Stagnation-point flow of upper-convected Maxwell fluids

Two-dimensional stagnation-point flow of viscoelastic fluids is studied theoretically assuming that the fluid obeys the upper-convected Maxwell (UCM) model. Boundary-layer theory is used to simplify the equations of motion which are further reduced to a single non-linear third-order ODE using the concept of stream function coupled with the technique of the similarity solution. The equation so obtained was solved using Chebyshev pseudo-spectral collocation-point method. Based on the results obtained in the present work, it is concluded that the well-established but controversial prediction that in stagnation-point flows of viscoelastic fluids the velocity inside the boundary layer may exceed that outside the layer may just be an artifact of the rheological model used in previous studies (namely, the second-grade model). No such peculiarity is predicted to exist for the Maxwell model. For a UCM fluid, a thickening of the boundary layer and a drop in wall skin friction coefficient is predicted to occur the higher the elasticity number. These predictions are in direct contradiction with those reported in the literature for a second-grade fluid.     

On the no-slip boundary conditions for squeeze flow of viscous fluids

A typical class of boundary conditions for squeeze flow problems in lubrication approximation is the one in which the squeezing rate and the width between the squeezing plates are constant. This hypothesis is justified by claiming that the plates moves so slowly that they can be considered static. In this short note we prove that this assumption leads to a contradiction and hence cannot be used.     

Steady mixed convection stagnation-point flow of upper convected Maxwell fluids with magnetic field

The steady MHD mixed convection flow of a viscoelastic fluid in the vicinity of two-dimensional stagnation point with magnetic field has been investigated under the assumption that the fluid obeys the upper-convected Maxwell (UCM) model. Boundary layer theory is used to simplify the equations of motion, induced magnetic field and energy which results in three coupled non-linear ordinary differential equations which are well-posed. These equations have been solved by using finite difference method. The results indicate the reduction in the surface velocity gradient, surface heat transfer and displacement thickness with the increase in the elasticity number. These trends are opposite to those reported in the literature for a second-grade fluid. The surface velocity gradient and heat transfer are enhanced by the magnetic and buoyancy parameters. The surface heat transfer increases with the Prandtl number, but the surface velocity gradient decreases.     

MHD rotating flow of a viscous fluid over a shrinking surface

This study is concerned with the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) rotating boundary layer flow of a viscous fluid caused by the shrinking surface. Homotopy analysis method (HAM) is employed for the analytic solution. The similarity transformations have been used for reducing the partial differential equations into a system of two coupled ordinary differential equations. The series solution of the obtained system is developed and convergence of the results are explicitly given. The effects of the parameters M, s and λ on the velocity fields are presented graphically and discussed. It is worth mentioning here that for the shrinking surface the stable and convergent solutions are possible only for MHD flows.     

An analytical solution to non-axisymmetric heat transfer with viscous dissipation for non-Newtonian fluids in laminar forced flow

Forced convection heat transfer in a non-Newtonian fluid flow inside a pipe whose external surface is subjected to non-axisymmetric heat loads is investigated analytically. Fully developed laminar velocity distributions obtained by a power-law fluid rheology model are used, and viscous dissipation is taken into account. The effect of axial heat conduction is considered negligible. The physical properties are assumed to be constant. We consider that the smooth change in the velocity distribution inside the pipe is piecewise constant. The theoretical analysis of the heat transfer is performed by using an integral transform technique – Vodicka’s method. An important feature of this approach is that it permits an arbitrary distribution of the surrounding medium temperature and an arbitrary velocity distribution of the fluid. This technique is verified by a comparison with the existing results. The effects of the Brinkman number and rheological properties on the distribution of the local Nusselt number are shown.     

An orthogonal mapping technique for the computation of a viscous free-surface flow

In this paper we describe finite element computations of the free-surface flow of a viscous fluid down an undulating inclined plane. The technique developed here employs an orthogonal mapping that is computed along with the velocity and pressure. This is allied to a technique to compute symbolically the Jacobian and other derivatives required for numerical continuation methods. The solutions obtained are compared with laboratory experiments and finite element computations reported by Pritchard and co-workers. The finite element computational method used by these authors employs spines to represent the free surface. An excellent agreement is shown to exist between the new computations and the laboratory experiments, and with the numerical solutions of Pritchard and co-workers.     

MHD boundary-layer flow of an upper-convected Maxwell fluid in a porous channel

Two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) boundary layer flow of an upper-convected Maxwell fluid is investigated in a channel. The walls of the channel are taken as porous. Using the similarity transformations and boundary layer approximations, the nonlinear partial differential equations are reduced to an ordinary differential equation. The developed nonlinear equation is solved analytically using the homotopy analysis method. An expression for the analytic solution is derived in the form of a series. The convergence of the obtained series is shown. The effects of the Reynolds number Re, Deborah number De and Hartman number M are shown through graphs and discussed for both the suction and injection cases.     

