Variation of the Recirculation Length of Newtonian and Non-Newtonian Power-Law Fluids in Laminar Flow Through a Suddenly Expanded Axisymmetric Geometry

Abstract A numerical study has been carried out for the laminar flow of Newtonian and non-Newtonian power-law fluids through a suddenly expanded axisymmetric geometry. Mathematical correlations are proposed for the prediction of the length of the recirculating eddy in terms of Reynolds number, expansion ratio and rheological parameters. A wide range of expansion ratios (1.25⩽ER⩽8.0) has been covered for the Newtonian fluid and both the shear-thinning and shear-thickening flow characteristic fluids have been considered for the non-Newtonian fluids.