Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics 276 (2020) 104226

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Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jnnfm

Forced convection heat transfer for the fully-developed laminar flow of the
cross fluid between parallel plates
Sun Kyoung Kim
Department of Mechanical System Design Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul 01811 Republic of Korea

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Keywords: This work analyzes the fully developed laminar flow of the Cross fluid between parallel plates under uniform
Cross model heat flux. The formulation for the Nusselt number has been derived based on the analytically described velocity
Convection and flow rate. The velocity has been obtained analytically in terms of the shear rate. Then, the core flow rate
Nusselt number
has been introduced and it has been also analytically obtained. Using this core flow rate, the temperature profile
Fully-developed laminar flow
and the Nusselt number have been achieved by the numerical integration. Especially for the cases without the
Parallel plates
truncation term, with the Nusselt numbers along with the shear rate obtained for various indexes, the correlation
for 0.05 ≤ n ≤ 0.95 has been proposed. Then, the effects of the truncation term has been also investigated.

1. Introduction
The laminar convection heat transfer of non-Newtonian fluids flow-
ing through ducts has been investigated for a long time [1]. In particular,
the fully-developed laminar convective flow of the power law fluid has
been investigated intensively [2]. The power law model is sometimes
chosen since no other way is available for analyzing a non-Newtonian
flow. Recently, the studies based on the power law have been extended
to various geometries [3], small scales [4], thermal dissipations [5] and
so on. However, the power law model predicts lower velocity around the
center than other more realistic models such as the Cross and Carreau
models. This may result in overestimated heat transfer coefficients. Pa-
tel et al. have described that the shear thinning flow can be divided into
three regimes, which are the Newtonian, transition and power law ones
[6]. They employed a model mathematically equivalent to the Cross
model without the truncation term, and called it the modified power law
model. It should be stated that many important engineering flows in the
material processing and manufacturing fall into the transition regime.
More specifically, the die flow of the polymer extrusion and coating
processes are fulfilled in this range [7,8]. The thermal history of the ma-
terial inside the die greatly affects the quality of the products by polymer
processing [8]. Thus, it is industrially critical to predict the accurate
Nusselt number in the transition region. There have been a number of
studies regarding the non-Newtonian convective flow over the past cen-
tury [1–3,6]. Especially, Valstar and Beek presented the general integral
expression for the Nusselt number of the non-Newtonian flows [9].
However, not many studies other than those based on the power law
model are found in the literatures. Irvine and Capobianchi have shown
the non-Newtonian Nusselt number that are numerically obtained for
both the shear thinning and thickening fluids flowing through the con-
centric annulus [10]. They suggested to exploit the dependency of the
Nusselt number on the power of the dimensionless characteristic shear
rate. The Cross model is widely accepted as a representative constitutive
model in the various material processes such as the injection molding,
extrusion and coating [8,11]. These processes involve flows through a
significant length of thin and wide channel between parallel plates [8].
To avoid repeated numerical procedures, an approximate method that
can predicts the heat transfer coefficient of the non-Newtonian flow
based on the viscosity at the wall have been proposed [12,13]. More re-
cently, that method has been applied to the flow between parallel plates
and the accuracy has been evaluated by comparison with the numerical
results [14].
This work will provide an accurate heat transfer coefficient based on
the analytical velocity of the non-Newtonian fluid. The exact velocity
and the flow rate of the laminar fully-developed flow through slit under
the uniform heat flux will be sought analytically in the first place. Next,
based on them, the temperature field and the core flow rate will be ob-
tained to determine the Nusselt number. It will be obtained for the vari-
ous mean velocities and the Cross law coefficients with and without the
truncation term. Then, a correlation without the truncation term will be
proposed summing up the achieved results. Moreover, the effects of the
viscous dissipation and the truncation term will be investigated in detail.

E-mail address: sunkkim@seoultech.ac.kr

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnnfm.2019.104226
Received 20 June 2019; Received in revised form 18 December 2019; Accepted 26 December 2019
Available online 28 December 2019
0377-0257/© 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
S.K. Kim Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics 276 (2020) 104226

Nomenclature

b normalized Nup by Eq. (60)

Br generalized Brinkman number
c heat capacity
Dh hydraulic diameter (= 4𝐻)
f Darcy friction factor
2 F1 Gauss hypergeometric function
g function for Nu correlation defined by Eqs. (56) and (57)
h heat transfer coefficient
H half the distance between the parallel plates
I integral function defined by Eq. (15)
I∗ dimensionless integral function defined by Eq. (39) Fig. 1. Flow and heat transfer model in this work.
k thermal conductivity
K consistency of the power law model
m complementary index (= 1 − 𝑛) 2. Formulation
n index of the viscosity model
Nu Nusselt number (= ℎ𝐷ℎ ∕𝑘) 2.1. Velocity
Nu0 Nusselt number without the heat dissipation
NuN Nusselt number for the Newtonian model (= 8.235) Consider the fully developed laminar flow between two parallel
Nup Nusselt number for the power law model obtained as plates as shown in Fig. 1. The fluid flows in the positive x-direction
Eq. (42) and the position relative to the plane of symmetry is z. The upper wall
p pressure is located at z = H where the no slip and the uniform heat flux conditions
q core flow rate defined by Eq. (10) are imposed. In this flow, the velocity, u(z), should follow
q∗ dimensionless core flow rate (= 𝑞∕𝑄) 𝑑2𝑢 𝜕𝑝
𝑞𝑠′′ uniform wall heat flux 𝜂 = (1)
𝑑 𝑧2 𝜕𝑥
Q flow rate
where 𝜂 and p are the viscosity and the pressure, respectively. Moreover,
Re generalized Reynolds number by Eq. (50)
it should meet both the no slip boundary condition at the wall, 𝑢(𝐻) =
Re𝑁 nominal Reynolds number by Eq. (53)
0, and the symmetric condition at the center, 𝜕 𝑢∕𝜕 𝑧|𝑧=0 = 0. However,
S normalized Nu by Eq. (55)
solving Eq. (1) by integration over the z domain is not feasible for the
T temperature
general nonlinear viscosity models of the non-Newtonian fluids. Let us
Tm mean temperature
seek the velocity in terms of the shear rate and the stress as conducted
Ts surface temperature
in the previous works [11,15–17]. By introducing the shear rate as
ΔT∗ dimensionless temperature difference by Eq. (54)
u velocity in the x-direction 𝑑𝑢
𝛾(
̇ 𝑧) = − (2)
um mean velocity 𝑑𝑧
u∗ dimensionless velocity (= 𝑢∕𝑢𝑚 ) the velocity can be written again as [3]
W width of the flow channel 𝑢(𝑧) 𝐻
Wi dimensionless deformation rate 𝑢(𝑧) = 𝑑𝑢 = 𝛾(
̇ 𝑧)𝑑𝑧 (3)
∫0 ∫𝑧
x coordinate variable in the flow direction
z coordinate variable perpendicular to the plane of sym- Since the pressure gradient, 𝜕 p/𝜕 x, is constant in the fully developed
metry regime, the wall shear stress is of the form
z∗ dimensionless z-coordinate variable (= 𝑧∕𝐻) 𝜕𝑝
z0 intermediate variable for integration along z 𝜏𝑤 = 𝜏(𝐻 ) = −𝐻 (4)
𝜕𝑥
Greek Then, the shear stress along with z is
𝛼 thermal diffusivity 𝑧
𝜏(𝑧) = 𝜏𝑤 (5)
𝛾̇ shear (strain) rate on the xz plane 𝐻
𝛾̇ 𝑤 wall shear rate Then, with the use of
𝛾̇ 𝑤,𝑁 Newtonian wall shear rate 𝐻
𝛾̇ ∗ dimensionless shear rate (= 𝛾∕(
̇ 𝑢𝑚 ∕𝐻)) 𝑑𝑧 = 𝑑𝜏 (6)
𝜏𝑤
𝛾̄̇ characteristic shear rate (= 𝑢𝑚 ∕𝐻)
the velocity can be rewritten as
𝜂0 zero-shear viscosity
𝜏𝑤
𝜂∞ infinite shear rate viscosity 𝐻
𝑢(𝜏) = 𝛾(
̇ 𝜏)𝑑𝜏 (7)
𝜑 the ratio of 𝜂 ∞ to 𝜂 0 𝜏𝑤 ∫𝜏
𝜆 the time constant To express the velocity in terms of the shear rate, the above is mod-
𝜌 density ified to
𝜏 shear stress 𝛾̇ 𝑤
𝜏w wall shear stress (=𝜏(H)) 𝐻 𝑑𝜏
𝑢(𝛾)
̇ = 𝛾̇ 𝑑 𝛾̇ (8)
𝜏∗ dimensionless shear rate (= 𝜏∕𝜏𝑤 ) 𝜏𝑤 ∫𝛾̇ 𝑑 𝛾̇
S.K. Kim Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics 276 (2020) 104226

