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A generalized Newtonian fluid can approximate the shear response of a fluid with viscoelasticity when the flow varies slowly relative to its stress-memory time scales and elastic stresses are negligible, or in locally steady unidirectional flow where a fitted steady shear viscosity captures the relevant stress and elastic normal stresses do not significantly influence the motion. It is not a general replacement in rapidly changing flows or in flows controlled by elastic stresses. Two specific failures are stress relaxation after deformation stops, since this law has no memory, and nonzero normal-stress differences in steady simple shear flow, since the only nonzero nonpressure components are off diagonal. A rate-dependent viscosity alone cannot repair either limitation.

Take the usual physical power-law fluid range $k>0$, $n>0$, and $G>0$. The steady unidirectional Couette-Poiseuille flow satisfies $0=G+{\partial }_y{\sigma }_{xy}$. The stated upper-wall stress thus givesPut $Y=y/h$. Inverting this monotone stress law gives $u_y=(Gh/k{)}^{1/n}\mathrm{sgn}(\alpha -Y)|\alpha -Y{|}^{1/n}$. Integration from the lower no-slip boundary condition $u(-h)=-U$ gives the power-law Couette-Poiseuille flow profileThe upper no-slip boundary condition requiresThe bracket is a strictly increasing function of $\alpha$ with value zero at $\alpha =0$, so the equation determines a unique positive $\alpha$. The absolute values are essential: for sufficiently strong pressure driving, the shear can reverse inside the channel. For a Newtonian fluid, $n=1$, $\mu =k$, and the bracket reduces to $4\alpha$, yieldingFor zero pressure gradient the limit is pure Couette flow; the parameterization of wall stress by $Gh\alpha$ then becomes singular rather than indicating zero Couette stress.

For weak pressure forcing, let $s_0=U/h$ and $s_c=k{s}_0^n$. Write the center-plane shear stress as $s_c+\delta s$. Linearization of the power-law relation about the positive base shear givesIntegrating $u_y$ across the channel must still give $2U$. The Gy term has zero mean, so $\delta s=0$ at first order. Hence the weak-pressure Couette-Poiseuille expansion isIt is a small positive parabolic displacement of the straight Couette profile, preserving both wall velocities. For fixed positive n the stated $Gh\ll k(U/h{)}^n$ controls the expansion; when n is very small one needs the stronger incremental condition $Gh\ll nk(U/h{)}^n$.

The volume flux per unit spanwise width is $Q={\int }_{-h}^{h}u(y)dy$. The odd Couette part contributes zero and the parabola contributes $4h^3/3$ times its coefficient, soThis correctly reduces to the exact Newtonian flux $2G{h}^3/(3k)$ at $n=1$.

The extension to a general smooth generalized Newtonian fluid uses its differential shear viscosity, rather than its secant viscosity. Let $\mathcal{T}(s)=s\mu (s)$ for positive shear rate, and assumeLinearizing the stress law repeats the preceding calculation with $nk{s}_0^{n-1}$ replaced by ${\eta }_d$. ThusThe expansion requires small rate changes, $Gh\ll s_0|{\eta }_d|$, and a smooth constitutive law on the perturbed rates. At zero differential viscosity the regular first-order expansion fails. A negative differential viscosity is still locally invertible mathematically, so the formula is formally applicable, but belongs to a decreasing, mechanically unstable constitutive branch. The usual stable-flow interpretation requires positive differential viscosity. Thus “any” generalized-Newtonian law needs these local qualifications.

It is important to distinguish loss of forward-going surface-gravity-wave energy from conversion of mechanical energy into heat. Scattering attenuation by ice floes redirects energy; it can attenuate a coherent transmitted wave without dissipating the total energy.

For fixed floe geometry, increasing frequency usually increases attenuation over the relevant swell range: shorter wavelengths respond more strongly to the contrast between water and the elastic plate, and to repeated floe edges. Long surface gravity waves have weak curvature and often penetrate much farther. This is a trend over a specified frequency range, not a theorem excluding resonances.

The diameter dependence is governed by $d/\lambda$. An ice floe much smaller than the wavelength moves nearly with the water and scatters weakly. Scattering becomes appreciable when floe size is comparable with the wavelength, and interference between its two edges can give maxima and minima. At fixed ice concentration, larger ice floes also mean fewer edges per unit propagation distance, roughly proportional to $p/d$. Consequently the attenuation coefficient need not increase monotonically with diameter: the single-floe reflection and the number of encounters must both be considered. Thickness increases areal inertia as ${\rho }_{i}h$ and bending stiffness as $h^3$, generally increasing wave mismatch and reflection, although detailed frequency-dependent resonances again prevent a universal monotonic law.

