Laminar, unidirectional flow of a thixotropic fluid in a circular pipe (Q1262001)

For certain industrial processes it is necessary to describe particular non-Newtonian fluids by thixotropic properties. The constitutive equation used in this paper characterizes the structure of those fluids by a single parameter. Two cases have been considered: a flow with constant pressure gradient and a flow with constant flow rates along a pipe. In each case a steady state solution has been given. Such solutions do exist (even sometimes not unique), and their stability is determined. Finally, the general initial value problem has been discussed and it has been shown that the solution will always tend asymptotically to a stable time- independent state.