NUMERICAL PREDICTION OF ANOMALOUS TRANSPORT-PROPERTIES IN VISCOELASTIC FLOW

By means of a mixed finite element method, we calculate viscoelastic flows where inertia forces are taken into account. We consider the flow of a Maxwell fluid around a circular cylinder. Earlier experimental investigations by James and Acosta with polymer solutions have revealed anomalous transport properties in such flows; they have been attributed by Ultman and Denn and by Joseph to critical conditions where the flow velocity exceeds that of shear waves. We show that, for a Maxwell fluid, similar phenomena occur once the viscoelastic Mach number is higher than unity. © 1990.