Comparison of extended lubrication theories for Stokes flow

Abstract Lubrication theory makes use of the assumptions of a long and thin fluid domain and a small scaled Reynolds number to formulate a linearized approximation to the Navier–Stokes equations. Extended lubrication theory aims to improve the model accuracy by relaxing these assumptions and including additional terms in the formulation. However, such models are sensitive to large surface gradients which lead the assumptions of the model to break down. In this paper, we present a formulation of extended lubrication theory and compare our model with several existing models, along with the numerical solution to the Stokes equations. The error in pressure and velocity is characterized for a variety of fluid domain geometries. Our results indicate that the new solution is suitable for a wide range of geometries. The magnitude of surface variation and the length scale ratio are both important factors influencing the accuracy of the extended lubrication theory models.