Simulation of Power-Law Fluid Flows in Two-Dimensional Square Cavity Using Multi-Relaxation-Time Lattice Boltzmann Method

Abstract

In this paper, the power-law fluid flows in a two-dimensional square cavity are investigated in detail with multi-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann method (MRT-LBM). The influence of the Reynolds number (Re) and the power-law index (n) on the vortex strength, vortex position and velocity distribution are extensively studied. In our numerical simulations, Re is varied from 100 to 10000, and n is ranged from 0.25 to 1.75, covering both cases of shear-thinning and shear-thickening. Compared with the Newtonian fluid, numerical results show that the flow structure and number of vortex of power-law fluid are not only dependent on the Reynolds number, but also related to power-law index.