An extended study of the hydrodynamics of gravity-driven film flow of power-law fluids

A new similarity transformation has been devised for extensive studies of accelerating non-Newtonian film flow. The partial differential equations governing the hydrodynamics of the flow of a power-law fluid down along an inclined plane surface are transformed into a set of two ordinary differential equations by means of the dimensionless velocity component approach. Although the analysis is applicable for any angle of inclination (0<π/2), the resulting one-parameter problem involves only the power-law index n. Nevertheless, physically essential quantities, like the velocity components and the skin-friction coefficient, do depend on and relevant relationships are deduced between the vertical and inclined cases. Accurate numerical similarity solutions are provided for n in the range from 0.1 to 2.0. The present method enables solutions to be obtained also for highly pseudo-plastic films, i.e. for n below 0.5. The mass flow rate entrained into the momentum boundary layer from the inviscid freestream is expressed in terms of a dimensionless mass flux parameter Φ, which depends on the dimensionless boundary layer thickness and the velocity components at the edge of the viscous boundary layer. Φ, which is thus an integral part of the similarity solution, turns out to decrease monotonically with n. This parameter is of particular relevance in the determination of the streamwise position at which the entire freestream has been entrained and viscous stresses prevail all the way to the free surface of the film. A short-cut method to facilitate rapid and yet accurate estimates of the mass flux parameter is developed to this end.     

Elastic and viscous effects on flow pattern of elasto-viscoplastic fluids in a cavity

Inertialess flows of elasto-viscoplastic fluids inside a leaky cavity are numerically analyzed using the finite element technique, with the goal of understanding the influence of both the elastic and viscous effects on the topology of the yield surfaces of an elasto-viscoplastic material. Assuming that the collapse of the material microstructure is instantaneous, a mechanical model is composed of the governing equations of mass and momentum for incompressible fluids, and associated with a hyperbolic equation for the extra-stress tensor based on the Oldroyd-B model (Nassar et al., 2011). The main feature of the model is the consideration of the viscosity and relaxation time as functions of the strain rate to allow the shear-thinning of the viscosity and to restrict the elastic effects to the unyielded regions of the material. The numerical simulations are performed through a three-field Galerkin least-squares-type method in terms of the extra-stress tensor and the pressure and velocity fields. The results indicate that the material yield surfaces are strongly influenced by the interplay between the elastic and viscous effects, in accordance with recent experimental visualization of elasto-viscoplastic flows.     

Numerical investigations of asymmetric flow of a micropolar fluid between two porous disks

Numerical solution is presented for the two- dimensional flow of a micropolar fluid between two porous coaxial disks of different permeability for a range of Reynolds number Re （-300≤ Re 〈 0） and permeability parameter A （1.0≤A ≤2.0）. The main flow is superimposed by the injection at the surfaces of the two disks. Von Karman＇s similarity transformations are used to reduce the governing equations of motion to a set of non-linear coupled ordinary differential equations （ODEs） in dimensionless form. An algorithm based on the finite difference method is employed to solve these ODEs and Richardson＇s extrapolation is used to obtain higher order accuracy. The results indicate that the parameters Re and A have a strong influence on the velocity and microrotation profiles, shear stresses at the disks and the position of the viscous/shear layer. The micropolar material constants cl, c2, c3 have profound effect on microrotation as compared to their effect on streamwise and axial velocity profiles. The results of micropolar fluids are compared with the results for Newtonian fluids.     

Variational principles and generalized variational principles in hydrodynamics of viscous fluids

In this paper, the variational principles of hydrodynamic problems for the incompressible and compressible viscous fluids are established. These principles are principles of maximum power losses. Their generalized variational principles are also discussed on the basis of Lagrangian multiplier methods.     

An analytic approximation of the drag coefficient for the viscous flow past a sphere

We give an analytic solution at the 10th order of approximation for the steady-state laminar viscous flows past a sphere in a uniform stream governed by the exact, fully non-linear Navier-Stokes equations. A new kind of analytic technique, namely the homotopy analysis method, is applied, by means of which Whitehead's paradox can be easily avoided and reasonably explained. Different from all previous perturbation approximations, our analytic approximations are valid in the whole field of flow, because we use the same approximations to express the flows near and far from the sphere. Our drag coefficient formula at the 10th order of approximation agrees better with experimental data in a region of Reynolds number R_d<30, which is considerably larger than that (R_d<5) of all previous theoretical ones.     

