STEADY VISCOELASTIC FLOW PAST A SPHERE USING SPECTRAL ELEMENTS

The steady flow of a viscoelastic fluid past a sphere in a cylindrical tube is considered. A spectral element method is used to solve the system of coupled non-linear partial differential equations governing the flow. The spectral element method combines the flexibility of the traditional finite element method with the accuracy of spectral methods. A time-splitting algorithm is used to determine the solution to the steady problem. Results are presented for the Oldroyd B model. These show excellent agreement with the literature. The results converge with mesh refinement. A limiting Deborah number of approximately 0⋅6 is found, irrespective of the spatial resolution.