The no slip condition at the wall is stated in terms of the wall shear Assuming the uniform wall heat flux, 𝑞𝑠′′ , the energy balance gives
rate as
𝑑 𝑇𝑚 𝑞 ′′ 𝑠 𝜏
( ) = + 𝑤 (21)
𝑢 𝐻; 𝜏𝑤 = 0 (9) 𝑑𝑥 𝜌𝑐 𝑢𝑚 𝐻 𝜌𝑐𝐻
Replacing Eq. (21) into Eq. (20) gives
2.2. Core flow rate ( ′′ ) 𝑧
𝑑𝑇 𝑞 𝑠 𝜏 𝜏 𝐼 (𝑧)
= + 𝑤 𝑢𝑑 𝑧0 − 𝑤 (22)
Considering the infinitesimal area, 𝑑𝐴 = 𝑊 𝑑 𝑧0 , the flow rate 𝑑𝑧 𝑘𝑢𝑚 𝐻 𝑘𝐻 ∫0 2𝑊 𝐻𝑘
through a sub-slit (|z0 | ≤ z) is described as Using Eq. (14),Eq. (22) can be simplified to
𝑧 ( ) ( )
𝑞 (𝑧 ) = 2 𝑊 𝑢 𝑧0 𝑑 𝑧0 𝑑𝑇 𝑞 ′′ 𝑠 𝜏 𝑢 (𝑧 )
∫0
(10) = 𝑞 (𝑧 ) + 𝑤 (23)
𝑑𝑧 𝑘𝑢𝑚 2𝑊 𝐻 𝐻𝑘
Let us define the above as the core flow rate at z. Integration of Integration of the above equation from z to H gives
Eq. (10) by parts gives
𝑞 ′′ 𝑠 𝐻 ( ) 𝜏 𝐻 ( )
( )
[ ( ) ]𝑧 𝑢(𝑧) 𝑇𝑠 (𝑥) − 𝑇 (𝑥, 𝑧) = 𝑞 𝑧0 𝑑 𝑧0 + 𝑤 𝑢 𝑧0 𝑑 𝑧0 (24)
𝑘𝑢𝑚 2𝑊 𝐻 𝑧∫ ∫
𝐻𝑘 𝑧
𝑞 (𝑧 ) = 2 𝑊 𝑢 𝑧 0 𝑧 0 0 − 𝑧𝑑𝑢 (11)
∫0
where Ts is the surface temperature. Moreover, using 𝑑 𝑞 = 2𝑊 𝑢𝑑 𝑧 from
Then, this expression can be simplified to Eq. (10) allows integration of the second term on the right hand side of
𝑢(𝑧)
Eq. (24). Then, it becomes
𝑞 (𝑧) = 2𝑊 𝑢(𝑧)𝑧 − 2𝑊 𝑧𝑑𝑢 (12) 𝑞 ′′ 𝑠 𝐻 ( ) 𝜏𝑤
∫0
𝑇𝑠 (𝑥) − 𝑇 (𝑥, 𝑧) = 𝑞 𝑧0 𝑑 𝑧0 + (𝑄 − 𝑞 (𝑧)) (25)
𝑘𝑢𝑚 2𝑊 𝐻 ∫𝑧 2𝑊 𝐻𝑘
Replacing 𝑑𝑢 = −𝛾(
̇ 𝑧)𝑑𝑧 in the above equation, q(z) is written again
as [7,15,16] 2.5. Mean temperature
𝑧 ( )
𝑞 (𝑧) = 2𝑊 𝑢(𝑧)𝑧 + 2𝑊 𝑧0 𝛾̇ 𝑧0 𝑑 𝑧0 (13)
∫0 The mean temperature difference between the wall and the fluid is
Substitution of Eqs. (5) and (6) into the above equation, the core defined as
𝐻[ ]
flow rate is ∫ 𝑇𝑠 (𝑥) − 𝑇 (𝑧, 𝑥) 𝑢(𝑧)2𝑊 𝑑𝑧
𝑇 𝑠 (𝑥 ) − 𝑇 𝑚 (𝑥 ) = 0 𝐻
(26)
𝑞 (𝑧) = 2𝑊 𝑢(𝑧)𝑧 + 𝐼 (𝑧) (14) ∫0 𝑢(𝑧)2𝑊 𝑑𝑧

