Motion of Non-Newtonian liquid plugs in channels

Some major transport phenomena in the human respiratory system such as the reopening of the occlude airways and drug delivery involve with propagation of liquid plugs, constituted from non-Newtonian fluids. In this presentation the transport of liquid plugs, constituted from the yield stress Bingham, and shear thinning power-law fluids is investigated numerically. The governing equations are solved by a mixed-discontinuous finite element formulation while the free surface is resolved by the method of spines. The constitutive equation for Bingham fluid is implemented through a regularization method. The effects of the yield stress and the power-law index on the flow feature are compared and discussed. Special attention is given to the distribution of the stresses along the wall with applications in cell injury studies.