Int. J. Engng Sci. Vol. 34, No. 10, pp.

1145-1156, 1996
Pergamon Copyright © 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd
PII: S0020-7225(96)00012-2 Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved
0020-7225/96 $15.00+ 0.00

CASSON FLUID FLOW IN A PIPE FILLED WITH A

HOMOGENEOUS POROUS MEDIUM

R. K. DASH and K. N. MEHTA*

Department of Mathematics, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi - 110016, India

G. JAYARAMAN
Centre for Atmospheric Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi - 110016,
India

(Communicated by E. S. ~ U H U B i )

A b s t r a c t - - T h e flow characteristics of a Casson fluid in a tube filled with a homogeneous porous

medium is investigated by employing the Brinkman model to account for the Darcy resistance offered
by the porous medium. This analysis can model the pathological situation of blood flow when fatty
plaques of cholesterol and artery-clogging blood clots are formed in the lumen of the coronary artery.
Two cases of permeability of the porous medium are considered, namely (i) permeability has a
constant value Ko, and (ii) permeability varies in radial direction according to K(r) = Ko(l - r)/r. The
generalized equation of motion, which is an integral equation for shear stress, is solved iteratively and
is coupled with the Casson constitutive equation to find the velocity distribution. For the case of
constant permeability, the analytical solution is found for the shear stress distribution in terms of
modified Bessel functions of order 0 and 1. Finally, the effect of permeability factor K o and yield stress
0 of the fluid on shear stress distribution, wall shear stress, plug flow radius, flow rates and frictional
resistance are examined. Copyright (~) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd

1. INTRODUCTION

Recently there has been an increasing interest in the flow of time-independent non-Newtonian
fluids through tubes possessing a definite yield value because of their applications in polymer
processing industries and biofluid dynamics. The most popular among these fluids is the Casson
[1] fluid. We can define a Casson fluid as a shear thinning liquid which is assumed to have an
infinite viscosity at zero rate of shear, a yield stress below which no flow occurs and a zero
viscosity at an infinite rate of shear. The nonlinear Casson's constitutive equation has been
found to describe accurately the flow curves of suspensions of pigments in lithographic
varnishes used for preparation of printing inks [1] and silicon suspensions [2]. The shear
stress-shear rate relation given by Casson satisfactorily describes the properties of many
polymers [3] over a wide range of shear rates. Various experiments performed on blood [4-6]
with varying haematocrits, anticoagulants, temperatures, etc. strongly suggest the behaviour of
blood as a Casson fluid. In particular, the Casson fluid model describes the flow characteristics
of blood more accurately at low shear rates and when it flows through small blood vessels [7].
Casson fluids are found to be applicable in developing models for blood oxygenators [8] and
haemodialysers [9].
The flow characteristics of Casson fluids in tubes was first investigated by Oka [10]. He
considered a generalized model for flow of non-Newtonian fluids in tubes from which the
Casson fluid model was derived as a special case. The details of steady, fully-developed and
laminar flow of Casson fluids have been described in Fung [11]. In view of the non-Newtonian
nature of blood in capillaries and the filtration/absorption property of the walls, Oka [12]
studied blood flow in capillaries with permeable walls using the Casson fluid model. Later
Chaturani and Ranganathan [13] extended Oka's work considering axial variation of viscosity.
Consideration of entrance region blood flow as a Casson fluid was attempted numerically by
Shah and Soto [14], who took the tube wall to be impervious. Das and Batra [15] studied the

* E-mail: [email protected]. Fax: +91-11-6862037

1145
1146 R.K. DASH et al.

flow of a Casson fluid in the entrance region of a porous tube with suction and injection at the
wall using a modified m o m e n t u m energy integral method.
The present paper deals with the flow of a Casson fluid in a tube which is filled with a
homogeneous porous medium. The primary motivation for studying this problem is to
understand the blood flow in an artery under some pathological situations when the fatty
plaques of cholesterol and artery-clogging blood clots are formed in the lumen of the coronary
artery. The distribution of these fatty cholesterol and artery-clogging blood clots arc deemed to
be equivalent to a fictitious porous medium of permeability K. The flow is analysed by
employing Brinkman's model [16] to account for the Darcy resistance offcred by the porous
medium.

