LATTICE BOLTZMANN SIMULATION OF NON-NEWTONIAN FLUID FLOW IN A LID DRIVEN CAVITY

International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology (IJMET), ISSN 0976 – 6340(Print),
ISSN 0976 – 6359(Online), Volume 5, Issue 8, August (2014), pp. 20-33 © IAEME
20
LATTICE BOLTZMANN SIMULATION OF NON-NEWTONIAN FLUID
FLOW IN A LID DRIVEN CAVITY
M. Y. Gokhale1
, Ignatius Fernandes2
1
Department of Mathematics, Maharashtra Institute of Technology, Pune, India
2
Department of Mathematics, Rosary College, Navelim Goa, India
ABSTRACT
Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) is used to simulate the lid driven cavity flow to explore
the mechanism of non-Newtonian fluid flow. The power law model is used to represent the class of
non-Newtonian fluids (shear-thinning and shear-thickening fluids) by considering a range of 0.8 to
1.6. Investigation is carried out to study the influence of power law index and Reynolds number on
the variation of velocity profiles and streamlines plots. Velocity profiles and the streamline patterns
for various values of power law index at Reynolds numbers ranging 100 to 3200 are presented. Half
way bounce back boundary conditions are employed in the numerical method. The LBM code is
validated against the results taken from the published sources for flow in lid driven cavity and the
results show fine agreement with established theory and the rheological behavior of the fluids.
Keywords: Lid Driven Cavity, Non-Newtonian Fluids, Power Law, Lattice Boltzmann Method.
1. INTRODUCTION
Non-Newtonian fluid flow is an important subject in various natural and engineering
processes which include applications in packed beds, petroleum engineering and purification
processes. A wide range of research is available for Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluid flow in
these areas. In general, the hydrodynamics of non-Newtonian fluids is much complex compared to
that of their Newtonian counterpart because of the complex rheological properties. An important
factor in understanding the mechanism of non-Newtonian fluids is to identify a local profile of non-
Newtonian properties corresponding to the shear rate. Power law model is generally used to
represent a class of non-Newtonian fluids which are inelastic and exhibit time independent shear
stress. Though analytical solutions for the flow of power law fluids through simple geometry is
available, computational approach becomes unavoidable in most of the situations particularly if the
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
AND TECHNOLOGY (IJMET)
ISSN 0976 – 6340 (Print)
ISSN 0976 – 6359 (Online)
Volume 5, Issue 8, August (2014), pp. 20-33
© IAEME: www.iaeme.com/IJMET.asp
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IJMET
© I A E M E

21
flow field is not one dimensional. Over the past several years, various computational methods have
been applied to simulate the power law fluid flows in different geometries. Among different
geometries, the lid driven cavity flow is considered to be one of the benchmark fluid problems in
computational fluid dynamics.
With recent advances in mathematical modeling and computer technology, lattice Boltzmann
method (LBM) has been developed as an alternative approach to common numerical methods which
are based on discretization of macroscopic continuum equations. LBM is effective for investigating
the local non-Newtonian properties since important information to non-Newtonian fluids can be
locally estimated. The fundamental idea of this method is to construct simplified kinetic models that
include the essential physics of mesoscopic processes so that the macroscopic averaged properties
obey the desired macroscopic properties [2].
In recent years, the problem of lid driven cavity flow has been widely used to understand the
behavior of non-Newtonian fluid flow using power law model. Patil et al [5] applied the LBM for
simulation of lid-driven flow in a two-dimensional, rectangular, deep cavity. They studied the
location and strength of the primary vortex, the corner-eddy dynamics and showed the existence of
corner eddies at the bottom, which come together to form a second primary-eddy as the cavity
aspect-ratio is increased above a critical value. Bhaumik et al. [6] investigated lid-driven swirling
flow in a confined cylindrical cavity using LBM by studying steady, 3-dimensional flow with respect
to height-to-radius ratios and Reynolds numbers using the multiple-relaxation-time method. Nemati
et al [7] applied LBM to investigate the mixed convection flows utilizing nanofluids in a lid-driven
cavity. They investigated a water-based nanofluid containing Cu, CuO or Al2O3 nanoparticles and
the effects of Reynolds number and solid volume fraction for different nanofluids on hydrodynamic
and thermal characteristics. Mendu et al. [9] used LBM to simulate non-Newtonian power law fluid
flows in a double sided lid driven cavity. They investigated two different cases-parallel wall motion
and anti-parallel wall motion of two sided lid driven cavity and studied the influence of power law
index )(n and Reynolds number (Re) on the variation of velocity and center of vortex location of
fluid with the help of velocity profiles and streamline plots. In another paper, Mendu et al. [10]
applied LBM to simulate two dimensional fluid flows in a square cavity driven by a periodically
oscillating lid. Yang et al. [25] investigated the flow pattern in a two-dimensional lid-driven semi-
circular cavity based on multiple relaxation time lattice Boltzmann method (MRT LBM) for
Reynolds number ranging from 5000 to 50000. They showed that, as Reynolds number increases, the
flow in the cavity undergoes a complex transition. Erturk [8] discussed, in detail, the 2-D driven
cavity flow problem by investigating the incompressible flow in a 2-D driven cavity in terms of
physical, mathematical and numerical aspects, together with a survey on experimental and numerical
studies. The paper also presented very fine grid steady solutions of the driven cavity flow at very
high Reynolds numbers.
The application of LBM to non-Newtonian fluid flow has been aggressively intensified in last
few decades. Though, the problem of fluid flow in lid driven cavity has been studied rigorously,
most of these studies have been confined to either laminar fluid flow or Newtonian fluids. The
present paper uses LBM to simulate the lid driven cavity flow to explore the mechanism of non-
Newtonian fluid flow which is laminar as well as under transition for a wide range of shear-thinning
and shear-thickening fluids. The power law model is used to represent the class of non-Newtonian
fluids (shear-thinning and shear-thickening). The influence of power law index )(n and Reynolds
number (Re) on the variation of velocity and center of vortex location of fluid with the help of
velocity profiles and streamline plots is studied.