where Substitution of Eq. (25) into Eq. (26) gives

𝑧 𝜏(𝑧) [ ]
( ) 2𝑊 𝐻 2 𝐻 𝑞 ′′ 𝐻 ( ) 𝜏
𝐼 (𝑧 ) = 2 𝑊 𝑧0 𝛾̇ 𝑧0 𝑑 𝑧0 = 𝛾𝜏𝑑𝜏
̇ ∫0 𝑘𝑢 2𝑊𝑠 𝐻 ∫𝑧 𝑞 𝑧0 𝑑 𝑧0 + 2𝑊𝑤𝐻𝑘 (𝑄 − 𝑞 (𝑧)) 𝑢(𝑧)2𝑊 𝑑𝑧
∫0 𝜏𝑤
2 ∫ 𝑚
0 𝑇 𝑠 (𝑥 ) − 𝑇 𝑚 (𝑥 ) =
𝛾(
̇ 𝑧) 𝑄
2𝑊 𝐻 2 𝑑𝜏
= 𝛾𝜏
̇ 𝑑 𝛾̇ (15) (27)
𝜏𝑤
2 ∫0 𝑑 𝛾̇
Using 𝑑 𝑞 = 2𝑊 𝑢𝑑 𝑧 again and integration by parts results in
2.3. Mean velocity 𝑞 ′′ 𝑠 𝐻 𝜏𝑤 𝑄2
𝑇 𝑠 (𝑥 ) − 𝑇 𝑚 (𝑥 ) = 𝑞 (𝑧)2 𝑑𝑧 + (28)
𝑘𝑄2 ∫0 2𝑊 𝐻𝑘𝑄 2
At 𝑧 = 𝐻, the core flow rate becomes the whole flow rate, which is
2.6. Nusselt number
𝑄 = 𝑞 (𝐻 ) = 𝐼 (𝐻 ) (16)

It is noted that the above becomes simply the result of the The Newton’s rule of cooling for the internal convection is described
Weissenberg–Rabinowitsch–Mooney analysis [7,15–17]. As a result, the as
[ ]
mean velocity is given as 𝑞𝑠′′ = ℎ 𝑇𝑚 (𝑥) − 𝑇𝑠 (𝑥) (29)
( )
𝐼 𝐻; 𝜏𝑤 where h is the heat transfer coefficient. Then, the Nusselt number in this
𝑢𝑚 = (17)
2𝑊 𝐻 flow is defined as
ℎ𝐷ℎ 4𝐻 𝑞 ′′ 𝑠
2.4. Temperature 𝑁𝑢 = = [ ] (30)
𝑘 𝑘 𝑇 𝑠 (𝑥 ) − 𝑇 𝑚 (𝑥 )
Considering the shear dissipation, the governing energy equation for where the hydraulic diameter is given by 𝐷ℎ = 4𝐻. Substitution of
temperature, T, in the fully developed laminar regime is of the form [1] Eq. (28) into Eq. (30) yields
𝑑 𝑇𝑚 𝑑2𝑇 𝐻
𝜌𝑐𝑢 =𝑘 + 𝜏 𝛾̇ (18) 𝑘 [ ] 1 𝜏 𝑢
𝑑𝑥 𝑑 𝑧2 𝑁 𝑢−1 = 𝑇 𝑠 (𝑥 ) − 𝑇 𝑚 (𝑥 ) = 𝑞 (𝑧)2 𝑑𝑧 + 𝑤 ′′𝑚 (31)
4𝐻 𝑞 𝑠
′′ ∫
4𝑄 𝐻 0
2 8𝑞 𝑠
where Tm , 𝜌, c and k stand for is the mean temperature, density, heat
Introducing the dimensionless variables,
capacity and thermal conductivity, respectively. Then, integration of
Eq. (18) gives 𝑧 ∗ 𝑢 ∗ 𝑞
𝑧∗ = ,𝑢 = ,𝑞 = (32)
𝑧 𝑧
𝐻 𝑢𝑚 𝑄
𝑑𝑇 𝜌𝑐 𝑑 𝑇𝑚 1
= 𝑢𝑑 𝑧0 − 𝜏 𝛾𝑑
̇ 𝑧0 (19) Eq. (31) becomes
𝑑𝑧 𝑘 𝑑𝑥 ∫0 𝑘 ∫0
From Eq. (15), the second term on the right had side of Eq. (19) can 1
1 ( )2
Nu−1 = 𝑞 ∗ 𝑧∗ 𝑑 𝑧∗ + Br (33)
𝑧
expressed as ∫0 𝜏 𝛾𝑑
𝑧
̇ 𝑧0 = (𝜏𝑤 ∕𝐻 ) ∫0 𝑧0 𝛾𝑑
̇ 𝑧0 = (𝜏𝑤 ∕2𝑊 𝐻 )𝐼(𝑧). Then, 4 ∫0
Eq. (19) can be written again as where the generalized Brinkman number is
𝑧 𝜏 𝑢
𝑑𝑇 𝜌𝑐 𝑑 𝑇𝑚 𝜏 𝐼 (𝑧 )
= 𝑢𝑑 𝑧0 − 𝑤 (20) Br = 𝑤 ′′𝑚 (34)
𝑑𝑧 𝑘 𝑑𝑥 ∫0 2𝑊 𝐻𝑘 8𝑞 𝑠
S.K. Kim Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics 276 (2020) 104226

