Flow of Oldroyd-\(B\) fluids in curved pipes of circular and annular cross-section (Q2564398)

The known solutions describing fully developed flows through curved pipes of circular and annular cross-sections are generalized to the case of Oldroyd-B fluids. Using perturbation methods, where the parameter is the ratio of the corresponding radii, the authors compare creeping and non-creeping flows of viscoelastic and Newtonian fluids. Whereas the main results for pipes of circular cross-section are generally similar, in curved annular pipes the results for creeping flows of viscoelastic fluids and those for non-creeping flows of Newtonian fluids are dramatically different. Finally, the authors show that for pipes of circular cross-sections the effect of elasticity on the drag is similar to that observed previously in simpler models.