22
Fig.1: Geometry of the lid driven cavity.
2. BACKGROUND AND PROBLEM FORMULATION
2.1. Governing equations
In continuum domain, fluid flow is governed by Navier-Stokes (NS) equations along with the
continuity equation. For incompressible, two-dimensional flow, the conservative form of the NS
equations and the continuity equation can be written in Cartesian system as [1].






∂
∂
∂
∂
+





∂
∂
∂
∂
+
∂
∂
−=
∂
∂
+
∂
∂
+
∂
∂
y
u
yx
u
xx
p
y
vu
x
uu
t
u
µµ
ρρ
(1)






∂
∂
∂
∂
+





∂
∂
∂
∂
+
∂
∂
−=
∂
∂
+
∂
∂
+
∂
∂
y
v
yx
v
xx
p
y
vv
x
uv
t
v
µµ
ρρ
(2)
0
)()(
=
∂
∂
+
∂
∂
y
v
x
u ρρ
(3)
The two-dimensional lid driven square cavity with the top wall moving from left to right with
a uniform velocity 1.00 == uU is considered, as shown in Fig 1. The left, right and bottom walls are
kept stationary i.e. velocities at all other nodes are set to zero. We consider fluid to be non-
Newtonian represented by power law model.
2.2. Physical boundary conditions
Top moving lid : 0),( uHxu = and 0),( =Hxv (4a)
Bottom stationary side : 0)0,( =xu and 0)0,( =xv (4b)
Left stationary side: 0),0( =yu and 0),0( =yv (4c)
Right stationary side: 0),( =yLu and 0),( =yLv (4d)

23
3. NUMERICAL METHOD AND FORMULATION
3.1. Lattice Boltzmann Method
In the present study, we cover incompressible fluid flows and a nine-velocity model on a two-
dimensional lattice (D2Q9). The lattice Boltzmann method can be used to model hydrodynamic or
mass transport phenomena by describing the particle distribution function ),( txfi giving the
probability that a fluid particle with velocity ie enters the lattice site x at a time t [1]. The subscript i
represents the number of lattice links and 0=i corresponds to the particle at rest residing at the
center. The evolution of the particle distribution function on the lattice resulting from the collision
processes and the particle propagation is governed by the discrete Boltzmann equation [11, 12, 13,
14].
),(),(),( txtxfdttdtexf iiii Ω=−++ 8,....,1,0=i (5)
where dt is the time step and iΩ is the collision operator which accounts for the change in the
distribution function due to the collisions. The Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook (BGK) model [19] is used for
the collision operator
[ ]),(),(
1
),( txftxftx eq
iii −−=Ω
τ
8,.....,1,0=i (6)
where τ is the relaxation time and is related to the kinematic viscosity υ by






