Velocity Profiles of Newtonian and Non-Newtonian Toroidal Flows Measured by a Lda Technique

Laser Doppler Anemomeiry was used to measure the primary (axial) and secondary (recirculating) velocity profiles in laminar flows of Newtonian (ethylene glycol) and non-Newtonian (aqueous solutions of CMC and PAA) liquids in curved tubes. Rheological characteristics of these liquids were measured using standard viscometric techniques (Haake and Mechanical Spectrometer). The effect of the shear-thinning viscosity is to flatten the axial velocity profile while enhancing the circulating flow close to the walls. On the other hand, the viscoelasticity reduces the extent of the secondary flow for all Dean numbers. This fact explains the reduction of laminar friction reported in the literature. The primary and secondary velocity profiles, which appear to be the first ones ever published for the toroidal flows, are compared with the predictions of numerical simulation. The agreement is good when comparing the profiles of the axial flow but it is unsatisfactory for the secondary flows.