Flow in pipes with non-uniform curvature and torsion

Abstract

This paper describes steady and unsteady flows in pipes with small, slowly varying curvature and torsion. Four new pipe shapes are studied, using Germano's extension of the Dean equations. Analytic and numerical solutions are obtained for flows driven by a steady pressure gradient. Oscillatory flows in pipes with non-uniform curvature are obtained by numerical methods. The effects of the non-uniformities in curvature and torsion are discussed, with particular reference to wall shear stress.