The Rayleigh and Stokes problems with an incompressible non-Newtonian fluid

Summary The Rayleigh problem or impulsive motion of a flat plate has been solved using a perturbation scheme when the surrounding fluid is representable by the constitutive equations of Oldroyd or Coleman and Noll. The shear stress and normal stress at the wall were expressed analytically for this unsteady motion. Further, an exact solution of the equations was found for a special case of the constitutive equations.The motion of the fluid above a harmonically oscillating plate or the Stokes problem has been determined for a special non-Newtonian fluid. The penetration of the shear wave into the fluid, the energy dissipation, the velocity profiles and the shear and normal stresses at the wall were expressed and compared to an equivalent Newtonian fluid.Some of the features of these non-Newtonian fluids were examined in simple shearing flows, and techniques to calculate some of the material constants discussed.