Numerical study of the equation on the graph for the steady state non-Newtonian flow in thin tube structure

Abstract

The dimension reduction for the viscous flows in thin tube structures leads to equations on the graph for the macroscopic pressure with Kirchhoff type junction conditions in the vertices. Non-Newtonian rheology of the flow generates nonlinear equations on the graph. A new numerical method for second order nonlinear differential equations on the graph is introduced and numerically tested.

Keywords

• non-Newtonian flow
• strain rate dependent viscosity
• asymptotic dimension reduction
• quasi-Poiseuille flows
• equation on the graph