Extrudate swell through an orifice die

The extrudate swell of a viscoelastic fluid through an orifice die is investigated by using a mixed finite element and a streamline integration method (FESIM), using a version of the K-BKZ model. The free surface calculation is based on a local mass conservation scheme and an approximate numerical treatment for the contact point movement of the free surface. The numerical results show a vortex growth and an increasing swelling ratio with the Weissenberg number. Convergence with mesh refinement is demonstrated, even at a high Weissenberg number of O(587), where the swelling ratio reaches a value of about 360%. In addition, it is found that the effective flow channel at the entrance region next to the orifice die is reduced due to the enhanced vortex growth, which may be a source of flow instability.  

Application of dual kriging to structural shape optimization based on the boundary contour method

Summary The paper presents an approach in which the coupling of dual kriging and the boundary contour method (BCM) is applied to structural shape optimization problems in mechanical engineering design. The problems consist of optimizing the shape of an elastic body, which requires minimizing an objective function subject to some given constraints, such as those of displacement, stress or manufacturing. The originality of the present work is involved with the use of two novel methods that are combined here to solve structural shape optimization problems. The first one, called dual kriging, is a general, versatile interpolation and geometric modeling tool. The second one is a new variant of the boundary element method (BEM), called the BCM, which achieves a further reduction in dimensionality of analysis problems. Based on the advantages of these two methods, the coupling approach presented here is expected to offer an effective as well as a straightforward manner for solving shape optimal design problems. Received 18 December 1997; accepted for publication 21 April 1998  

A new constitutive model for fibre suspensions: flow past a sphere

A new phenomenological constitutive equation for homogeneous suspensions of macrosized fibres is proposed. In the model, the local averaged orientation of the fibres is represented by a director field, which evolves in time in a manner similar to the rotation of a prolate spheroid. The stress is linear in the strain rate, but the viscosity is a fourth-order tensor that is directly related to the director field. In the limit of low-volume fractions of fibres, the model reduces properly to the leading terms of the constitutive equation for dilute suspensions of spheroids. The model has three parameters: the aspect ratio R of the fibres, the volume fraction , and A, which plays the role of the maximum-volume fraction of the fibres. Experimental shear data are used to estimate the parameter A, and the resulting model is used in a boundary-element program to study the flow past a sphere placed at the centre line of a cylinder for the whole range of volume fractions from 0.01 to near maximum volume fraction. The agreement with experimental data from Milliken et al. [1] is good.  

On the stability of the torsional flow of a class of Oldroyd-type fluids

It is shown that the exact solution of the torsional flow of a class of Oldroyd-type fluids is kinematically similar to that for a Newtonian fluid. Furthermore, it is shown by a linearized stability analysis and by numerical integration, that the basic flow is unstable at high Weissenberg numbers. An Oldroyd fluid which has a negative second-normal stress coefficient is found to be more stable than one with zero (or positive) second-normal stress coefficient in this flow.  

Squeezing a viscoelastic fluid from a cone

The paper reports an exact kinematics for the squeezing flow from a cone of a general viscoelastic fluid. To obtain numerical values for the stresses, a network model that allows stress overshoot and shear-thinning in the start-up of a shear flow is adopted. Both these features are important in this flow. For the special case of an Oldroyd-B fluid it is shown that there is a limiting Weissenberg number above which at least one component of the stresses increases unboundedly with time.  

Squeezing of an Oldroyd-B fluid from a tube: Limiting Weissenberg number

It is shown that the squeezing flow of an Oldroyd-B fluid from a tube with a prescribed time-dependent radius has an exact separable solution. In the special case where the tube radius varies exponentially with time a similarity solution exists. However, in this case there is a critical Weissenberg number above which a component of the stress tensor increases without bound in time.  

On the stability of the torsional flow of a class of Oldroyd-type fluids

It is shown that the exact solution of the torsional flow of a class of Oldroyd-type fluids is kinematically similar to that for a Newtonian fluid. Furthermore, it is shown by a linearized stability analysis and by numerical integration, that the basic flow is unstable at high Weissenberg numbers. An Oldroyd fluid which has a negative second-normal stress coefficient is found to be more stable than one with zero (or positive) second-normal stress coefficient in this flow.  

Squeezing a viscoelastic fluid from a cone

The paper reports an exact kinematics for the squeezing flow from a cone of a general viscoelastic fluid. To obtain numerical values for the stresses, a network model that allows stress overshoot and shear-thinning in the start-up of a shear flow is adopted. Both these features are important in this flow. For the special case of an Oldroyd-B fluid it is shown that there is a limiting Weissenberg number above which at least one component of the stresses increases unboundedly with time.  

Squeezing of an Oldroyd-B fluid from a tube: Limiting Weissenberg number

It is shown that the squeezing flow of an Oldroyd-B fluid from a tube with a prescribed time-dependent radius has an exact separable solution. In the special case where the tube radius varies exponentially with time a similarity solution exists. However, in this case there is a critical Weissenberg number above which a component of the stress tensor increases without bound in time.  

Stagnation flows for the Oldroyd-B fluid

Exact solutions to the plane and axi-symmetric stagnation flows of an Oldroyd-B fluid are reported. It is found that a steady flow is possible if the Weissenberg numberWi, defined by the product of the Maxwellian relaxation time and the shear rate at infinity, satisfies – 1/2 <Wi < 1/m, wherem = 1 in an axisym-metric flow andm = 2 in a plane flow. Furthermore, the fluid elasticity always decreases the boundary-layer thickness. An Oldroyd-B fluid with the parameters matched those of a typical Boger fluid behaves essentially like a Newtonian fluid in a stagnation flow.