−=
2
12
τυ dtcs (7)
Here sc is the sound speed expressed by ( ) 3/3/ cdtdxcs == (c is the particle speed and dxis the
lattice spacing). ),( txf eq
i , in equation (6), is the corresponding equilibrium distribution function for
D2Q9 given by
( )




−




++= ),().,((
2
1
),(.(
2
1
),(.(
1
1,),( 2
2
42
txutxu
c
txue
c
txue
c
txwtxf
s
i
s
i
s
i
eq
i ρ (8a)
where ),( txu is the velocity and iw is the weight coefficient with values





=
=
=
=
8,7,6,536/1
4,3,2,19/1
09/4
i
i
i
wi (8b)
Local particle density ),( txρ and local particle momentum uρ are given by
∑=
=
8
0
),(),(
i
i txftxρ and ∑=
=
8
0
),(),(
i
ii txfetxuρ . (9)

24
3.2. Power law model
For a power law fluid, the apparent viscosity µ is found to vary with strain rate
.
e (s-1
) by [15]
1.
0
−
=
n
eµµ (10)
where nis the shear-thinning index and 0µ is a consistency constant. For 1<n , the fluid is shear-
thinning. Strain rate is related to the symmetric strain rate tensor,
αβαβ eee :2
.
= (11a)
where αβe is the rate of deformation tensor which can be locally calculated by [11]
βααβ
τρ
ii
i
i eef
dtC
e ∑=
−=
8
0
)1(
2
1
(11b)
where ),(),(),()1(
txftxftxf eq
iii −= is the non-equilibrium part of the distribution function.
The Reynolds number for power law fluid is given by
0
2
Re
µ
ρ nn
LU −
= , where U is the velocity
of the moving lid and L is the length of the cavity [9].
3.3. LBM boundary conditions
Boundary conditions play a crucial role in LBM simulations. In this paper, half-way bounce-
back conditions [17] are applied on the stationary wall. The particle distribution function at the wall
lattice node is assigned to be the particle distribution function of its opposite direction. At the lattice
nodes on the moving walls, boundary conditions are assumed as specified by Zou et al. [4]. Initially,
the equilibrium distribution function that corresponds to the flow-variables is assumed as the
unknown distribution function for all nodes at t = 0.
3.4. Numerical Implementation
A MATLAB code was developed for a 129129 × square cavity lattice grid. The velocity of
the moving lid was set to 0.1 tslu / and the velocity at all other nodes was set to zero. A uniform
density of 3
/0.1 lumu=ρ is initially assumed for the entire flow field. The distribution function was
initialized with suitable values (here we assume that the fluid is initially stationary). The numerical
implementation of the LBM at each time step consists of collision, streaming, application of
boundary conditions, calculation of distribution functions and calculation of macroscopic flow
variables. Half way bounce back conditions were employed in simulation.
A range of 0.8 to 1.6 was taken for the power law index, so that, both the shear thinning and shear-
thickening fluid are considered.
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Investigation is performed to study the impact of Reynolds number and power index on
velocity profiles, vortex formation and the streamline patterns. The LBM was first validated by
comparing the results in the literature for power index 1=n , which corresponds to Newtonian fluids.

