Unsteady non-linear convection in a second-order fluid

Linear and weakly non-linear analyses of convection in a second-order fluid is investigated. The Rivlin-Ericksen constitutive equation is considered to give viscoelastic correction to the momentum equation. The linear and non-linear analyses are, respectively, based on the normal mode technique and truncated representation of Fourier series. The linear theory reveals that the critical eigenvalue is independent of viscoelastic effects and the principle of exchange of stabilities holds. An autonomous system of differential equations representing cellular convection arising in the non-linear study is solved numerically. The non-linear analysis reveals that finite amplitudes have random behaviour. The effect of viscoelasticity on the non-linear solutions is analysed by considering different projections in the phase-space. Also, the transient behaviour concerning the variations of the Nusselt number with time has been investigated. The onset of chaotic motion is also discussed in this paper.     

Determination of material response functions for prestrained rubbers

The mechanical response of two natural rubber compounds is examined in order to determine relevant material parameters by non-linear finite element analysis. The materials are subjected to (a) combined static torsion and extension, and (b) small, steady-state torsional oscillations superposed on a large static simple extension. The materials are assumed to be incompressible and isotropic in their undeformed state and a time-strain separable relaxation modulus tensor is employed in order to characterize the steady-state harmonic viscoelastic response. The combined static torsion and extension experiments are used to determine the basic delayed elastic response functions. A Rivlin-type strain energy expression of third-order accuracy is used for the purpose. The two-constant, Mooney-Rivlin form is found to be adequate for both materials in the relatively limited range of deformation magnitudes considered.The torsional storage and loss moduli are determined under quasistatic conditions as functions of frequency and axial static pre-strain. The time-strain separability is found to be a resonable approximation in a relatively limited range of static prestrain magnitudes and frequencies considered for the natural gum rubbers investigated. The experimental methodology is discussed in some detail.     

On viscoelastic effects in journal-bearing lubrication

A numerical solution is provided for the three-dimensional flow of an upper-convected Maxwell model in a journal bearing, operating under static loading conditions. Realistic values are taken for the material parameters and the geometrical and flow variables. It is concluded that a relaxation time of the order of 10^–4 s is required before viscoelasticity results in a practically-important increase in load-bearing capacity. This conclusion is unchanged if fluid inertia is included in the analysis; it is also effectively independent of the L/D ratio of the bearing.Dedicated to Professor Arthur S. Lodge on the occasion of his 70th birthday and his retirement from the University of Wisconsin.     

Run-up and spin-up in a viscoelastic fluid. II

In this paper earlier work on run-up in a Maxwellian fluid contained between infinite parallel plates is extended. The velocity distributions associated with the various waves propagating into the fluid from the boundaries and reflected back and forth at them are calculated.     

Nonlinear viscoelastic-degradation model for polymeric based materials

This study presents a phenomenological constitutive model for describing response of solid-like viscoelastic polymers undergoing degradation. The model is expressed in terms of recoverable and irrecoverable time-dependent parts. We use a time-integral function with a nonlinear integrand for the recoverable part and another time-integral function is used for the irrecoverable part, which is associated with the degradation evolution in the materials. Here, the degradation is attributed to the secondary and tertiary creep stages. An ‘internal clock’ concept in viscoelastic materials is used to incorporate the accelerated failure in the materials at high stress levels. We ignore the effect of heat generation due to the dissipation of energy and possible healing in predicting the long-term and failure response of the polymeric materials. Experimental data on polymer composites reported by Drozdov (2011) were used to characterize the material parameters and validate the constitutive model. The model is shown capable of predicting response of the polymer composites under various loading histories: creep, relaxation, ramp loading with a constant rate, and cyclic loadings. We observed that the failure time and number of cycles to failure during cyclic loadings are correlated to the duration of loading and magnitude of the prescribed mechanical loads. A scalar degradation variable is also introduced in order to determine the severity of the degradation in the materials, which is useful to predict the lifetime of the structures subject to various loading histories during the structural design stage.     

A series solution for the effective properties of incompressible viscoelastic media

This paper presents a series solution for the homogenization problem of a linear viscoelastic periodic incompressible composite. The method uses the Laplace transform and the correspondence principle which are combined with the classical expansion along Neumann series of the solution of the periodic elasticity problem in Fourier space. The terms of the Neumann series appear as decoupled, containing geometry dependent terms and viscoelastic properties dependent terms which are polynomial fractions whose inverse Laplace transforms are provided explicitly.     

Asymptotic frequencies of various damped nonlocal beams and plates

A striking difference between the conventional local and nonlocal dynamical systems is that the later possess finite asymptotic frequencies. The asymptotic frequencies of four kinds of nonlocal viscoelastic damped structures are derived, including an Euler–Bernoulli beam with rotary inertia, a Timoshenko beam, a Kirchhoff plate with rotary inertia and a Mindlin plate. For these undamped and damped nonlocal beam and plate models, the analytical expressions for the asymptotic frequencies, also called the maximum or escape frequencies, are obtained. For the damped nonlocal beams or plates, the asymptotic critical damping factors are also obtained. These quantities are independent of the boundary conditions and hence simply supported boundary conditions are used. Taking a carbon nanotube as a numerical example and using the Euler–Bernoulli beam model, the natural frequencies of the carbon nanotubes with typical boundary conditions are computed and the asymptotic characteristics of natural frequencies are shown.     

Efficient microfluidic enrichment of nano-/submicroparticle in viscoelastic fluid

The enrichment and focusing of the nano-/submicroparticle (e.g., 150–1000 nm microvesicle shed from the plasma membrane) in the viscoelastic fluid has great potentials in the biomedical and clinical applications such as the disease diagnosis and the prognostic test for liquid biopsy. However, due to the small size and the resulting weak hydrodynamic force, the efficient manipulation of the nano-/submicroparticle by the passive viscoelastic microfluidic technology remains a major challenge. For instance, a typically long channel length is often required to achieve the focusing or the separation of the nano-/submicroparticle, which makes it difficult to be integrated in small chip area. In this work, a microchannel with gradually contracted cross-section and high aspect ratio (the ratio of the height to the average width of channel) is utilized to enhance the hydrodynamic force and change the force direction, eventually leading to the efficient enrichment of nano-/submicroparticles (500 and 860 nm) in a short channel length (2 cm). The influence of the flow rate, the particle size, the solid concentration, and the channel geometry on the enrichment of the nano-/submicroparticles are investigated. With simple structure, small footprint, easy operation, and good performance, the present device would be a promising platform for various lab-chip microvesicle-related biomedical research and disease diagnosis.