Plane Couette-Poiseuille flow past a homogeneous poroelastic layer

Abstract

An analytical solution is presented for the problem of fully developed plane Couette-Poiseuille flow past a homogeneous, permeable poroelastic layer. Main novel feature of this work is that the compressibility, which is related to the action of the free-fluid pressure on the poroelastic layer, is taken into account. Therefore, the solid stress problem is two-dimensional, although the fluid flow problem remains one-dimensional in the limit of infinitesimal strain. The pressure-related compressibility affects strongly the distribution of the von Mises stress in the poroelastic layer by shifting the local maximum towards the high-pressure region of the channel. Furthermore, the established analytical solution is used to investigate some aspects of the mechanotransducing role of the endothelial surface layer. A compressible surface layer might serve as a “bumper’’ by reducing the magnitude of the overall shearing force (viscous and elastic) acting on endothelial cells, as compared to the magnitude of the fluid shear force that would be exerted in its absence.