Flow past a porous approximate spherical shell

Abstract

In this paper, the creeping flow of an incompressible viscous liquid past a porous approximate spherical shell is considered. The flow in the free fluid region outside the shell and in the cavity region of the shell is governed by the Navier–Stokes equation. The flow within the porous annulus region of the shell is governed by Darcy’s Law. The boundary conditions used at the interface are continuity of the normal velocity, continuity of the pressure and Beavers and Joseph slip condition. An exact solution for the problem is obtained. An expression for the drag on the porous approximate spherical shell is obtained. The drag experienced by the shell is evaluated numerically for several values of the parameters governing the flow.