2. M A T H E M A T I C A L FORMULATION

Figure 1 shows the flow geometry corresponding to the cylindrical polar coordinate system
(f,~b,z), where ~- and ~- denote the radial and axial coordinates respectively and & denotes the
azimuthal angle. The problem has been investigated under the following assumptions:
1. All the physical properties are constant.
2. Permeability of the porous medium is assumed to vary in the radial direction.
3, The flow is steady, axisymmetric, fully-developed and laminar.
4. The length of the tube is large enough, relative to its diameter, so that the entrance, end
and special wall effects can be neglected.

2.1 Momentum equation

The flow of a Newtonian fluid through a porous medium in a tube is governed by the model
given by Brinkman [16]. Under the above assumptions, the simplified momentum equation for
the flow is given by
F1 d / _ d a ) l a dfi O<-F<-R (1)
IX[r ~ ~ r ~ ) ] - ix ~2(f) = d z '

where/x is the viscosity, a is the axial velocity, fi is the pressure,/~(f) is the permeability of the
porous medium and R is the radius of the tube. The second term on the left hand side of
equation (1) accounts for the Darcy resistance offered by the porous medium. In terms of shear
stress "Ythe above equation can be written as

d(r-~)+~£ ~" R
~dF=-~_F, O<-F<--R (2)

dU
where we have used the relation ~"= -/.~ ~ and the no-slip condition at the wall ~ = R. Since
or

f Fig. 1. Schematic diagram for flow geometry.

 Casson fluid flow 1147

the shear stress distribution in a pipe is independent of the type of fluid, equation (2) is valid
for any kind of fluid. Integration of equation (2) gives

1 ( ~ k- ( ( ' _ , _ ] , _ ldfi_
T= -rJ0 ~\J~ roxjos-~-~r, 0<-~--<R (3)

where we have used the condition that ~ should be finite at ~ = 0. It is easy to see that ~ = 0 at
r'----- 0.
To evaluate the flow field completely, ~ must be supplemented by a constitutive equation
relating shear stress and shear rate.

2.2 Casson's constitutive equation

Casson's constitutive equation in time-independent shear flow is a nonlinear relation between
shear stress and rate of strain [11], given by

dff] 1/2
~1/2 = by-l/2+ - / z ~ ~-~j , if T ~ '~'y (4a)

and
d/2
- 0, if "E ~ ry (4b)
d~-

where ry denotes the yield stress and /x~ denotes Casson's viscosity (viscosity at high shear
rate). These relations correspond to vanishing of velocity gradients in the region where the
shear stress ~ is less than the yield stress ry. This in turn implies plug flow whenever ~ -< Ty.
Equation (3) is to be coupled with equation (4) to determine the flow field. The boundary
condition appropriate for the problem under study is the no-slip condition at the tube wall:

ff = 0 at ? = R. (5)

2.3 Nondimensionalisation
Let us introduce the following nondimensional variables:

r R u=-- K--- v=-- (6a)

Uc -- R 2 ' Tc

where
R 2 d~
uc - (6b)
2/x~ dZ
and

Vc = ~ - Uc (6c)

are characteristic values of velocity and shear stress respectively.

The momentum equation (3) in dimensionless form becomes

v=r-- lfo (f'

r )
vdx ds, 0-<r_<l. (7)

In nondimensional from, the Casson constitutive equation (4) becomes

(8a)

E$ 34-10-D
1148 R. K. DASH et al.

and
du
--=0, if r < - - 0 (8b)
dr
where

0 ---ry (9)
Tc

is the nondimensional yield stress.

The boundary condition is reduced to

u = 0 a t r = 1. (10)

3. M E T H O D OF S O L U T I O N

The implicit integral equation (7) is solved numerically using an iterative method to find the
shear stress distribution in the pipe. The iterative scheme can be written as

r~+'):~-%4 ~ {~)dx ds, n = 0 , 1 , 2 .... (11a)

where
=(j-1)h, ] = 1 , 2 ..... N (lib)
with
1
N:~+ 1. (11c)

Here, h is the step length in the radial direction and N is the total number of radial nodal
points. The double integral on the right hand side of equation ( l l a ) is evaluated using the
trapezoidal rule of integration at each iteration and at each nodal point with K(s) being a
known function. The iteration is continued as long as it satisfies the condition

max #,,~1) _ # , , ) < e (12)

i

where E is a preassigned error of tolerance. The initial guess ~ o ) = 0 is taken at each

], j = 1,2 ..... N. This iterative scheme is found to be convergent.
Using the above numerical method, the shear stress is calculated at each radial nodal point.
The yield plane location, i.e. the locus of all points in the radial direction at which the actual
shear stress is equal to the yield stress, is estimated approximately by matching the shear stress
with the yield stress. This determines the plug flow region and the plug flow radius rp. Knowing
the plug flow radius, velocity distribution, plug flow velocity and flow rate are calculated
numerically.

