Pseudo-Analytical Solution of the Power LAW MODEL for for NON-NEWTONIAN CARRIER FLUIDS IN FREE CONVECTIVE CELLS

The present contribution focus on the analysis of the Joule heating effects for the case of non-Newtonian fluids, i.e. carrier fluid flowing in a batch electrophoretic cell. In particular, this study proposes and develops a more efficient and economical procedure to obtain a formal analytical solution for the momentum equation based on the Ostwald-de Waele model. In the solution of the differential equation this approach uses a Lagrange polynomial that outperforms previous efforts based on Taylor’s series.  The outcomes of this contribution have potential applications on the pharmaceutical, food, and polymers industries as well as in biological and environmental operations, to name a few, where the non-Newtonian characteristics of carrier fluids could significantly impact the efficiency of mixing or separations. The proposed strategy and the subsequent solution of the non-Newtonian momentum equation are alternative tools for process scaling and research. Although the primary interest of this contribution deals with the velocity field only, the important role that this variable plays in the determination of the effective parameter for this type of systems cannot be over looked.