plastic or power-law type fluids. Other examples include the extrusion of plastic
tubes and pipes in which the molten polymer is forced through an annular die, and the flow in
double-pipe heat exchangers. In all these applications, it is often required to predict the frictional
pressure gradient to sustain a fixed flow rate or vice versa. Steady fully-developed flow of
concentric annulus is analyzed and an appropriate expression is presented which permit the
calculation of pressure gradient for a given application.

Figure 1 Flow in a concentric annulus

The calculation of the velocity distribution and the mean velocity of a fluid flowing through an
annulus of outer radius R and inner radius 𝝈𝑹 is more complex than that for flow in a pipe or
between two parallel planes (Figure 1), though the force balance on an element of fluid. If the
pressure changes by an amount ∆𝒑 as a consequence of friction in a length L of annulus, the
resulting force can be equated to the shearing force acting on the fluid.
Consider the flow of the fluid situated at a distance not greater than r from the centerline of the
pipe. The shear force acting on this fluid comprises two parts: one is the drag on its outer surface
(r =R) which can be expressed in terms of the shear stress in the fluid at that location; the other
contribution is the drag occurring at the inner (solid) boundary of the annulus, i.e. at 𝒓 = 𝝈𝑹.
This component cannot be estimated at present, however. Alternatively, this difficulty can be
obviated by considering the equilibrium of a thin ring of fluid of radius r and thickness dr (Figure
1). The pressure force acting on this fluid element is:
𝟐𝝅𝒓𝒅𝒓{𝒑 − (𝒑 + ∆𝒑)}
The only other force acting on the fluid element in the z-direction is that arising from the
shearing on both surfaces of the element. Note that, not only will the shear stress change from r
to 𝒓 + 𝒅𝒓 but the surface area over which shearing occurs will also depend upon the value of r.
The net force can be written as:
 𝟐𝝅𝒓𝑳 ∙ 𝝉𝒓𝒛𝒓+𝒅𝒓 − 𝟐𝝅𝒓𝑳 ∙ 𝝉𝒓𝒛𝒓
At equilibrium therefore;

or

Now taking limit as 𝑑𝑟 → 0, it becomes

The shear stress distribution across the gap is obtained by integration:

Because of the no-slip boundary condition at both solid walls, i.e. at 𝒓 = 𝝈𝑹 and r=R, the
velocity must be maximum at some intermediate point, say at𝒓 = 𝝀𝑹. Then, for a fluid without a
yield stress, the shear stress must be zero at this position and for a viscoplastic fluid, there will be
a plug moving en masse. The above equation can therefore be re-written as:

Where , the dimensionless radial coordinate.

Steady Laminar Flow in Circular Tube

Steady Laminar flow is the simplest and practical case
of laminar flow throughout along straight tube of circular cross section area.
Consider a pipe of radius R and of straight length L throughout which a liquid viscosity 𝜇 is
flowing at a steady volumetric rate of Q.
Let us consider the equilibrium of forces on a small concentric cylindrical fluid element of radius
r and length dX
Where, p= pressure intensity

𝝏𝒙
The shear stress (𝜏) on the periphery of the cylindrical element will be acting in the direction
opposite to that of the flow of fluid.
∴ For equilibrium

Shear Stress distribution:

At the centre of pipe, r=0
At the wall r=R

 Velocity distribution

Here velocity ‘u’ varies with the square of r.

 Average velocity

 Maximum Velocity

 Ratio of Maximum Velocity to Average Velocity