This definition of Br is well described in [2,18]. Moreover, the ef- of the standard built-in models [36]. As mentioned before, this work
fect of viscous dissipation is further discussed in [19,20]. Rewriting provides the Nusselt number correlation for the case of 𝜂∞ = 0.
Eq. (33) for Nu gives In the meantime, the researchers in the heat and mass transfer
Nu0 studies have analyzed the convective flow referring to the viscosity
Nu = (35) model suggested by Dunleavy Jr. and Middleman [6,37]. In 1966,
1 + Nu0 Br
they investigated the shear thinning behavior of the polyisobuty-
where the Nusselt number without the heat dissipation is expressed as lene solution with a model, 𝜂(𝛾) ̇ = 1∕(𝑁 + 𝛾̇ 1−𝑛 ∕𝐾), where N and K
[ ]−1 are constants, and found that N becomes 1/𝜂 0 from the empirical
1 ( )2 results [35]. Brewster and Irvine employed that model in 1987 in
Nu0 = 4 𝑞 𝜏∗ 𝑑𝜏∗
∗
(36)
∫0 the form of 𝜂(𝛾) ̇ = 𝜂0 ∕[1 + (𝜂0 ∕𝐾 )𝛾̇ 1−𝑛 ], and called it the modified
power law model [38], which was also employed later in [10].
In this work, Br is considered Moreover, Capobianchi added the truncation term to it and called
Moreover, q∗ is expressed by rewriting Eq. (14) as ̇ = 𝜂∞ + (𝜂0 − 𝜂∞ )∕[1 + (𝜂0 ∕𝐾 )𝛾̇ 1−𝑛 ] as the extended modified power
𝜂(𝛾)
𝜏(𝑧) 𝜏∗ law model [39]. Note that this becomes identical to Eq. (43) by taking
𝑢 𝑧 𝐻
𝑞∗ = + 𝛾𝜏𝑑𝜏
̇ = 𝑢∗ 𝑧∗ + 𝛾̇ ∗ 𝜏 ∗ 𝑑 𝜏 ∗ (37) 𝐾 = 𝜂0 𝜆𝑛−1 and to the original Cross model by 𝐾 = 𝜂0 ∕𝛼0 .
𝑢𝑚 𝐻 2 ∫
𝑢𝑚 𝜏𝑤 ∫0
0
The generalized Newtonian fluid (GNF) model, 𝜏(𝛾) ̇ = 𝜂(𝛾)
̇ 𝛾,
̇ the
where shear stress is of the form
𝜏 ∗ 𝛾̇ [ ]
𝜏∗ = , 𝛾̇ = (38) 1−𝜑
𝜏𝑤 𝑢𝑚 ∕𝐻 𝜏(𝛾)
̇ = 𝜂0 𝜑 + 𝛾̇ (44)
̇ 1−𝑛
1 + (𝜆𝛾)
Now, the integral, I, can be described in a dimensionless from as
where 𝜑 denotes 𝜂 ∞ /𝜂 0 . Then, replacing the above in Eq. (8) followed
𝜏(𝑧) 𝜏∗
𝐼 𝐻 by integration turns out
𝐼 =
∗
= 𝛾𝜏𝑑𝜏
̇ = 𝛾̇ 𝜏 𝑑 𝜏
∗ ∗ ∗
(39)
2𝑊 𝐻 𝑢𝑚 2 ∫
𝑢𝑚 𝜏𝑤 ∫0 [ ]
0 ( )𝑚 )
𝐻 𝛾𝑤
̇ 2 𝜂0 1−𝜑 1−𝜑 2 2 (
Consequently, the dimensionless core flow rate becomes 𝑢(𝛾)
̇ = 𝜑+ ( )2 − 2 2 𝐹1 1, 𝑚 ; 1 + 𝑚 ; − 𝜆𝛾̇ 𝑤
𝜏𝑤 1 + 𝜆𝛾̇ 𝑤
𝑞 = 𝑢∗ 𝑧∗ + 𝐼 ∗ .
∗
(40) [ ( )]
𝐻 𝛾̇ 2 1−𝜑 1−𝜑 2 2
− 𝜑+ − 2 ̇ 𝑚
𝐹1 1, ; 1 + ; −(𝜆𝛾) (45)
Refer to [16,17] for further details of the core flow rate. 𝜏𝑤 1 + (𝜆𝛾)
̇ 2 2 𝑚 𝑚
where 2 F1 is a hypergeometric function. Moreover, its derivative with
2.7. Power law model respect to the shear rate is
[ ]
For a power law fluid, the viscosity is expressed as 𝑑𝜏 (1 − 𝜑) (1 − 𝜑)𝑚(𝜆𝛾) ̇ 𝑚
= 𝜂0 𝜑 + − [ ]2 (46)
𝑑 𝛾̇ ̇ 𝑚
1 + (𝜆𝛾) ̇ 𝑚
1 + (𝜆𝛾)
̇ = 𝐾 𝛾̇ 𝑛−1
𝜂(𝛾) (41)

where K is the consistency and the n is the index. The Nusselt number Substitution of Eqs. (44) and (46) into Eq. (15) followed by
by Eq. (36) is simplified to integration provides

12(5𝑛 + 2)(4𝑛 + 1) ⎡ 𝜑2 (1 − 𝜑)(1 − 𝑚 + 𝜆𝑚 𝛾̇ 𝑚 ) − 2𝜑𝑚(1 + 𝜆𝑚 𝛾̇ 𝑚 ) ⎤

Nu𝑃 (𝑛) = . (42)
(32𝑛2 + 17𝑛 + 2) 2𝑊 𝐻 2 𝛾̇ 3 𝜂02 ⎢ 3 − (1 − 𝜑) 2𝑚(1 + 𝜆𝑚 𝛾̇ 𝑚 )2
⎥
𝐼 (𝛾)
̇ = ⎢ ⎥
Acknowledge that calculation of Eqs. (8) and (15) followed by in- 𝜏𝑤2 ⎢ (3 − 𝑚) − (3 + 𝑚)𝜑 ( )⎥
3 3 𝑚
⎢+(1 − 𝜑) 2 𝐹1 1, ; 1 + ; −(𝜆𝛾)
̇ ⎥
tegration in Eq. (36) should be performed to obtain Eq. (42). The ⎣ 6𝑚 𝑚 𝑚 ⎦
identical results are found in [2,14]. For n = 1, the known number, (47)
Nu𝑁 = 140∕17 = 8.235 is obtained [7]. Moreover, the Nusselt number
Using the above result, the flow rate and mean velocity are obtained
for the plug flow, 12, is also obtained by taking n = =0 in Eq. (42) [3].
by Eqs. (16) and (17), respectively.
Substitution of Eqs. (45) and (47) into Eq. (40) together with
2.8. Cross model
Eq. (5) yields the dimensionless core flow rate. Then, putting it into
Eq. (36) can turn out the Nusselt number. The right hand side of
The viscosity by the Cross model is generally described by
Eq. (40) is now in a known form thanks to Eqs. (45) and (47). How-
𝜂0 − 𝜂∞
𝜂(𝛾)
̇ = 𝜂∞ + (43) ever, the indefinite integral in Eq. (36), ∫ q∗ 2 d𝜏 ∗ , is not always achieved
̇ 1−𝑛
1 + (𝜆𝛾) due to the mathematical complexity. Thus, in general, this integration
where 𝜂 0 , 𝜂 ∞ and 𝜆 are the zero-shear viscosity, the infinite shear rate should be conducted numerically. In this work, the gauss quadrature
viscosity and the time constant, respectively [21–25]. The original rule has been selected considering the efficiency and accuracy [40]. In
model was derived in 1965, based on the hypothesis of the link addition, 𝜏 w and 𝛾̇ 𝑤 should be determined numerically by solving an
numbers in the chain, as 𝜂(𝛾) ̇ = 𝜂∞ + (𝜂0 − 𝜂∞ )∕(1 + 𝛼0 𝛾̇ 𝑚 ), where 𝛼 0 is algebraic equation posed by Eqs. (17) and (44).
a constant equal to 𝜆1−𝑛 and 𝑚 = 1 − 𝑛 [21,22]. Then, it is described
as Eq. (43) in his later works [23,24]. Acknowledge that the viscosity 2.9. Dimensionless numbers
becomes (𝜂0 + 𝜂∞ )∕2 at 𝛾̇ = 1∕𝜆 regardless of n.
Despite the undeniable finiteness of 𝜂 ∞ , it is very close to zero in The defomation rate of the fluid particle in the flow can be repre-
many fluids, or the shear rate required for the viscosity to reach the sented by
second Newtonian plateau is unrealistically high for the given setup. 𝑢𝑚
Hence, 𝜂 ∞ has been ignored in several recent rheology texts [26–29]. Es- 𝛾̇ = (48)
𝐻
pecially, for polymer melt, the form without 𝜂 ∞ , 𝜂(𝛾) ̇ = 𝜂0 ∕[1 + (𝜆𝛾)̇ 1−𝑛 ],
which is denoted as the characteristic shear rate. In addition to the Nus-
has been called the Cross model in a number of research articles
selt number, a dimensionless number for the deformation rate is intro-
[30–35]. It should be noted that the time constant, 𝜆, is sometimes
duced as
expressed as 𝜂 0 /𝜏 ∗ where 𝜏 ∗ is the reference stress [26,27]. In addition,
the rheology equipment industry treats this form without 𝜂 ∞ as one Wi ≡ 𝜆𝛾̇ (49)
S.K. Kim Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics 276 (2020) 104226

