Numerical Study of Non-Newtonian Flow Through Rectangular Microchannels

A numerical investigation was carried out to solve the fl ow dimensionless partialdifferential equations through rectangular microchannels. a purely viscous power lawmodel was used to characterize the fl ow behavior of non-newtonian fluids . the flowwas assumed to be steady and laminar, and slip conditions were used as boundaryconditions at the walls. the problem was solved f or different power law indices as wellas for various rectangular aspect ratios. results showed that the effects ofslip velocityon dilatant flu ids are more pronoun ced than that for pseudoplastic flu ids. an increasein the power law index enhances the product of the fri ction fa ctor and the reyno ldsnumber, as well as the dimensionless incremental pressure drop and the dimensionlessmaximum velocity, while the hydrodynamic entrance length decreases. resultsemphasize the significant effec ts of channel aspect ratio on the hydrodynamic flo wbehavior through microchannels.