Unsteady-state development of plane couette flow for viscoelastic fluids

Unsteady-state development of plane Couette flow for viscoelastic fluids is analyzed using a constitutive equation that can be obtained from molecular theory, in which the molecules are regarded as finitely extensible dumbbells. Typical features of the flow situation are as follows: (i) For a fluid with moderate elasticity, not only stress overshoot but also velocity overshoot are predicted. (ii) For suitable combinations of elasticity and gap width, and for some time intervals stress propagation and reflection phenomena are predicted. (iii) After a sufficient time has elapsed, the stress state behaves similarly to that corresponding to the start-up of a steady simple shear flow.