which will be employed for analysis and presentation of the results. It 1.5
should be acknowledged that this number cannot be related to the elas-
tic behavior of the material since Eq. (44) describes a GNF. However, it
designates the onset point at which the nonlinear viscous behavior be-
gins [28]. Moreover, it also means the dimensionless characteristic time
for the flow when the flow is steady.
The Reynolds numbers in the non-Newtonian flow based on the
1
hydraulic diameter and the viscosity at the wall can be defined as [2]
4𝜌𝑢𝑚 𝐻
Re = (50)
𝜂𝑤

u*
n=0.5 Power law
where 𝜂 w is the viscosity at the wall defined by 𝜂(𝛾̇ 𝑤 ). In addition, the
Darcy friction factor is defined as n=0.5 Wi=1000

(−𝜕 𝑝∕𝜕 𝑥)𝐷𝐻 8𝜏 0.5 n=0.5 Wi=1

𝑓 = = 𝑤 (51)
( 1∕2 𝜌𝑢
) 𝑚 2 𝜌𝑢2𝑚
n=0.1 Wi=1000
Multiplication of Eqs. (50) and (51) gives
32𝜏𝑤 𝐻 32𝛾̇ 𝑤
𝑓 Re = = (52)
𝑢𝑚 𝜂𝑤 𝛾̄̇
Because the higher wall shear rate implies the higher hear transfer 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
rate at the wall, 𝑓 Re is critically related to the Nusselt number.
For the power law model, 𝑓 Re = 32(1 + 2∕𝑛) is obtained and 𝑓 Re = z*
96 is reproduced with 𝑛 = 1 for Newtonian fluid. This means 𝑓 Re is con-
stant for a given n, that is, it is independent of the flow rate and other Fig. 2. Dimensionless velocity for n = 0.5 (Wi = 1, 1000, power law) and n = 0.1
material constants. However, this is not the case for the Cross fluid and and 𝜑 = 0.
𝑓 Re should be a function of at least two variables, 𝜆 and 𝛾. ̄̇ Also note
that Wi in Eq. (49) can mean the nominal shear strain for the time of 𝜆. 0.1
The strain at the wall for the same amount of time is Wi𝑓 Re∕32. Thus,
𝑓 Re is strongly correlated with viscous diffusion in this flow. Viscosity measured by Completo et al. (2012)
Then, the Newtonian wall shear rate becomes 𝛾̇ 𝑤,𝑁 = 3𝛾̄̇ by Eq. (52),
which is also described in [14]. Based on this shear rate, a nominal Viscosity fitted to the Cross model (Eq. (43))
Reynolds number can be defined as
4𝜌𝑢𝑚 𝐻
Re𝑁 = (53)
viscosity (Pa s)

𝜂𝑤,𝑁
where the Newtonian wall viscosity is defined as 𝜂𝑤,𝑁 = 𝜂(𝛾̇ 𝑤,𝑁 ). Since
0.01
the previous works have presented the Nusselt number versus 𝑓 Re𝑁 ,
this work will investigate the trends according to both 𝑓 Re𝑁 and 𝑓 Re
[2,10,14]. Furthermore, a viscous diffusion time at the wall can be de-
̄̇ Likewise, the nomi-
fined as 𝜌H2 /𝜂 w [41], and it is written again as Re∕𝛾.
nal viscous diffusion time is of the form, Re𝑁 ∕𝛾.̄̇ When the dimensionless
viscous diffusion time is defined as the ratio of them, it becomes Re∕Re𝑁 .
̄̇ 1−𝑛 ∼ (𝑓 Re)1−𝑛 .
A scaling analysis of it gives Re∕Re𝑁 =𝜂 w, N /𝜂 w ~ (𝛾̇ 𝑤 ∕𝛾)
Thus, 𝑓 Re should be the key factor that characterizes the viscous diffu-
sion in this flow.
0.001
3. Results and discussions 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000
shear rate (1/s)
In Section 3.1, the velocity by the proposed method is verified with
an experimental data. Then, in Section 3.2, the Nusselt number is ob- Fig. 3. Viscosity for verification of the velocity profile [42]. The obtained con-
tained along with Wi and f Re for 𝜑 = 0 followed by normalization stants are 𝜂0 = 0.04532 Pa s, 𝜑 = 0, 𝜆 = 24.01 s and 𝑛 = 0.7407.
along with Wi1−𝑛 in Section 3.3 and derivation of the correlation in
Section 3.4. Moreover, the effects of heat dissipation are explained in
Section 3.5. Next, the effects of the truncation term are analyzed in one that follows the rheological behavior of the human blood. Refer to
Section 3.6. Finally, applications of the method are explained and sug- the figure caption for the model constants of Eq. (44). The fitted curve
gested in Section 3.7. follows the experimental viscosity points quite well. Fig. 4 shows that
the velocity evaluated by Eq. (45) agrees well with the velocity mea-
3.1. The velocity and temperature sured by Completo et al. [42]. The constants required for Eq. (45) are
shown in the caption.
The velocity profile in Eq. (39) is plotted for 𝑛 = 0.5 and 0.9 in Fig. 2. The temperature difference in Eq. (28) can be described in a dimen-
Especially for 𝑛 = 0.5, the velocity for Wi = 1 and Wi = 1000 are com- sionless form as
pared. For Wi = 1000, the velocity profile becomes close to that of the 𝑇 (𝜏, 𝑥) − 𝑇𝑠 (𝑥) 𝜏𝑤 ( )
Δ𝑇 ∗ (𝜏) = = 𝑞 ∗ 𝜏1 𝑑 𝜏1 (54)
power law model. To further examine the validity of the velocity ob- 1 𝑑 𝑇𝑚
𝐻 2 𝑢𝑚 ∫𝜏
tained by Eq. (45), it is compared with the experimentally measured 𝛼 𝑑𝑥

velocity. Fig. 3 shows the measured and fitted viscosity for the experi- where 𝛼 is the thermal diffusivity. This integration requires numer-
mental velocity [42]. The fluid considered here is specially formulated ical procedure again due to the complexity of q∗ . Fig. 5 shows the
S.K. Kim Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics 276 (2020) 104226

1.5 8.8

λ=0.01
8.7
λ=0.1

λ =1
1 8.6

8.5
u*

Nu
0.5 8.4

By Eq. (45) 8.3

Velocity measured by Completo et al. (2012)

0 8.2
4 6
-1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 0.0001 0.01 1 100 10 10
z* Wi=λ u /H
m

Fig. 4. Comparison of the measured and calculated velocities [42]. With ex-
Fig. 6. Nusselt number for n = 0.5 and 𝜑 = 0 Pa s along with the characteristic
perimental inputs of 𝐻 = 0.0006 m and 𝑢𝑚 = 0.1952 m/s, 𝜏𝑤 = 3.207 Pa and
shear rate.
𝛾̇ 𝑤 = 1050.0s−1 are attained.

