Numerical study around the corotational Maxwell model for the viscoelastic fluid flows

We present numerical results for the FEM (finite element method) presented in [Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Engrg. 191 (2002) 5045–5065]. This method is devoted to the approximation of fluid flows obeying the Oldroyd model. A particularity of this method, is to take into account the purely viscoelastic case, the so-called Maxwell model, important in practice. Numerical results are given for a fluid flowing in an abrupt plane 4 to 1 contraction. We use the corotational Maxwell model as benchmark in the choice of our computations. Results are also given for the upper convected Maxwell model. Interesting effects appear on the velocity profile: a phenomenon of quasi slip at the downstream wall.