3.1 Velocity distribution

Integrating equation (8a) with the help of boundary condition (10), we get the velocity in the
shear flow region as

uj = uj+ = 0(1 - r~) +

f/
r,
vdr - 20 t/2
f'r,
¢/2dr, rp -< rj -< 1. (13a)
 Casson fluid flow 1149

Since r is known at radial points only, it is convenient to evaluate the integral in equation
(13a) using the trapezoidal rule. The velocity in the plug flow region is given by

uj = ufl = Up = u (rj = rp), 0 --<rj -< rp. (13b)

3.2 Flow rate

The nondimensional flow rate can be computed as

£1 f ldu
Q=8 urdr= - 4 --drrr2dr
p

1 - r3 l 20112(1
J ,14,

4. A N A L Y T I C S O L U T I O N FOR THE CASE OF C O N S T A N T P E R M E A B I L I T Y

If K(r) = Ko is a constant, we can write the integral equation (7) in equivalent differential
equation form as

r2d2r
-- r -d- -r ( r1~+ o o ) r=0 (15)
dr 2 + dr
with boundary conditions as
r = finite at r = 0 (16a)
and
dr r
--+- = 1 a t r = 1. (16b)
dr r

Equation (15) is the modified Bessel equation of order 1. Its solution with the help of above
boundary conditions is given as

r-- ~ 11(7/~7-I) (17)

/, 1 \ v/~0/

where Io a n d / i are modified Bessel functions of first kind of order 0 and 1 respectively.

5. R E S U L T S AND D I S C U S S I O N

The objective of this analysis is to study the flow characteristics of a Casson fluid in a tube in
the presence of a homogeneous porous medium with permeability K. Two cases of
permeability have been considered, namely (i) permeability has a constant value Ko, and (ii)
permeability varies in the radial direction according to

.8,

where Ko is the permeability factor. The later case shows that the centre of the tube is highly
1150 R.K. DASH et al.

1.0 Ko =15.0

K=Ko ~ 1 . 0
0.8 0.5

0.2 E.
,~ 0-6

~. 0.Z,

0.2-

00 [ i 1I

0.0 0.2 0.z, 0.6 0.8 1.0

Radial. distance
(b)
Fig. 2. Shear stress distribution for different values of Ko.

p e r m e a b l e and the permeability decreases in the radial direction with permeability zero at the
i m p e r m e a b l e wall. This case is considered because it closely simulates the blockade in a
diseased artery. The effect of the permeability factor K0 and the yield stress 0 of the fluid on
shear stress distribution, wali shear stress, velocity distribution, plug flow radius, flow rate and
frictional resistance have been investigated. W h e n the yield stress 0 is zero, the corresponding
cases of Newtonian fluid results are obtained. The classical Casson fluid flow in a pipe is
derived in the limiting case k ~ zc. The Poiseuille flow in a pipe can be recovered in the limiting
case 0 = 0 and k ~ ~.
Figure 2(a) and (b) shows the shear stress distribution for cases (i) and (ii), respectively, for
different values of Ko. Since the shear stress distribution in a pipe is independent of the type of
fluid, the yield stress 0 has no affect on the shear stress distribution. In both cases the curves
approach the straight line ~-= r (Poiseuille flow case) as K0 increases, the approach being faster
in case (ii). The straight line is almost attained for Ko = 15. In Fig. 2(b), it is seen that the
curves change from concavity to convexity for lower values of Ko. The point of inflexion is at
r = 0.5 for all lower values of K0 for which the curve changes from concavity to convexity. The
change from concavity to convexity is due to the particular choice of the permeability function
K ( r ) given in equation (20). At r = 0.5, the permeability is Ko and it increases for r < 0.5 and
decreases for r > 0.5.
 1.0

f
/

0.8

ill
t--
0.6
,6--
VI

cu
,,~[ K=Ko
.c
~ O.& .... K=Ko( 1 - r l / r
D
2~

0.2

0.0 1 I I
0.0 O.S 1.0 I.S 2.0
Ko
Fig. 3. Variation of wall shear stress with Ko.

