Calculation of main flows of a memory-integral fluid in an axisymmetric contraction at high Weissenberg numbers (Q1208968)

A memory-integral equation is considered for numerical flow simulation in a four-to-one circular contraction. In doing so the stream-tube analysis is employed. This method allows the computation of the main flow field in a mapped region of the physical domain where the transformed streamlines are parallel and straight. As constitutive equation the modified corotational Goddard-Miller model was applied. Time evolution and related kinematical quantities were taken into consideration for the determination of the stresses. In order to test the efficiency of the numerical procedure, computations were performed for (1) Newtonian and viscoelastic Poiseuille flows; (2) axisymmetric Newtonian flow in the circular contraction. The relevant nonlinear equations of the problem under study were solved numerically by the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm, and it turned out this algorithm converges up to a Weissenberg number of 31. In conclusion it should be pointed out that the main purpose of this work is to propose a satisfactory numerical model for solving integral-type constitutive equations in flows of interest. The system of governing equations for the stream tubes was written in such a way that an optimization first-order algorithm was used for computing the flow. Thus the stream-tube analysis associated with a robust and efficient algorithm may provide information on main flow characteristics in complex geometries for viscoelastic fluids.