Flow of a non-Newtonian fluid between intersecting planes of which one is moving

Abstract

We study the flow of an Oldroyd-B fluid between two intersecting plates, one of which is fixed and the other moving along its plane. This problem was first considered by Strauss (1975) for the Maxwell fluid using a similarity transformation. We find that even in the case of a Maxwell fluid, which can be obtained by setting a specific parameter, say σ, in the Oldroyd-B model to zero, our results disagree with those of Strauss (1975). We find that circulating cells are present, adjacent to the stationary plate while Strauss (1975) finds them adjacent to the moving plate. We also delineate the effect of the coefficient σ, which is a measure of the elasticity of the flow, on the flow pattern. We find that an increase in the elastic parameter reduces the cellular structure.