Very slow flow of Bingham viscoplastic fluid around a circular cylinder

Numerical simulations have been used to study the flow of a Bingham viscoplastic fluid around a circular cylinder in an infinite medium with negligible inertia effects. Papanastasiou's regularisation technique has been adopted to approximate the model. The case corresponding to preponderant plasticity effects has been particularly studied and convergence of the solutions examined in detail. The flow kinematics and stresses have been determined. The rigid zones have been identified and characterised. At large Oldroyd numbers, when plasticity effects become preponderant, a viscoplastic boundary layer appears around the cylinder. The characteristics of this viscoplastic boundary layer are quantified. The results are compared with existing theoretical results, concerning particularly the predictions of the viscoplastic boundary layer theory and the plasticity theory.     

Analytic homotopy solution of generalized three-dimensional channel flow due to uniform stretching of the plate

In this communication a generalized threedimensional steady flow of a viscous fluid between two infinite parallel plates is considered. The flow is generated due to uniform stretching of the lower plate in x- and y-directions. It is assumed that the upper plate is uniformly porous and is subjected to constant injection. The governing system is fully coupled and nonlinear in nature. A complete analytic solution which is uniformly valid for all values of the dimensionless parameters β, Re and λ is obtained by using a purely analytic technique, namely the homotopy analysis method. Also the effects of the parameters β, Re and λ on the velocity field are discussed through graphs.     

Boundary element analysis of three-dimensional mixing flow of Newtonian and viscoelastic fluids

The boundary element method (BEM) is implemented for the simulation of three-dimensional transient flows of typical relevance to mixing. Creeping Newtonian and viscoelastic fluids of the Maxwell type are examined. A boundary-only formulation in the time domain is proposed for linear viscoelastic flows. Special emphasis is placed on cavity flows involving simple- and multiple-connected moving domains. The BEM becomes particularly suited in multiple-connected flows, where part of the boundary (stirrer or rotor) is moving, and the remaining outer part (cavity or barrel) is at rest. In this case, conventional methods, such as the finite element method (FEM), generally require remeshing or mesh refinement of the three-dimensional fluid volume as the flow evolves and the domain of computation changes with time. The BEM is shown to be much easier to implement since the kinematics of the elements bounding the fluid is known (imposed). It is found that, for simple cavity flow induced by a rotating vane at constant angular velocity, the tractions at the vane tip and cavity face exhibit non-linear periodic dynamical behavior with time for fluids obeying linear constitutive equations. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mixed convection boundary layer flow of a viscoelastic fluid over a horizontal circular cylinder

The steady mixed convection boundary layer flow of a viscoelastic fluid over a horizontal circular cylinder in a stream flowing vertically upwards is numerically studied for both cases of heated and cooled cylinders. The governing partial differential equations are transformed into dimensionless forms using an appropriate transformation and then solved numerically using the Keller-box method. The comparison between the solutions obtained and those for a Newtonian fluid is found to be very good. Effects of the mixed convection and elasticity parameters on the skin friction and heat transfer coefficients for a fluid having the Prandtl number equal to one are also discussed. It is found that for some values of the viscoelastic parameter and some negative values of the mixed convection parameter (opposing flow) the boundary layer separates from the cylinder. Heating the cylinder delays separation and can, if the cylinder is warm enough, suppress the separation completely. Similar to the case of a Newtonian fluid, cooling the cylinder brings the separation point nearer to the lower stagnation point. However, for a sufficiently cold cylinder there will not be a boundary layer.     

A hybrid method for computing the flow of viscoelastic fluids

A hybrid method for computing the flow of viscoelastic and second-order fluids is presented. It combines the features of the finite difference technique and the shooting method. The method is accurate because it uses central differences. Its convergence is at least superlinear. The method is applied to obtain the solutions to three problems of flow of Walters' B' fluid: (a) flow near a stagnation point, (b) flow over a stretching sheet and (c) flow near a rotating disk. Numerical results reveal some new characteristics of flows which are not easy to demonstrate using the perturbation technique.     

Turbulent flow in converging nozzles,part one: boundary layer solution

The boundary layer integral method is used to investigate the development of the turbulent swirling flow at the entrance region of a conical nozzle. The governing equations in the spherical coordinate system are simplified with the boundary layer assumptions and integrated through the boundary layer. The resulting sets of differential equations are then solved by the fourth-order Adams predictor-corrector method. The free vortex and uniform velocity profiles are applied for the tangential and axial velocities at the inlet region, respectively. Due to the lack of experimental data for swirling flows in converging nozzles, the developed model is validated against the numerical simulations. The results of numerical simulations demonstrate the capability of the analytical model in predicting boundary layer parameters such as the boundary layer growth, the shear rate, the boundary layer thickness, and the swirl intensity decay rate for different cone angles. The proposed method introduces a simple and robust procedure to investigate the boundary layer parameters inside the converging geometries.