Outline of a decoupled scheme for the differential constitutive models

1 Outline of a decoupled scheme for the differential constitutive models 

The first finite element schemes for differential viscoelastic models that yielded numerically stable results for non-zero Weissenberg numbers appeared less than two decades ago. These schemes were later improved and shown that for some benchmark viscoelastic problems, such as flow through a two-dimensional section with an abrupt contraction (usually a width reduction of four to one), they can generate simulations that were qualitatively comparable with the experimental evidence. A notable example was the coupled scheme developed by Marchal and Crochet (1987) for the solution of Maxwell and Oldroyd constitutive equations. To achieve stability they used element subdivision for the stress approximations and applied inconsistent streamline upwinding to the stress terms in the discretized equations. In another attempt, Luo and Tanner (1989) developed a typical decoupled scheme that started with the solution of the constitutive equation for a fixed-flow field (e.g. obtained by initially assuming non-elastic fluid behaviour). The extra stress found at this step was subsequently inserted into the equation of motion as a pseudo-body force and the flow field was updated. These authors also used inconsistent streamline upwinding to maintain the stability of the scheme. 

In this section the discretization of upper-convected Maxwell and Oldroyd-B models by a modified version of the Luo and Tanner scheme is outlined. This scheme uses the subdivision of elements suggested by Marchal and Crochet (1987) to generate smooth stress fields (Swarbrick and Nassehi, 1992a). 

In the absence of body force, the dimensionless form of the governing model equations for two-dimensional steady-state incompressible creeping flow of a viscoelastic fluid are written as 

FINITE ELEMENT MODELLING OF POLYMERIC FLOW PROCESSES 

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