Plane entry flows and energy estimates for the navier-stokes equations

One of the classic problems of laminar flow theory is the development of velocity profiles in the inlet regions of channels or pipes. Such entry flow problems have been investigated extensively, usually by approximate techniques. In a recent paper [4], HORGAN & WHEELER have provided an alternative approach, based on an energy method for the stationary Navier-Stokes equations. In [4], concerned with laminar flow in a cylindrical pipe of arbitrary cross-section, an analogy is drawn between the end effect issue of concern here, called the "end effect", and the celebrated "Saint-Venant's Principle" of the theory of elasticity. In this paper, I consider the two-dimensional analog of the problem treated in [4] with a view to providing a more explicit formulation of the energy approach to entry flow problems. The flow development in a semi-infinite channel with parallel-plates is analyzed within the framework of the stationary Navier-Stokes equations. Introduction of a stream function leads to a formulation in terms of a boundary-value problem for a single fourth order nonlinear elliptic equation. In the case of Stokes flow, this problem is formally equivalent to a boundary-value problem for the biharmonic equation considered by KNOWLES [5] in the analysis of Saint-Venant's Principle in plane elasticity. The main result is an explicit estimate which establishes the exponential spatial flow development and leads to an upper bound for an appropriately defined entrance length. These results are obtained using differential inequality techniques analogous to those developed in investigation of Saint-Venant's Principle.