1.0 K=Ko
B=O
O.S

P
.~
._~

,v - 0 . 5
0.0 )
-1.0 , '.
0.0 0.1 0.2 03 .z, d.5 0.6
Velocity
1o1
1.0 I
K= Ko(1-r)/r
0=0
0.S
1.0

"-~ 0.0
/
"" - 0 . 5

-1.0
0.0 0.1 0.2
,¢
0.3 O.t,
I I
O.S 0.6
Veloci t y
(hi
Fig. 4. Velocity distribution for different values of Ko.
1152 R . K . DASH et al.

K=K 0

~
0=0.1
0.5-

".6 0.0 ~ / i 025

1.1 . 1 0.5 1, IS.O=K0

- 0 .S

-1.0 J ~ ~ , j
0.0 0.05 01.10 0.15 0.20 0.25
Velocify
(ol

1.0
K = Ko(1- r ) / r
0=0.1
0.5
i 1.0
'- 0.0 = . . . . "

-0.5

-1.0
0.0 0'.05 0110 0.'15 0120 0.25
Velocity
(b)
Fig. 5. Velocity distribution for different values of Ko.

Figure 3 shows the variation of wall shear stress with K0 for cases (i) and (ii). It is seen that
the wall shear stress is more in the case of variable permeability. This is because, for a fixed
pressure gradient, more flow occurs in the case of variable permeability. The wall shear stress
exhibits boundary layer behaviour for small values of K0.
Figure 4(a) and (b) shows the velocity distribution for cases (i) and (ii), respectively, for
different values of Ko with 0 = 0. In both cases it is seen that the velocity distribution
approaches Poiseuille velocity profile as Ko tends to the value 15. For lower values of Ko, the
profile is fiat and is comparably less fiat in case (ii). This is because there is more flow in
case(ii). Figure 5(a) and (b) displays the velocity distribution for cases (i) and (ii), respectively,
for different values of Ko with 0 = 0.1. In this case the flow is reduced considerably due to the
yield stress 0. It is seen that the plug flow region extends over a larger area of the tube cross
section for lower values of Ko. Thus the plug flow radius increases with decrease in Ko. For
the value Ko = 15, the profile approaches the classical Casson fluid velocity profile in both the
cases.
Figure 6(a) and (b) depicts the variation of plug flow radius rp with the yield stress 0 for
 Casson fluid flow 1153
1.2
K=K o
Ko-- 0.05
0.0
.~_O.B
J
~o 0.50

O.
0.~ 15.0

0.0
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 O.t,
Yield stress
(n)

1.2

K =Ko(1-rl/r
.~o.8
i Ko=0,05
-
Y0.10

0.0 --~ i I I
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 .t~
Yteld stress
(bJ
Fig. 6. Variation of plug flow radius with yield stress for different values of Ko.

different values of Ko corresponding to cases (i) and (ii) respectively. It is seen that plug flow
radius increases with increase in the value of yield stress 0 and decrease in value of
permeability factor Ko. It is to be noted that the curves for variable permeability exhibit
transition from concavity to convexity at some definite valve of yield stress 0. In both cases, for
large values of Ko (say Ko = 15), the plug flow radius curve is the straight line r = 0.
Figure 7(a) and (b) shows the variation of flow rate Q with the yield stress 0 for different
values of Ko corresponding to cases (i) and (ii) respectively. Figure 7(a) reveals that when Ko
is of order 0.1, the flow rate is almost reduced to zero with 0 = 0.3. Figure 7(b) shows that
with same values of Ko and 0, the flow rate is more in the case of variable permeability.
In both cases with 0 = 0, flow rate Q tends to the value unity as Ko approaches the value
15.
Figure 8(a) and (b) represents the variation of frictional resistance with permeability factor
Ko different values of the yield stress 0 corresponding to cases (i) and (ii) respectively. It
depicts the asymptotic behaviour of frictional resistance near Ko = 0. For lower values of Ko,
the frictional resistance increases considerably with increase in the value of yield stress 0. For
1154 R.K. DASH et al.

1.0

.=
0.8

0.6 ~ ~o K-- Ko

0.~. "U

0.2

O.C
0.0 O. I 0.2 0 3
Yietd stress
(ol

1.0

0.8 ~ K = Ko(1-r )/r

o0.~
u,-

0.2 ~

0.0 t , I
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3
Yield stress
(b)
Fig. 7. Variation of flow rate with yield stress for different values of Ko.

fixed values of K0 and 0, frictional resistance is less in the case of variable permeability. This
implies m o r e flow in this case. In both cases, it is observed that the frictional resistance has the
constant value unity when K0 = 15 and 0 = 0.

