International Journal of Engineering Science 39 (2001) 135±147

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Some simple ¯ows of an Oldroyd-B ¯uid

T. Hayat a, A.M. Siddiqui b,*, S. Asghar a
a
Department of Mathematics, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan
b
Department of Mathematics, Pennsylvania State University, York Campus, 1031 Edgecomb Avenue, York,
PA 17403, USA
Received 15 September 1999; received in revised form 15 November 1999; accepted 12 January 2000

(Communicated by J.T. ODEN)

Abstract
Exact solutions for the following ®ve problems of an Oldroyd-B ¯uid are obtained. (i) Stokes problem (ii)
modi®ed Stokes problem (iii) the time-periodic Poiseuille ¯ow due to an oscillating pressure gradient (iv)
the non-periodic ¯ows between two boundaries, and (v) symmetric ¯ow with an arbitrary initial velocity.
Some interesting ¯ows caused by certain special oscillations are also obtained. The physical interpretation
of the results is presented. Ó 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

The ¯ow of non-Newtonian ¯uids has recently gained considerable importance because of its
applications in various branches of science, engineering and technology: particularly in material
processing, chemical and nuclear industries, geophysics, and bio-engineering. The study of non-
Newtonian ¯uid ¯ow is also of signi®cant interest in oil reservoir engineering. For a variety of
reasons, non-Newtonian ¯uids are classi®ed on the basis of their behavior in shear. A ¯uid with a
linear relationship between the shear stress and the shear rate, giving rise to a constant viscosity, is
always characterized to be a Newtonian ¯uid. As a constant viscosity relation is not always a
Newtonian ¯uid relation because there are ¯uids like a second-order ¯uid, a convected Maxwell
¯uid, and a Oldroyd ¯uid A and B that are certainly non-Newtonian, but also show a constant
viscosity. In recent years, the Oldroyd-B ¯uid has acquired a special status amongst the many
¯uids of the rate type, as it includes as special cases the classical Newtonian ¯uid and the Maxwell
¯uid.

*
Corresponding author.

0020-7225/01/$ - see front matter Ó 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 0 2 0 - 7 2 2 5 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 2 6 - 4
136 T. Hayat et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 39 (2001) 135±147

The inadequacy of the Navier±Stokes theory in describing rheologically complex ¯uids used in
industrial processing, such as polymer solutions, melts and paints, has led to the formulation of
other mathematical models able to predict the ¯ow of such materials. One of them is the Oldroyd-
B ¯uid model [1,2]. This ¯uid, which takes into account elastic and memory e€ects exhibited by
most polymeric and biological liquids, has been used quite widely in many applications and the
results of simulations ®t experimental data in a wide range [3]. In continuation to the study of an
Oldroyd-B ¯uid, Rajagopal and Bhatnagar [4] discussed two simple ¯ows. They considered the
¯ow past an in®nite porous plate and the longitudinal and torsional oscillations of an in®nitely
long rod of ®nite radius. Recently, Pontrelli and Bhatnagar [5] studied the ¯ow of a viscoelastic
¯uid between two rotating circular cylinders.
The problems of a rigid plate oscillating in its own plane in second- and third-order ¯uids are
studied by Rajagopal [6] and Rajagopal and Na [7]. More recently, Hayat et al. [8,9] and Siddiqui
et al. [10] examined some ¯ows of second-order ¯uid.
The aim of this paper is to investigate the unsteady ¯ows of an Oldroyd-B ¯uid. The paper is
organized in the following way. In Section 2, the derivation of the governing partial di€erential
equation is given. In Section 3, the ¯ows due to an arbitrary periodic oscillations of a rigid plate
are established. A general periodic function with period T0 is considered. The ¯ows due to
certain special values of oscillations is then derived as a special case of the periodic oscillations.
In Section 4, the periodic ¯ows for the following two cases are discussed. (a) The ¯ow between
two boundaries one of which is oscillating, and the other at rest. (b) The ¯ow due to two
boundaries one of which is oscillating, the other being free. In Section 5, an exact solution is
obtained for the time-periodic Poiseuille ¯ow due to an oscillating pressure gradient. In Section
6, a complete description of non-periodic ¯ows is presented. This includes the calculation of the
following three cases: (a) The ¯ow between two rigid boundaries one of which is started sud-
denly and the other being at rest. (b) The ¯ow due to two boundaries one of which is started
suddenly and the other being free. (c) The ¯ow between two rigid boundaries which move
suddenly together. In Section 7, the symmetric ¯ow between parallel plates with an arbitrary
initial velocity is discussed.

