SLOW VISCOELASTIC FLOW PAST A CYLINDER IN A RECTANGULAR CHANNEL

This paper is concerned with the flow of a visco-elastic liquid through a rectangular channel containing a cylindrical obstruction placed either in a symmetric or asymmetric position with respect to the centre of the channel. Numerical predictions of the flow are obtained using a well established finite element Galerkin mixed formulation. The influence of elasticity on the streamline pattern is found to be negligible, and one only observes changes due to different geometries, i.e. relative positions of cylinder and channel. However, both elasticity and a variable viscosity are found to have significant effects on the forces exerted on the cylinder.