6. C O N C L U S I O N

The present analysis examines the flow characteristics of a Casson fluid in a pipe filled with a
h o m o g e n o u s porous medium. The Brinkman model is ~tsed to account for the Darcy resistance
offered by the porous medium. This analysis shows that the plug flow radius depends not only
on the yield stress of the fluid, but also on the permeability of the porous medium. For a fixed
value of yield stress, the plug flow region extends over a larger area of tube cross section for
lower values of permeability. With increase in the value of yield stress and decrease in the
value of permeability, the flow rate reduces considerably showing that frictional resistance
increases substantially. The results of this analysis can be applied to the pathological situations
of blood flow in coronary arteries when fatty plaques of cholesterol and artery-clogging blood
clots are formed in the lumen of the coronary artery.
 Casson fluid flow 1155

103

r-
Z~
K:Ko
•~ 102

D
C
O
4-

,- 10
u,.

100 I I I
0.0 0.S 1.0 1.5 2.0
Ko
(o)

103

t- K= g0(1-r)/r
O

~ 102
L-

0
t-
O

t.I

~. 10

0.05
100 ~.0 I I
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
Ko
(b)

Fig. 8. Variation of frictional resistance with Ktj for different values of yield stress.

REFERENCES

[1] N. CASSON, In Rheology of Dispersed System (Edited by C. C. MILL), p. 84. Pergamon Press, Oxford (1959).
[2] W.P. WALWANDER, T. Y. CHEN, and D. F. CALA, Biorheology 12, 111 (1975).
[3] G. V. VINOGRADOV and A. Y. MALKIN, Rheology of Polymers. Mir Publisher, Moscow (1979).
[4] G. W. SCOTT BLAIR, Nature, London 183, 613 (1959).
[5] S. E. CHARM and G. S. KURLAND, Nature, London 206, 617 (1965).
[6] E. W. MERILL, A. M. BENIS, E. R. GILL1LAND, T. K. SHERWOOD and E. W. SALZMAN, J. Appl.
Physiol. 20, 954 (1965).
[7] D. A. McDONALD, Blood Flows in Arteries, 2nd Edition, Chap 2. Arnold, London (1974).
[8] G. JAYARAMAN, A. LAUTIER, G. JARRY, BUI-MONG-HANG and E. W. SALZMAN, Med. and Biol.
Engng. and Compt., 19, 524 (1981).
[9] J. M. KOOIJMAN, Chem. Engng Japan 4, 189 (1972).
[10] S. OKA, Jap. J. Appl. Phys. 10, 257 (1971).
[11] Y. C. FUNG, Biomechanics, Mechanical Properties of Living Tissues, Chap 3. Springer-Verlag, New York (1981).
[12] S. OKA, Festschrift of Harold Wayland Symposium, California Inst. of Tech., Pasadena (1979).
[13] P. CHATURANI and T. R. RANGANATHAN, Proc. Int. Conf. of Mathematical Modelling in Science and
Technology, p. 17 (1988).
[14] V. K. SHAH and R. L. SOTO, Comput. Fluids 2, 273 (1974).
1156 R . K . D A S H et al.

[15] B. DAS and R. L. B A T R A , Encyclopedia o f Fluid Mechanics, Supplement 3, Advances in Fluid Dynamics (Edited
by P. N I C H O L A S and P. C H E R E M I S I N O F F ) , Chap. 9. Gulf Publishing Company, Texas (1994).
[16] H. K. B R I N K M A N , Appl. Sci. Res. A 1, 23 (1948).

(Received 31 August 1995)

NOMENCLATURE

h step length in radial direction Up plug flow velocity

Io modified Bessel function of the first kind order 0 ~- axial distance
11 modified Bessel function of the first kind of order 1
K permeability of the porous medium
Greek symbols
K dimensionless permeability = K,/R 2
E error of tolerance
Ko dimensionless permeability factor
/x viscosity
N number of radial nodal points
/z= Casson's viscosity (viscosity at high shear rate)
P pressure
shear stress
Q dimensionless flow rate
r dimensionless shear stress = r/rc
R radius of the tube
? radial distance r,. characteristic shear stress = /z~
r dimensionless radial distance R/zc
rj jth radial nodal point ~v yield stress
r_p plug flow radius 0 dimensionless yield stress = ry/Zc
u axial velocity
u dimensionless axial velocity = K/u c Superscript
- R2 dp + shear flow region (rp-< r <- 1)
uc characteristic v e l o c i t y - 2/x~ dzS
- plug flow region (0 - r --- rp)