400
1.5
n=0.1 fRe
n=0.1 350 N
n=0.1 fRe
n=0.3
n=0.5 300 n=0.5 fRe
N

n=0.7 n=0.5 fRe

1 n=0.9 250

200
T*

fRe
∇

150
0.5
100

50

0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 8.5 9 9.5 10 10.5
z* Nu

Fig. 5. Dimensionless temperature difference for Wi = 1 and 𝜑 = 0 for various Fig. 7. 𝑓 Re𝑁 and 𝑓 Re along with Nu for 𝑛 = 0.1 and 0.5 with 𝜑 = 0.
n’s.

dimensionless temperature difference while the wall heat flux is uni-
form. The profile becomes flat as n decreases, which means smaller tem-
perature difference between the fluid and the wall. As a result, the tem-
perature gradient and the heat transfer coefficient should be smaller for
the smaller n.
3.2. The Nusselt number along with the dimensionless numbers
For a given index, n, the Nusselt number has been obtained for dif-
ferent time constants.
Fig. 6 shows the Nusselt number for n = 0.5 along with 𝛾̇ for different
𝜆’s along with Wi. Because all the curves for 𝜆 = 0.01, 0.1 and 1 coincide
well with each other, it is evident that the Nusselt number is a function
of Wi. Although not presented in this figure, the same trend has been
seen for all the n’s tried. It is also observed that the Nusselt numbers
starts from the NuN at the low Wi and it converges to Nu𝑃 (0.5) = 8.757
at high Wi as can be seen in the figure.
For 𝜆 = 0.01 and 0.1, in comparison with 𝜆 = 1, it should have higher
𝛾̇ to have the same Wi. Due to unrealistically high wall shear rate over
107 , Nu could not be obtained for Wi over certain value because the
hypergeometric function in Eqs. (45) and (47) could not be numerically
evaluated.
Fig. 7 shows the plots of 𝑓 Re𝑁 and 𝑓 Re along with Nu for 𝑛 = 0.1
and 0.5. For 𝑛 = 0.1, both 𝑓 Re𝑁 and 𝑓 Re changes more in magnitude
along with Nu than those for 𝑛 = 0.5. Notice that 𝑓 Re𝑁 decreases along
S.K. Kim Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics 276 (2020) 104226

8.8 12
Nu (0.5)=8.757
p

Nu (0.01)=11.77
n=0.5 p
8.7
n=0.6
11.5
n=0.7 Nu (0.6)=8.600 n=0.01
p
8.6
n=0.8
n=0.05
n=0.9
8.5 Nu (0.7)=8.479
Nu

Nu (0.05)=11.06
n=0.95 p
n=0.1
p
11
n=0.99
8.4 Nu (0.8)=8.381 n=0.2
p

n=0.3
8.3 10.5
Nu (0.1)=10.45
p
n=0.4

8.2
4 5 n=0.5
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000 10 10
Wi 10
n=0.6

Nu
Fig. 8. Nusselt number along with Wi for n ≥ 0.5 and 𝜑 = 0.
n=0.7
Nu (0.2)=9.700
p

n=0.8
9.5
with Nu as in the previous works while 𝑓 Re increases along with it
[2,9,10,12,14,19]. n=0.9
Fig. 8 shows the Nusselt number estimated for n ≥ 0.5 along with Nu (0.3)=9.259
p

Wi up to 4.5 × 105 . As 𝜂 approaches 𝜂 0 for Wi → 0, Nu should do

n=0.95
NuN . Apparently, the values seem to decay to NuN as Wi becomes
smaller. However, a complete asymptotic curve is not visible in the 9 Nu (0.4)=8.966
p
figure. On the other hand, for Wi → ∞, 𝜂 can be approximated to n=0.99
𝜂(𝛾) ̇ 𝑛−1 . Thus, Nu is expected to converge to Nup (n). For 𝑛 = 0.5
̇ ≈ 𝜂0 (𝜆𝛾) Nu (0.5)=8.757
p
and 0.6, Nu reaches Nup as can be seen in the figure. For 𝑛 = 0.7, Wi re-
quires to be higher than 3 × 105 to satisfy |Nu-Nup (0.7)| < 0.01. More- Nu (0.6)=8.600
p

over, for 𝑛 = 0.8, Wi should be over 106 to have |Nu-Nup (0.8)| < 0.01 8.5 Nu (0.7)=8.479
p
met. Moreover, the lines crosses with each other in Wi < 0.1 with- Nu (0.8)=8.381
p
out showing a noticeable pattern. Accordingly, the results need to be Nu (0.9)=8.302
p
presented in a different way. The Nusselt number will be plotted in Nu =8.235
N

terms of a different dimensionless number to catch a more regular

pattern.
8
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000

3.3. Effects of the index 1-n

Considering Eq. (43), Wi1−𝑛 is chosen as the independent variable.
All the estimated results for various n’s from 0.01 to 0.99 are shown in
Fig. 9. Because one of the important intentions of this work is to provide
engineers with readily available Nu, as detailed as possible information
has been presented in the figure.
Let us describe the figure further. First of all, it is certainly observed
that for Wi → 0, Nu approaches NuN . This plot shows that each curve
corresponding to the given n starts to rise near Wi1−𝑛 =0.1 from NuN to-
ward Nup (n). For fairly large Wi1−𝑛 , the Nusselt numbers have reached
Nup (n) for all the shown cases. Based on this result, Nu will be normal-
ized with NuN and Nup (n) to propose an explicit correlation.
The Nu data for n’s close to one are not available at high Wi1−𝑛 owing
to extremely big Wi. For example, when n = 0.99, Wi has to be 10,100
for Wi1−𝑛 = 10. As n decreases, the range shown in the figure becomes
widened as can be seen. Another kind of computational limit has been
encountered for small n’s. For n = 0.01, the shear rate was very high
even for very low wall shear stress. Thus, the Nu in this case could not be
computed above some extent of Wi1−𝑛 . More specifically, the integration
in Eq. (36) has been unachievable. In fact, the mean velocity is so high
Wi
Fig. 9. Nusselt number for various n’s and 𝜑 = 0 along with Wi1−𝑛 .
in comparison with the viscosity that the flow cannot stay within the
laminar regime as long as other constants in Eq. (50) are realistically set.
For instance, with 𝐻 = 0.001m, 𝜌 = 1000 kg/m3 , 𝜆 = 0.001s and 𝜂0 = 1 Pa
s, the wall shear rate, has risen up to 𝛾̇ 𝑤 = 56234 s − 1 just having 𝜏𝑤 =
1.116 Pa, which yields Re = 113100. Not to mention, this setup is out of
the laminar regime and is also close to the border of the computationally
viable domain.
Therefore, the maximum possible value of Nu in this flow, Nu𝑝 (0) =
12, is not possible with the real non-Newtonian fluids. This can be only
achieved with an imaginary shear thinning fluid with a density of gas.
Moreover, among the commonly used polymer melts, polycarbonate
melts are famous for dramatic shear thinning. The index for one of the
polycarbonate melts is given by 𝑛 = 0.116 [26]. It is very difficult to find
a fluid with n smaller than 0.1. This implies that the Nusselt number in
the flow between parallel plates is hardly over 10.45.
S.K. Kim Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics 276 (2020) 104226