2. Analysis

The ¯uid considered in this paper is an Oldroyd-B ¯uid [1] and its constitutive equation is given
by
 
DS D
T ˆ ÿpI ‡ S; S ‡ k1 ˆ l 1 ‡ k2 A1 ; …1†
Dt Dt

where ÿpI is the spherical part of the stress due to the constraint of incompressibility, l the
viscosity and k1 and k2 are material time constants referred to, respectively, as the relaxation and
retardation times. It is assumed that k1 P k2 P 0: The tensors A1 and L are de®ned as

A1 ˆ L ‡ L T ;
L ˆ grad V:
 T. Hayat et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 39 (2001) 135±147 137

In a Cartesian system, D=Dt (upper convected time derivative) operating on any tensor B is
de®ned by

DB oB
ˆ ‡ V
rB ÿ BL ÿ LT B:
Dt ot
It should be noted that this model includes the classical linearly viscous Navier±Stokes ¯uid as a
special case for k1 ˆ k2 ˆ 0; and to the Maxwell ¯uid when k2 ˆ 0:
If the ¯uid is assumed to be incompressible then

div V ˆ 0 …2†

holds. We shall consider unidirectional ¯ow of the form

V ˆ u…y; t†^i; S ˆ S…y; t†^i; …3†

where ^i denotes a unit vector along the x-coordinate direction.

Substituting Eq. (3) into the balance of linear momentum, in the absence of body forces

dV
div T ˆ q ; …4†
dt
we obtain

op oSxy ou
ÿ ‡ ˆq ; …5a†
ox oy ot

op oSyy
ÿ ‡ ˆ 0; …5b†
oy oy

op
ÿ ˆ 0: …5c†
oz
It follows from (1) and (3) that
   2
oSxx ou ou
Sxx ‡ k1 ÿ 2Sxy ˆ ÿ2lk2 ; …6a†
ot oy oy

   
oSxy ou ou o2 u
Sxy ‡ k1 ÿ Syy ˆl ‡ k2 l ; …6b†
ot oy oy oyot

oSyy
Syy ‡ k1 ˆ 0: …6c†
ot
138 T. Hayat et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 39 (2001) 135±147

We notice that (6c) can be integrated to yield

Syy ˆ f …y†eÿt=k1 ; …7†

where f …y† is an arbitrary function of y: We shall investigate the possibility of a solution to the
problem in which f …y† ˆ 0 [4,10]. In this case (5a)±(5c) and (6a)±(6c) give

op oSxy ou
ÿ ‡ ˆq ; …8a†
ox oy ot
op op
ÿ ˆ ÿ ˆ 0; …8b†
oy oz

and
   2
oSxx ou ou
Sxx ‡ k1 ÿ 2Sxy ˆ ÿ2lk2 ; …9a†
ot oy oy
 
oSxy ou o2 u
Sxy ‡ k1 ˆl ‡ k2 l : …9b†
ot oy oyot

Eq. (8b) shows that op=ox is at most a function of time. Now from (8a), and (9a) and (9b)
     
o ou o op o o2 u
1 ‡ k1 ˆ ÿ 1 ‡ k1 ‡ m 1 ‡ k2 : …10a†
ot ot ot ox ot oy 2

In absence of applied pressure gradient along the axial direction, we have from (10a)
   
o ou o o2 u
1 ‡ k1 ˆ m 1 ‡ k2 ; …10b†
ot ot ot oy 2

where m ˆ l=q is the kinematic viscosity. We note with interest that if k1 ˆ 0 and lk2 ˆ a1 ,
Eq. (10b) reduces to that of second-order ¯uid [6] and if k2 ˆ 0; we recover the Maxwell
model [11].

3. Flow due to a rigid plate oscillating in its own plane

Let us now suppose that the upper half of the …x; y†-plane to be occupied by the ¯uid, the rigid
boundary being at y ˆ 0: The plate is making periodic oscillation of the form f …t† with period T0 :
If the velocity amplitude and fundamental frequency of the plate motion are denoted, respectively,
by U and x0 ; then

u ˆ Uf …t† at y ˆ 0; …11a†
 T. Hayat et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 39 (2001) 135±147 139

uˆ0 at y ! 1: …11b†

The Fourier series representation of f …t† is given by

X
1
f …t† ˆ Ck eikx0 t ; …12a†
kˆÿ1

where
Z
1
Ck ˆ f …t†eÿikx0 t dt …12b†
T0 T0

with non-zero fundamental frequency x0 ˆ 2p=T0 :