25
The circulation pattern and vortex formation is highly influenced by Reynolds number. The
investigation is performed for four values of Re (100, 400, 1000, 3200). Fig.2 presents velocity
profiles at the geometric center of the cavity for various values of n at 100Re = along with the
comparison of the results published in Ghia et al [3] for Newtonian fluids. The u-velocity profiles
along y-axis are presented in Fig.2a, which show almost a parabolic behavior. It is observed that u-
velocity starts increasing from zero at the bottom, continuously decreasing to the minimum negative
value and then increases to become zero at the center. The u-velocity then increases to attain the
maximum positive value at the top of the cavity. The minimum u- velocity value is observed to
decrease with an increase in n , whereas the maximum positive u-velocity increases with n . Though
the basic trend of the u-velocity profiles remain the same, the rheological behavior of the fluids
affects the minimum and the maximum values of the u-velocity profiles. Fig.2b presents the v-
velocity profile along x-axis through the geometric center of the cavity corresponding to the
conditions considered in Fig.2a. It is observed that the v-velocity starts from zero at the left side wall,
attains the maximum positive value, and then decreases to zero at the center of the cavity. The v-
velocity continuously decreases from the center and reaches the maximum negative value before it
again tends to zero at the right wall of the cavity. Lower values of n (shear-thinning fluid and
Newtonian) display lower values of v-velocity compared to that of shear-thickening fluids. Fig.4
presents the streamline plots for different values of power law index at Re=100. One primary vortex
is observed which moves towards the center of the cavity as n increases from 0.8 to 1.6. This is
because the viscosity of the fluid increases with increasing n . Secondary vortices are observed at the
top and bottom corners of the cavity. These vortices decrease marginally and almost vanish with an
increase in n , thus indicating that the primary circulation occupies almost whole of the cavity.
Primary circulation is concentrated towards the right of the cavity with streamlines parallel to the
right vertical side, indicating weak circulation in the region.
Fig.3 presents the velocity profiles at geometric center of the cavity for different values of n
at 400Re = . The velocity at the center of the cavity becomes almost linear with maximum and
minimum values attained at the top and bottom regions of the cavity, respectively. The streamline
plots in Fig. 5 for 400Re = show development of secondary vortices at the corners which keep
increasing in size with n , indicating the growth of secondary circulation in the regions. The primary
vortex is observed to shift towards the center as compared to the case for 100Re = . For 1000Re = , the
trend of the velocity profiles remains almost the same, but a significant variation is observed in
magnitude as indicated by Fig.7. This is due to the influence of moving lid on the fluid flow. The
secondary circulation increases as compared to lower values of Re. This is in theoretical agreement
of the properties of fluids, that the secondary circulation and formation of eddies closely related to
increase in Re. Fig.6 shows that the strength of the secondary circulation increases as n increases
from 0.8 to 1.6 It can be seen from Fig.3-7 that, for lower values of Re, the streamlines are
concentrated parallel to the right wall due to weak circulation in the region. At higher values of Re,
the primary circulation expands to cover whole of cavity indicating stronger circulation in the
regions.
The primary vortex shifts towards the center of the cavity for higher Re. The u-velocity and
v-velocity profiles for 3200Re = are presented in Fig.8. The profiles show a linear behavior in center
of the cavity, as seen from the figures. The u-velocity profiles for higher values of n show positive
u-velocities at the bottom of the cavity, as a result of strong secondary circulation in opposite
direction. This can be established from the streamline plots in Fig.9, which show formation of strong
secondary circulation as a result of transitional state of fluid. The velocity profiles show a linear
behavior in the centre of the cavity and this region (of linear behavior) increases as Re increases
from 100 to 3200. The magnitude of the u-velocity and v-velocity profiles increases, which is also
due to the impact of moving lid. Secondary circulation is more dominant compared to other values of
Re, indicating the influence of Re.

26
(a) (b)
Fig.2: Velocity profiles at the geometric center of the cavity for different values of n at Re=100. (a)
u-velocity profiles (b) v-velocity profiles
(a) (b)
Fig.3: Velocity profiles at center of cavity for varoius values of n at at Re=400.
(a) u-velocity profiles (b) v-velocity profiles
-0.4 -0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
u/U
y/L
n=0.8
n=1.0
n=1.2
n=1.4
n=1.6
Ghia et al.
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
-0.4
-0.3
-0.2
-0.1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
x/L
v/U
n=0.8
n=1.0
n=1.2
n=1.4
n=1.6
Ghia et al.
-0.5 0 0.5 1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
u/U
y/L
n=0.8
n=1.0
n=1.2
n=1.4
n=1.6
Ghia et al.
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
-0.4
-0.2
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
x/L
v/U
n=0.8
n=1.0
n=1.2
n=1.4
n=1.6
Ghia et al.

