Numerical simulation of White-Metzner fluid in a 4 : 1 contraction

A finite volume technique has been introduced in an attempt to simulate a v iscoelastic flow. The steady flow of a White-Metzner fluid through a 4:1 ab rupt contraction has been chosen as a prototype example because of the exis tence of previous simulations in the literature. The finite volume method ( FVM) is used to discretize the conservation and constitute equations with a Hybrid scheme with appropriate treatment of source terms. The FVM is prove n to be quite capable of handling numerically viscoelastic models with low computational cost. Its use is recommended as a viable alternative to the s olution of viscoelastic problems using a variety of constitutive models. Co pyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.