Effect of steady streaming on the flow of micropolar fluid through a contricted annulus

Abstract

An Oscillatory flow of an incompressible micropolar fluid through an annulus with mild constriction at the outer wall is considered. This configuration is intended as a simple model for studying blood flow in a stenosed artery when a catheter is inserted into it. The contribution of the steady streaming effect, due to the oscillatory nature of the flow through non-uniform wall geometry is presented. The mean pressure drop and the mean wall shear stress are calculated across the stenotic lesion. The variations in these mean quantities are studied by varying size of the catheter, its velocity and the micropolar fluid parameters. It is observed that as the size of the catheter and the coupling number increases, the pressure drop as well as the shear stress increases while it decreases as the velocity of the catheter and the spin of the molecules increases.