27
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
(e)
Fig.4: Streamline plots for various values of n at Re=100.
(a) n=0.8 (b) n=1.0 (c) n=1.2 (d) n=1.4 (e) n=1.6
-0.07
-0.07
-0.06
-0.06
-0.06
-0.05
-0.05
-0.05
-0.05
-0.04
-0.04
-0.04
-0.04
-0.04
-0.03
-0.03
-0.03 -0.03
-0.03
-0.03
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02
-0.01
-0.01
-0.01
-0.01
-0.01
-0.01
-0.01-0.01
0 0
0
0
0
0 0 0
000
x/L
y/H
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
-0.12
-0.12
-0.1
-0.1
-0.1
-0.08
-0.08
-0.08
-0.08-0.06
-0.06
-0.06
-0.06
-0.06-0.04
-0.04
-0.04
-0.04
-0.04
-0.04
-0.04
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02-0.02
0
0
0
0 0 0
000
x/L
y/H
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
-0.14
-0.14-0.12
-0.12
-0.12
-0.1
-0.1
-0.1
-0.1
-0.1
-0.08
-0.08
-0.08
-0.08
-0.08
-0.06
-0.06
-0.06
-0.06
-0.06-0.06
-0.04
-0.04
-0.04
-0.04
-0.04
-0.04-0.04
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02
00
0
0 0 0
000
x/L
y/H
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
-0.14
-0.14
-0.14
-0.12
-0.12
-0.12
-0.12
-0.1
-0.1
-0.1
-0.1
-0.1-0.08
-0.08
-0.08
-0.08
-0.08
-0.08-0.06
-0.06
-0.06-0.06
-0.06
-0.06
-0.06
-0.04
-0.04
-0.04
-0.04
-0.04
-0.04
-0.04
-0.04
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02-0.02
00
0
0 0
000
x/L
y/H
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
-0.16
-0.16
-0.14
-0.14
-0.14
-0.12
-0.12
-0.12
-0.12
-0.1
-0.1
-0.1
-0.1
-0.1
-0.08
-0.08
-0.08
-0.08
-0.08
-0.08
-0.06
-0.06
-0.06
-0.06
-0.06
-0.06
-0.06
-0.04
-0.04
-0.04
-0.04
-0.04
-0.04
-0.04
-0.04
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02
-0.02-0.02
00
0
0 0 0
000
x/L
y/H
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1

28
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
(e)
(a) n=0.8 (b) n=1.0 (c) n=1.2 (d) n=1.4 (e) n=1.6
-0.8
-0.8
-0.7
-0.7
-0.7
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.5
-0.5
-0.5
-0.5
-0.5
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.3
-0.3
-0.3
-0.3
-0.3
-0.3
-0.3
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.1
-0.1
-0.1
-0.1
-0.1 -0.1
-0.1
-0.1-0.1
0
0
0
0
0 0 0
000
x/L
y/H
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
-1.2
-1.2
-1
-1
-1
-1
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4-0.4
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
0
0
0
0
0 0 0
000
x/L
y/H
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
-1.4
-1.4
-1.4
-1.2
-1.2
-1.2
-1.2
-1
-1
-1
-1
-1
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8 -0.8
-0.8
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6-0.6-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4 -0.4
-0.4
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2 -0.2
-0.2-0.2
0
0
0
0
0
0 0
000
x/L
y/H
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
-2
-2
-1.8
-1.8
-1.8
-1.6
-1.6
-1.6
-1.6-1.4
-1.4
-1.4 -1.4
-1.4
-1.2
-1.2
-1.2
-1.2
-1.2
-1
-1
-1
-1 -1
-1
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8 -0.8
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6-0.6
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4 -0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2 -0.2
-0.2-0.2
0
0
0
0 0 0
0
0
0
x/L
y/H
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
-1.4
-1.4
-1.2
-1.2
-1.2
-1
-1
-1
-1
-1
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6 -0.6
-0.6
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4-0.4
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2-0.2
0
0
0
0
0 0 0
00
0
x/L
y/H
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1

29
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
(e)
(a) n=0.8 (b) n=1.0 (c) n=1.2 (d) n=1.4 (e) n=1.6
-1
-1
-0.9
-0.9
-0.9
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.7
-0.7
-0.7
-0.7
-0.7
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6 -0.6
-0.6
-0.5
-0.5
-0.5
-0.5 -0.5
-0.5
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.3
-0.3
-0.3
-0.3
-0.3 -0.3
-0.3-0.3
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2-0.2
-0.1
-0.1
-0.1
-0.1
-0.1 -0.1
-0.1
-0.1-0.1
0
0
00
0 0 0
000
x/L
y/H
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
-1.3
-1.3
-1.2
-1.2
-1.2
-1.1
-1.1
-1.1
-1.1
-1
-1
-1
-1
-1
-0.9
-0.9
-0.9
-0.9
-0.9
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.7
-0.7
-0.7
-0.7 -0.7
-0.7
-0.6-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.5
-0.5
-0.5
-0.5
-0.5
-0.5
-0.5
-0.4-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4 -0.4
-0.4-0.4
-0.3
-0.3
-0.3
-0.3
-0.3
-0.3
-0.3
-0.3
-0.2-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.1
-0.1
-0.1
-0.1
-0.1 -0.1
-0.1
-0.1-0.1
0
0
0
0
0 0 0
000
x/L
y/H
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
-1.2
-1.1
-1.1
-1.1
-1
-1
-1
-1-0.9
-0.9
-0.9
-0.9
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.7
-0.7
-0.7
-0.7
-0.7
-0.7
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6 -0.6
-0.6
-0.5
-0.5
-0.5
-0.5
-0.5
-0.5
-0.5
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.3
-0.3
-0.3
-0.3
-0.3 -0.3
-0.3
-0.3
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.1
-0.1
-0.1
-0.1
-0.1
-0.1
-0.1
-0.1-0.1
0 0
0
0
0
0 0
000
x/L
y/H
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
-1.8
-1.8
-1.6
-1.6
-1.6
-1.4
-1.4
-1.4
-1.4
-1.2
-1.2
-1.2
-1.2
-1.2
-1
-1
-1
-1 -1
-1
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6-0.6-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4-0.4
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2-0.2
0
0
0
0
0
0 0
000
x/L
y/H
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
-2
-2
-2
-1.8
-1.8
-1.8
-1.6
-1.6
-1.6
-1.6
-1.4
-1.4
-1.4
-1.4
-1.4-1.2
-1.2
-1.2
-1.2
-1.2
-1
-1
-1
-1 -1
-1-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8 -0.8
-0.8
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6-0.6
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2 -0.2
-0.2-0.2-0.2
0
0
0
0 0 0
00
0
0
0
x/L
y/H
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1