Table 1
The g(n) values in 𝑆(𝑛, Wi) = [1 + 𝑔(𝑛)Wi𝑛−1 ]−1 for n.

n 0.01 0.05 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.95 0.99
g(n) 2.880 2.755 2.452 1.968 1.657 1.451 1.308 1.205 1.130 1.074 1.032 1.015 1.003

1.2 3
n=0.01 n=0.6
n=0.05 n=0.7
1 n=0.1 n=0.8
n=0.2 n=0.9 g(n)=0.9656+2.1535/exp(3.7449 n)
n=0.3 n=0.95 2.5
n=0.4 n=0.99
0.8
n=0.5
S(n, Wi)

0.6

g(n)
2

0.4

1.5
0.2

0
1
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
1-n
Wi
n
Fig. 10. S(n, Wi) for various n’s along with Wi1−𝑛 for 𝜑 = 0.
Fig. 11. The estimated g(n) for 𝑆(𝑛, Wi) = 1∕[1 + 𝑔(𝑛)Wi𝑛−1 ].

3.4. Correlation for 𝜑 = 0 9.2

As aforementioned, the Nusselt number changes from NuN to Nup (n)

n=0.34 Eq.(36)
from Fig. 9. Here, the Nusselt number is normalized based on those for
9 n=0.34 Correlation
the power law and Newtonian models as done in [6,10]. The Nusselt
number for different n, the following function is introduced: n=0.55 Eq.(36)
n=0.55 Correlation
Nu(𝑛, Wi) − Nu𝑁
𝑆 (𝑛, Wi) = (55)
N u 𝑃 (𝑛 ) − N u 𝑁 8.8
By this expression, Nu is converted to a sigmoidal function that smoothly
Nu

