A hydrodynamic model of capillary flow in an axially symmetric tube with a non-slowly-varying cross section and a boundary slip

TL;DR

This paper develops a hydrodynamic model for capillary flow in axially symmetric tubes with varying cross sections and boundary slip, deriving formulas for flow and meniscus evolution applicable to natural and engineered fluidic systems.

Contribution

It introduces a general formula for capillary flow in non-slowly-varying tubes considering boundary slip, extending previous models to more complex geometries.

Findings

Derived a new formula for capillary flow in variable cross-section tubes.

Analyzed meniscus evolution in conical and power-law-shaped tubes.

Provided scaling laws for flow dynamics in non-uniform geometries.

Abstract

The capillary flow of a Newtonian and incompressible fluid in an axially symmetric horizontal tube with a non-slowly-varying cross section and a boundary slip is considered theoretically under the assumption that the Reynolds number is small enough for the Stokes approximation to be valid. Combining the Stokes equation with the hydrodynamic model assuming the Hagen-Poiseulle flow, a general formula for the capillary flow in a non-slowly-varying tube is derived. Using the newly derived formula, the capillary imbibition and the time evolution of meniscus in tubes with non-uniform cross sections such as a conical tube, a power-law-shaped diverging tube, and a power-law-shaped converging tube are reconsidered. The perturbation parameters and the corrections due to the non-slowly-varying effects are elucidated and the new scaling formulas for the time evolution of the meniscus of these specific examples are derived. Our study could be useful for understanding various natural fluidic systems and for designing functional fluidic devices such as a diode and a switch.