30
(a) (b)
Fig.7: Velocity profiles at the center of the cavity for various values of n at Re=1000.
(a) (b)
Fig.8: Velocity profiles at center of the cavity for values of n at Re=3200
-0.5 0 0.5 1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
u/U
y/L
n=0.8
n=1.0
n=1.2
n=1.4
n=1.6
Ghia et al.
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
-0.4
-0.2
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
x/Ly/H
n=0.8
n=1.0
n=1.2
n=1.4
n=1.6
Ghia et al
-0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
u/U
y/L
n=0.8
n=1.0
n=1.2
n=1.4
n=1.6
Ghia et al
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
-0.6
-0.4
-0.2
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
x/L
v/U
n=0.8
n=1.0
n=1.2
n=1.4
n=1.6
Ghia et al

31
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
(e)
Fig.9: Streamline plots for various values of n at Re=3200. (a) n=0.8 (b) n=1 (c) n=1.2 (d) n=1.4 (e)
n=1.6
-3.5
-3.5
-3.5
-3
-3
-3
-3
-2.5
-2.5
-2.5
-2.5
-2.5
-2
-2
-2
-2
-2
-2
-1.5-1.5
-1.5
-1.5
-1.5
-1.5
-1.5
-1
-1
-1-1
-1 -1
-1-1
-0.5
-0.5
-0.5-0.5
-0.5
-0.5
-0.5
-0.5
-0.5
0
0
00
0 0 0
000
x/L
y/H
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
-1
-1
-1
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
0
0
0
0
0 0
0
000
x/L
y/H
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
-1.2
-1.2
-1
-1
-1
-1-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8 -0.8
-0.8-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.2-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
0
0
0
0
0 0
0
000
x/L
y/H
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
-1.6
-1.6
-1.4
-1.4
-1.4
-1.4-1.2
-1.2
-1.2 -1.2
-1.2-1
-1
-1
-1 -1
-1
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8 -0.8
-0.8
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4-0.4-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
0
0
0
0
0
0 0
000
x/L
y/H
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
-1.6
-1.6
-1.6
-1.4
-1.4
-1.4
-1.4
-1.2
-1.2
-1.2
-1.2
-1.2-1
-1
-1
-1
-1
-1
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8
-0.8-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6 -0.6
-0.6
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.4 -0.4
-0.4
-0.4
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
0
0
0
0
0
0 0
000
x/L
y/H
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1

32
5. CONCLUSION
The paper presents numeric simulation of non-Newtonian (shear-thinning and shear-
thickening) fluid flow in a lid-driven square cavity. The influence of power law index and Reynolds
number on velocity profiles and the streamline plots is presented. The simulation is performed for
four values of Re (100, 400, 1000, 3200) and a range of 0.8 to 1.6 for power index. The Re has high
impact on the velocity profiles and the formation of the primary vortex. The u-velocity profiles
which show a parabolic behavior for smaller values of Re, become almost linear at the center of the
cavity for higher values of Re. The strength of the secondary vortices is also influenced by Re, the
strength of which increases with Re in agreement to the rheological behavior of the fluid. The
position of the primary vortex is highly influenced by the power law index and the Reynolds number,
which shifts towards the center of the cavity with increasing values of Re. The study also
demonstrates LBM to be an effective and alternative numerical method to simulate non-Newtonian
fluid flow.
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