The solution of the boundary value problem consisting of Eqs. (10b), and (11a) and (11b) has
been obtained employing the procedure used by the authors in Ref. [8]. In order to avoid repe-
tition, the details are omitted and the ¯ow ®elds are directly given by
X
1
u…y; t† ˆ U Ck exp…ÿfk y ‡ i…kx0 t ÿ gk y††; …13†
kˆÿ1

u1 …y; t† ˆ U exp…ÿf1 y ‡ i…x0 t ÿ g1 y††; …14†

U
u2 …y; t† ˆ ‰ exp… ÿ f1 y ‡ i…x0 t ÿ g1 y†† ‡ exp… ÿ fÿ1 y ÿ i…x0 t ‡ gÿ1 y††Š; …15†
2

U
u3 …y; t† ˆ ‰ exp… ÿ f1 y ‡ i…x0 t ÿ g1 y†† ÿ exp… ÿ fÿ1 y ÿ i…x0 t ‡ gÿ1 y††Š; …16†
2i

X1
sin kx0 T1
u4 …y; t† ˆ U exp…ÿfk y ‡ i…kx0 t ÿ gk y††; k 6ˆ 0; …17†
kˆÿ1
kp

U X 1
u5 …y; t† ˆ exp…ÿfk y ‡ i…kx0 t ÿ gk y††; …18†
T0 kˆÿ1

where uj …j ˆ 1±5† are the ¯ow ®elds due to the oscillations eix0 t , cos x0 t; sin x0 t,
  X
1
1; jtj < T1 ;
; d…t ÿ kT0 †;
0; T1 < jtj < T0 =2 kˆÿ1

respectively. In Eqs. (13)±(18)

140 T. Hayat et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 39 (2001) 135±147
" #1=2
1=2
a1k‡ …a21k ‡ a22k †
fk ˆ ; …19†
2

" #1=2
a2k
gk ˆ ; …20†
2fa1k‡ …a21k ‡ a22k †1=2 g

k 2 x20 …k2 ÿ k1 †
a1k ˆ ; …21†
…1 ‡ k22 k 2 x20 †m

kx0 …1 ‡ k1 k2 k 2 x20 †
a2k ˆ …22†
…1 ‡ k22 k 2 x20 †m

and fk and gk are always real and positive.

4. Flow between two in®nite parallel plates

4.1. The First boundary value problem and its solution

In this section for the boundary value problem under consideration, we suppose that the dis-
tance between the boundaries is d, the plate at y ˆ 0 oscillates with a velocity Uf …t† and the plate
at y ˆ d is at rest. Then the governing partial di€erential equation is (10b) and boundary con-
ditions are (11a) and

u…d; t† ˆ 0: …23†

Using the same method of solution as in [10], we have

X
1
sinh bk …d ÿ y† ikx0 t
u…y; t† ˆ U Ck e ; …24†
kˆÿ1
sinh bk d

sinh b1 …d ÿ y† ix0 t
u1 …y; t† ˆ U e ; …25†
sinh b1 d

 
U sinh b1 …d ÿ y† ix0 t sinh bÿ1 …d ÿ y† ÿix0 t
u2 …y; t† ˆ e ‡ e ; …26†
2 sinh b1 d sinh bÿ1 d
 T. Hayat et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 39 (2001) 135±147 141
 
U sinh b1 …d ÿ y† ix0 t sinh bÿ1 …d ÿ y† ÿix0 t
u3 …y; t† ˆ e ÿ e ; …27†
2i sinh b1 d sinh bÿ1 d

X1
sin kx0 T1 sinh bk …d ÿ y† ikx0 t
u4 …y; t† ˆ U e ; k 6ˆ 0; …28†
kˆÿ1
kp sinh bk d

U X 1
sinh bk …d ÿ y† ikx0 t
u5 …y; t† ˆ e ; …29†
T0 kˆÿ1 sinh bk d
 
b2k ˆ b2 xˆkx ; …30†
0

x2 …k2 ÿ k1 † ‡ ix…1 ‡ k1 k2 x2 †
b2 ˆ : …31†
…1 ‡ k22 x2 †m

4.2. The Second boundary value problem and its solution

In this section, the governing equation is (10b). The lower plate oscillates and the upper surface
being free. Thus, the boundary conditions are (11a) and

ou…d; t†
ˆ 0: …32†
oy

The ¯ow ®elds are given by

X
1
cosh bk …d ÿ y† ikx0 t
u…y; t† ˆ U Ck e ; …33†
kˆÿ1
cosh bk d

cosh b1 …d ÿ y† ix0 t
u1 …y; t† ˆ U e ; …34†
cosh b1 d

 
U cosh b1 …d ÿ y† ix0 t cosh bÿ1 …d ÿ y† ÿix0 t
u2 …y; t† ˆ e ‡ e ; …35†
2 cosh b1 d cosh bÿ1 d

