Analyzing flow behavior of shear-thinning fluids in a planar abrupt contraction/expansion microfluidic geometry

Due to its vast range of industrial applications, viscoelastic entry flow behavior and stability in abrupt contraction/expansion geometries have been a subject of interest for quite some time. However, due to the strong dependence of flow instabilities and vortex formation near the constriction entrance in non-Newtonian fluids on the geometry and the fluid rheology, generalizations can not easily be made. In the present study, we examine and compare the flow behavior of several shear-thinning fluids in a new planar contraction/expansion geometry that is symmetric in the flow direction and about the midplane of the depth but asymmetric with respect to the ``contraction'' direction.