Past exam of the advanced fluid dynamics course of the University of Oxford / 2016 / 2

Label a trajectory by $\mathbf{a}$ and write its flow map as $\mathbf{X}(\mathbf{a},t)$, with ${\partial }_t\mathbf{X}=\mathbf{u}(\mathbf{X},t)$. An infinitesimal material line joining neighboring labels has tangent ${\ell }_i=F_{ij}d{a}_j$, where $F_{ij}=\partial X_i/\partial a_j$ is the deformation gradient. Differentiating at fixed labels givesThis identity holds for an unnormalized material line tangent even in a compressible flow. Incompressibility also makes an advected magnetic field obey the same stretching law. A unit tangent would instead require a projection removing its change of length.

Use the source's velocity gradient convention $G_{ij}={\partial }_i{u}_j$. For a outer product $A_{ij}={\ell }_i{\ell }_j$, the product rule yieldsThe same law holds for a sum or locally transported average of such outer products. Thus the dyadic transport of material line elements motivatesThis upper-convected derivative vanishes for a symmetric tensor transported solely by stretching of material lines. It subtracts both advection and geometric deformation, allowing a constitutive equation to isolate intrinsic relaxation or production. More generally $\mathsf{A}=F{\mathsf{A}}_{\mathrm{ref}}{F}^T$ gives $\stackrel{▽}{\mathsf{A}}=F{\dot{\mathsf{A}}}_{\mathrm{ref}}{F}^T$. Under a time-dependent rigid rotation $Q$, its value transforms as $Q\stackrel{▽}{\mathsf{A}}{Q}^T$, making it an objective time derivative. This is a suitable derivative for this transport type; symmetry alone does not make it the unique possible objective time derivative.

When deformation is stopped, the rate-of-strain tensor and velocity gradient vanish, leaving $\mathsf{T}+\tau {\partial }_t\mathsf{T}=0$. HenceThe positive constant $\tau$ is the viscoelastic relaxation time. For slow weak deformation, all the transport and quadratic terms are smaller than $\mathsf{T}$, so $\mathsf{T}\simeq 2\mu \mathsf{E}$. Thus $\mu >0$ is the zero-rate dynamic viscosity, measured in stress times time. The corresponding short-time shear modulus of the Maxwell fluid response is $G_{\mathrm{el}}=\mu /\tau$. The source's $\alpha$ has units of time, since $\alpha \mathsf{TE}$ must have units of stress.

Linearize about a relaxed state $\mathsf{T}=0$ with constant mass density ${\rho }_0$. In the unforced momentum conservation equation ${\rho }_0{D}_t\mathbf{u}=-\nabla p+\nabla \cdot \mathsf{T}$, the $x$ component of the pressure gradient is zero for a freely evolving unidirectional flow independent of $x$. A prescribed external pressure gradient would add a forcing term.

For $\mathbf{u}=u(y,t)\hat{\mathbf{x}}$, incompressibility is automatic and the only nonzero entries of the rate-of-strain tensor are $E_{xy}=E_{yx}=\frac{1}{2}{\partial }_{y}u$. Products of stress and velocity gradient are quadratic in the small amplitude. The constitutive equation consequently becomes $\mathsf{T}+\tau {\partial }_t\mathsf{T}=2\mu \mathsf{E}$ to first order. With $T=T_{xy}=T_{yx}$, its shear component and the $x$ component of momentum conservation areThe diagonal stress components have only homogeneous relaxation at this order and vanish if initially relaxed. In particular, $\alpha$ does not enter this linear response.

Eliminating the shear stress from the two linear equations gives the Maxwell shear-wave dispersion equation in physical space,where $\nu$ is the kinematic viscosity. Substitution of a Fourier mode $e^{iky+\sigma t}$ givesThese are temporal exponents: the oscillation angular frequency is the imaginary part of $\sigma$, with the sign determined by the selected time convention. For $4\tau \nu k^2<1$ both exponents are real and nonpositive. At equality the repeated exponent is $-1/(2\tau )$; generic solutions include $t{e}^{-t/(2\tau )}$. Above the threshold the modes are damped propagating shear disturbances:At large $|k|$ their phase velocity tends to $\sqrt{\nu /\tau }=\sqrt{G_{\mathrm{el}}/{\rho }_0}$.