steps up from 0 to 1. The estimated S(n, Wi) has been plotted along
with Wi1−𝑛 as shown in Fig. 10. The S(n, Wi) in the high Wi1−𝑛 regime
approaches 𝑆 = 1 whereas they are maintained 𝑆 = 0 in the low Wi1−𝑛 8.6
regime.
In the ramping region, the curves are quite parallel as well as close
to each other as shown in Fig. 10. By speculations with trial and error,
8.4
it has been found that all the curves can be fitted with
1
𝑆 (𝑛, Wi) = (56)
1 + 𝑔 (𝑛)Wi𝑛−1
turning out correlation coefficients bigger than 0.999. The g(n) for n 8.2
-5 5
are presented in Table 1 and are plotted also in Fig. 11. Observing the 10 0.001 0.1 10 1000 10
exponential decrease in g(n), it is fitted by Wi
2.1535
𝑔 (𝑛) = 0.9656+ for 0.05 ≤ 𝑛 ≤ 0.95 (57) Fig. 12. Comparison of the Nusselt numbers by Eq. (36) and the correlation.
exp(3.7449 × 𝑛)
Now, putting everything altogether in Eq. (54), the Nusselt number
for the given half channel width, H, and the mean velocity, um , is mod- It should be also mentioned that the above expression is irrelevant
eled as of the 𝜂 0 in Eq. (43) as Eq. (42) is not a function of the consistency, K. It
12(5𝑛+2)(4𝑛+1) has been examined that the correlated Nu’s using the above expression
( ) (32𝑛2 +17𝑛+2)
− 8.235
Nu 𝑛, 𝜆, 𝑢𝑚 , 𝐻 = [ ]( ) + 8.235 matches well with the originally obtained Nu’s. With the above correla-
𝑢𝑚 𝑛−1
1 + 0.9656+ exp(23..1535
7449×𝑛)
𝜆 𝐻
tion, the Nusselt number for n = 0.34 and n = 0.55 have been predicted
and compared with the results directly by Eq. (36). Fig. 12 compares
for 0.05 ≤ 𝑛 ≤ 0.95 and 𝜑 = 0 (58) these Nusselt numbers and they exactly coincide with each other as can
S.K. Kim
be seen. Thus, it is now verified that the proposed correlation can yield
the accurate Nusselt number according to the given n and Wi.
With other conditions fixed, 1% error in temperature reading, which
is usual in actual thermal measurement, causes roughly 1% error in h
and Nu. To pose a safe condition, let us assume that a maximum error
of 0.01 × [Nu𝑝 (0) − Nu𝑁 ] is allowed. Then, the Nusselt number should be
in a range of
| Nu − Nu |
| 𝑁 |
| | ≤ 0.01
| N u 𝑝 (0 ) − N u 𝑁 |
| |
Replacing Eq. (56) in Eq. (59) gives
( ) 1 ( ) 1
100𝑏(𝑛) − 1 𝑛−1 0.01 𝑛−1
≤ Wi ≤ and 0 < 𝑛 < 0.89
𝑔 (𝑛 ) (𝑏(𝑛) − 0.01)𝑔 (𝑛)
where
N u 𝑝 (𝑛 ) − N u 𝑁
𝑏 (𝑛 ) =
N u 𝑝 (0 ) − N u 𝑁
The Nusselt number can be approximated by Nup (n) over the upper
bound of Eq. (60) whereas by NuN below the lower bound. With the
range of Eq. (60), 0.0298 ≤ Wi ≤ 245 for n = 0.1 and 0.01 ≤ Wi ≤ 278
for n = 0.5 are obtained. It has been found that the range for n = 0.72,
which is 0.005 ≤ Wi ≤ 428, covers all the cases for 0 < n < 0.89.
3.5. Heat dissipation
To take heat dissipation into account, the Brinkman number has to
be evaluated first by Eq. (34). The surface heat flux can be estimated
based on the thermal consideration prior to the flow analysis. Both the
mean velocity and the wall shear stress needs to be determined as well.
These two are dependent on each other and only one of them are con-
trolled leaving the other one to be measured. If it cannot not be mea-
sured, it should be obtained by solving Eq. (17). When the flow rate
is controlled, a quite challenging nonlinear equation is posed. On the
other hand, the pressure gradient, which gives the wall shear stress by
Eq. (4), can be determined by measurement of the inlet pressure. In this
case, Eq. (17) results in a simple function evaluation. Once the Brinkman
number is set, the Nusselt number can be adjusted by Eq. (35). As can
be seen in Fig. 13, enhanced viscous heating lowers the Nusselt number
asymptotically toward zero.
3.6. Non-zero truncation term
Some fluids such as polymer solutions and dispersions manifest the
second Newtonian plateau. For cases with non-zero 𝜑’s, the Nusselt num-
bers have been estimated. Fig. 14 shows the Nusselt number along with
Wi1- n for n = 0.5. When 𝜑 = 0, the result in Fig. 9 is reproduced. When
𝜑> 0, the Nusselt number falls down back to NuN at high Wi. As the
mean velocity increases and 𝜂 w reaches 𝜂 ∞ , the Newtonian heat trans-
fer is recovered. For example, Nu starts to fall around Wi1- n = 75 for
𝜑 = 0.0001. It should be considered only when the flow is still remained
laminar at this shear rate. Similar results are recently reported for other
models in [14]. When 𝜑 becomes 0.001, the maximum Nusselt number
is slightly lowered. As 𝜑 increases from 0.001 to 0.01, the decrease is
much greater. This becomes even more pronounced as 𝜑 increases from
0.01 to 0.1. For 𝜑 = 0.5, the Nusselt number is under 8.3 and the shear
thinning effect seems almost negligible overall.
For a given 𝜑, the Nusselt number change can be different accord-
ing to the index, n. To investigate this effects, the normalization by
Eq. (55) is repeated here. Fig. 15 shows S(n, Wi) for 𝜑 = 0.1. As n de-
creases, the reduction of the maximum Nusselt number is more pro-
nounced. In the rising slope of the curve, the trends in Fig. 10 are ob-
served again. Thus, the effects of Nu reduction by the truncation term
becomes more and more pronounced as the shear thinning is stronger at
the wall. As can been seen in the figure, the maximum of S is the lowest
at 𝑛 = 0.1, which is the smallest value of indexes tested.
Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics 276 (2020) 104226
14
12 Nu =Nu
0 N
10 Nu =Nu (0.5)
0 p
(59)
8 Nu =Nu (0.1)
0 p
Nu
6 Nu =Nu (0)
0 p
(60)
4
(61)
2
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Br
Fig. 13. Nusselt number change of Brinkman number by Eq. (35) for different
n’s at the high Wi regime (or by the power law model).
3.7. Applications
The convection heat transfer in the steady flow of non-Newtonian
fluids is of interest especially in polymer and food processes in large
scale. In these processes, the fluids are subject to heat exchange on the
walls. The heat transfer coefficient on the wall is a critical number in
analyzing the processes since the temperature profile and history have
to be obtained accurately for successful processes.
One of the industrially important fluids modeled by the Cross model
in this work is polymer melts with 𝜑 = 0. In polymer processing, the
melt experiences extreme shear thinning and associated severe shear
heating due to the low thermal conductivity and the high viscosity. In
injection molding of thin articles and in extrusion of sheets, the flow in
this work is directly related. Since the polymer melts under processing
are solidified in the end, convection heat transfer should be analyzed.
As the temperature history of the polymer affects the morphology and
warpage of the solidified polymer, it has to be predicted as accurately
as possible.
A variety of polymers for injection molding are registered in the
database of simulation software in the form of the Cross-WLF (Williams–
Landel–Ferry) model to accommodate the effect of the pressure and
temperature [43]. For some representative generic polymers, the model
data including specific numbers are also available in the literatures
[26,27,44,45]. For example, an HDPE (high density polyethylene) at
200 °C is modeled by 𝜂0 = 40000 Pa s, 𝜆 = 2.955 s and 𝑛 = 0.367 while
an LDPE (low density polyethylene) at the same temperature by 𝜂0 =
10600 Pa s, 𝜆 = 0.621 s and 𝑛 = 0.224 [27]. Although they belong to the
polyethylene family, they differ in the time constant and the index. Thus,
they would have different Nusselt numbers for the same convective con-
dition.
Sometimes, polymer melts are modeled with the truncation term.
For example, a polypropylene at 200 °C has been modeled by 𝜂0 = 40360
Pa s, 𝜂∞ = 1 Pa s, 𝜆 = 1.57 s and 𝑛 = 0.26 [46]. It requires finite 𝜂 ∞ for
most solutions due to the apparent second Newtonian plateau [47] while
some emulsions can be modeled without it [48]. Especially in hemorhe-
ology, even without such plateau, the truncation term (𝜑 ≈ 0.015) is
necessary [49].
S.K. Kim Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics 276 (2020) 104226

8.8 0.5
n=0.1
ϕ=0 Nu (0.5)=8.757
p

0.4 n=0.2

ϕ=0.0001 n=0.3

0.3
8.7 n=0.4
ϕ=0.001

S(n, Wi)
n=0.5
ϕ=0.01 0.2
n=0.6

ϕ=0.1 n=0.7
0.1

8.6
ϕ=0.25
0
4
0.0001 0.01 1 100 10
ϕ=0.5 1-n
Wi
Fig. 15. S(n, Wi) for various n’s along with Wi1−𝑛 for 𝜑 = 0.1.

8.5 1
without heat dissipation can be evaluated by Nu0 = 4∕ ∫0 𝑞 ∗ 2 𝑑 𝜏 ∗ . Then,
Nu

it has been derived that the Nusselt number can be adjusted by Nu =

Nu0 ∕(1 + Nu0 Br ) to take the heat dissipation effect into account. While
this derivation, the Brinkman number, Br, has appeared on its own.
Furthermore, the velocity profile and mean velocity have been found
as analytical forms of the shear rate. The velocity has been examined
through comparison with the experimental one. Next, the dimensionless
core flow rate, q∗ , has been obtained as a functional form. The Nusselt
8.4 numbers have been determined for various cases by numerical integra-
tion of the square of the dimensionless core flow rate, q∗ 2 .
Based on this result, the Nusselt number for the Cross model without
the truncation term has been attained in an explicit form of the model
constants and the characteristic shear rate. This result has been proven
to provide an accurate non-Newtonian Nusselt number for the slit flow
in the fully developed laminar regime. In addition, practical limits of
Wi for the Nusselt number estimation has been suggested. Furthermore,
the Nusselt number is also obtained for the cases with the second New-
8.3 tonian plateau. The effects of 𝜂 ∞ have been investigated and discussed.
By following the procedure proposed here, it has been verified that the
Nusselt number for the specified shear thinning fluid can be obtained
accurately.

Declaration of Competing Interest

Nu =8.235
N
None
8.2
0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000 10
4 Acknowledgement

1-n This study was supported by the Research Program funded by the
Wi
SeoulTech(Seoul National University of Science and Technology).
Fig. 14. Nusselt number for 𝑛 = 0.5 according to 𝜑 along with Wi1−𝑛 .
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