When $d\ll \lambda$, particularly for frazil ice and pancake ice, weak individual scattering leaves other processes dominant. Relative crystal and water motion causes viscous dissipation; an aggregate layer can behave as a viscous or viscoelastic material, and pancake ice collisions, rubbing and overwash remove energy. Their importance depends on concentration and wave amplitude.

For a uniform continuous sheet with horizontal dimensions much greater than the wavelength, there are no repeated floe edges in its interior. A perfectly elastic sheet over inviscid water supports undamped flexural-gravity waves, so internal scattering is not an explanation of decay there. Real attenuation can instead arise from internal ice anelasticity or viscoelasticity, a dissipative sub-ice viscous boundary layer, turbulence, cracks and brine-related processes. Small-floe mixtures and continuous sheets require dissipation models beyond the isolated-floe scattering picture.

Linearize about a motionless, isotropic, relaxed state by taking velocity, deformation and extra stress to be first order in a small amplitude. The advection $u\cdot \nabla \sigma$ and rotational commutator $\omega \sigma -\sigma \omega$ are then second order. The corotational Maxwell fluid therefore reduces to the linear Maxwell fluid:where $e$ is the rate-of-strain tensor. This is the linear Maxwell viscoelasticity model, mechanically a spring and dashpot in series.

For one shear component, dividing by $\mu$ gives $\dot{\gamma }=\sigma /\mu +(\lambda /\mu )\dot{\sigma }$. Comparing with a dashpot of viscosity $\mu$ in series with a spring of shear modulus $G$ identifiesIn particular a held strain with zero subsequent shear rate has $\sigma (t)=\sigma (0)e^{-t/\lambda }$. At long times under steady small shear, $\sigma =\mu \dot{\gamma }$, whereas a sufficiently rapid deformation probes the elastic modulus $G$.

In linear simple shear, $\dot{\gamma }$ has only off-diagonal $xy$ components. The diagonal stresses have no forcing and, from a relaxed initial state, stay zero. Any pre-existing diagonal stress decays homogeneously. Thus both normal-stress differences vanish in the linear response to shear. The finite-shear normal-stress differences generated by products of shear rate and stress are quadratic in deformation amplitude and have been discarded by this linearization. This conclusion is about simple shear, not about every possible extensional deformation.

A generalized Newtonian fluid responds instantaneously with stress determined only by the current scalar shear rate. It therefore cannot represent viscoelasticity, including stress relaxation, elastic recoil, memory, and rate-dependent normal stresses. It also cannot represent thixotropy, in which microstructure and viscosity evolve with the duration and history of shearing. Other omitted effects include hysteresis and genuine finite-time yielding.

A Bingham plastic is a yield-stress fluid, and hence a non-Newtonian fluid. It is also an instantaneous generalized-Newtonian model after yielding. It cannot describe memory-dependent viscoelasticity, including stress relaxation, elastic recoil, and time-dependent normal-stress effects.

For scalar shear stress $\tau$ and shear rate $\dot{\gamma }$, its complete ideal constitutive law isEquivalently, in yielded material,

In small-amplitude oscillatory shear, expand the measured shear stress asComparison with the definitionof the storage modulus and loss modulus givesand henceThus the measured phase directly gives the loss tangent.

At low angular frequency, a standard viscoelastic fluid has time to relax and responds mainly as a viscous liquid: stress is approximately in phase with strain rate, so $\delta \to \pi /2$ as $\omega \to 0$. At high frequency it cannot relax during one cycle and responds mainly as an elastic solid, so stress is approximately in phase with strain and $\delta \to 0$ as $\omega \to \infty$.

For a material dominated by one viscoelastic relaxation time $\lambda$, the crossover between these regimes occurs when $\omega \lambda$ is of order one. Measure the frequency ${\omega }_c$ at which $G^{\prime }=G^{\prime \prime }$, equivalently $\delta =\pi /4$, and estimateA broad or multi-peaked crossover instead indicates a spectrum of relaxation times.

A rotating rod can draw a liquid with appreciable viscoelasticity inward and raise its free surface around the rod. Tensile normal stresses along curved flow lines produce an inward hoop force, competing with inertia and gravity. It is a manifestation of elastic normal-stress differences, rather than merely a changed scalar shear viscosity.