For the limit $\tau \to 0$ at fixed $\mu ,{\rho }_0$ and $k$, expansion of the square root givesAfter a short initial relaxation, the surviving branch obeys the diffusion equation $u_t=\nu u_{yy}$ of a Newtonian fluid. The fast branch disappears on the vanishing viscoelastic relaxation time; at $k=0$ the two exponents are exactly $0$ and $-1/\tau$. This limit is not uniform in $k$: modes with $k$ of order $(\tau \nu {)}^{-1/2}$ still sample the oscillatory transition. If instead $G_{\mathrm{el}}=\mu /\tau$ is held fixed as $\tau \to 0$, then $\mu \to 0$ and the fixed-$k$ slow exponent tends to zero. The ordinary Newtonian fluid limit therefore specifies which material parameter is held fixed.

Let $g=\dot{\gamma }$ and use $G_{yx}=g$ for the source's velocity gradient convention. Seek the homogeneous stationary stress reached under steady simple shear flow. The material derivative of that stress tensor vanishes. In the $xy$ plane,The $xx$, $yy$ and $zz$ components of the constitutive equation give, respectively,Thus, putting $D=1+\alpha (2\tau -\alpha )g^2$ and using the shear stress calculated below,The out-of-plane shear components vanish on the homogeneous branch. The two normal-stress differences areThe ratio is defined at nonzero shear when $N_1\ne 0$; at $g=0$ both differences vanish, and the displayed constant is their limiting ratio. An arbitrary isotropic pressure in the total Cauchy stress tensor cancels from both differences; it is not an arbitrary addition to the constitutively defined extra stress $\mathsf{T}$ itself.

The $xy$ component of the stationary constitutive equation isInsert $T_{yy}=-\alpha g{T}_{xy}$ and $T_{xx}=(2\tau -\alpha )g{T}_{xy}$. The coefficient of $g^2{T}_{xy}$ becomes $\tau \alpha +\alpha (\tau -\alpha )=\alpha (2\tau -\alpha )$, givingFor $C=\alpha (2\tau -\alpha )>0$, the small-rate shear stress is $T_{xy}=\mu \dot{\gamma }-\mu C{\dot{\gamma }}^3+O({\dot{\gamma }}^5)$. At large positive rate, $T_{xy}\sim \mu /(C\dot{\gamma })$ and the shear viscosity decreases as $\mu /(C{\dot{\gamma }}^2)$. The shear stress is odd in rate, reaches a positive maximum atand decreases thereafter. The original plot displays this homogeneous constitutive curve. Its decreasing branch can permit shear banding; the local model alone supplies neither an interface-selection rule nor a guaranteed stable homogeneous realization.

This is a Johnson-Segalman fluid without an added Newtonian fluid solvent contribution. To identify conventions explicitly, set $a=1-\alpha /\tau$ and $L=G^T=E+W$, with $W$ the spin tensor. The derivative appearing in the constitutive equation becomesthe Gordon--Schowalter derivative. Its usual slip interval $|a|\le 1$ corresponds to $0\le \alpha \le 2\tau$, while a nonsingular genuinely shear thinning curve requiresAt $\alpha =0$ the model is the Upper-convected Maxwell model; at $\alpha =2\tau$ it is the lower-convected derivative counterpart, and both have constant shear viscosity in this test. At $\alpha =\tau$ the derivative is the Jaumann derivative, giving the corotational Maxwell fluid. Merely requiring $\alpha >0$ is insufficient: for $\alpha =3\tau$ the denominator is $1-3{\tau }^2{\dot{\gamma }}^2$, which vanishes at $|\dot{\gamma }|=1/(\sqrt{3}\tau )$ and then gives a negative steady shear viscosity. There is no solvent-induced large-rate plateau in the stated equation.