On flow of a Navier-Stokes fluid in curved pipes. I: Steady flow (Q812672)

Despite great interest in curved pipe flows, no rigorous analysis of the existence and uniqueness of solutions has been made for Navier-Stokes fluids, either with or without Dean's approximation. In the present study the authors consider the mathematical properties of both the full equations and Dean's equations for arbitrary cross section and prove the existence of smooth solutions. The authors prove rigorously that the steady flow in curved pipes of an arbitrary cross section, is unidirectional if and only if inertial effects are neglected \((x=0)\), for both the Navier-Stokes and Dean's equation.