 
U cosh b1 …d ÿ y† ix0 t cosh bÿ1 …d ÿ y† ÿix0 t
u3 …y; t† ˆ e ÿ e ; …36†
2i cosh b1 d cosh bÿ1 d

X1
sin kx0 T1 cosh bk …d ÿ y† ikx0 t
u4 …y; t† ˆ U e ; k 6ˆ 0; …37†
kˆÿ1
kp cosh bk d
142 T. Hayat et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 39 (2001) 135±147

U X 1
cosh bk …d ÿ y† ikx0 t
u5 …y; t† ˆ e : …38†
T0 kˆÿ1 cosh bk d

5. Time periodic plane Poiseuille ¯ow

In this section, we discuss another type of unsteady ¯ow situation, for which an exact solution
exists, is that of an oscillating pressure in a ¯uid layer which is bounded by two parallel planes. We
consider the two parallel surfaces to be located at y ˆ h and consider the pressure gradient in the
x direction to oscillate in time. Then the velocity will be in the x direction only and will also
oscillate in time. That is, the only non-zero velocity component will be u…y; t†: Using these features
of the ¯ow, the governing equations reduce to the single Eq. (10a) with the boundary conditions

u…h; t† ˆ u…ÿh; t† ˆ 0: …39†

The pressure gradient is assumed to oscillate in time so that op=ox will be taken to be of the
form

op
ˆ ÿqQ0 cos x0 t: …40†
ox
It then follows that a solution of the following form exists:
  
2Q0 ix0 t cosh b1 …1 ‡ i† ÿ cosh b1 …1 ‡ i†y=h
u…y; t† ˆ Re e ; …41†
x0 2i cosh b1 …1 ‡ i†

where
 1=2
qx0 …1 ‡ ix0 k1 †
b1 ˆ h:
2l…1 ‡ ix0 k2 †

6. Flow between two boundaries

6.1. Flow between two rigid boundaries one of which is suddenly started

Let d denote the distance between the plates. The plate at y ˆ 0 is initially at rest and brought
suddenly to a steady velocity U: Then, the boundary conditions become

ou
uˆ ˆ 0 at t ˆ 0;
ot
u ˆ U at y ˆ 0; …42†
uˆ0 at y ˆ d:
 T. Hayat et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 39 (2001) 135±147 143

The solution to Eqs. (10b) and (42) is

 y  2U X1
1  npy 
u…y; t† ˆ U 1 ÿ ÿ sin Tn …t†; …43†
d p nˆ1 n d

where
 p p 
ÿat a a
Tn …t† ˆ e cosh a ÿ n c t ‡ p sinh
2 2 2 a2 ÿ n2 c 2 t ; n<
a2 ÿ n2 c2 c
a
ˆ eÿat ‰1 ‡ atŠ; nˆ
c

p p 
ÿat a a
ˆe cos n c ÿ a t ‡ p sin
2 2 2 n2 c2 ÿ a2 t ; n> ;
n2 c2 ÿ a2 c
 
1 k2 n2 p2 m
aˆ 1‡ ;
2k1 d2

p2 m
c2 ˆ :
k1 d 2

6.2. One rigid boundary moved suddenly and one being free

Assume the ¯uid is bounded by two boundaries at y ˆ 0 and y ˆ d and is initially at rest, and
that the ¯uid motion is due to the plate at y ˆ 0 being brought suddenly to the steady velocity U;
the plate at y ˆ d being free surface. The governing di€erential equation is (10b) with the
boundary conditions

ou
uˆ ˆ 0 at t ˆ 0;
ot
u ˆ U at y ˆ 0; …44†

ou
ˆ0 at y ˆ d:
oy

It then follows that a solution of the following form exists:

 
4U X1
1 …2n ‡ 1†py
u…y; t† ˆ U ÿ sin Tn …t†; …45†
p nˆ1 2n ‡ 1 2d
144 T. Hayat et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 39 (2001) 135±147

where
" q q #
a1 a1
Tn …t† ˆe ÿa1 t
cosh a21 ÿ n2 c21 t ‡ p
 sinh a21 ÿ n2 c21 t ; n < ;
2
a1 ÿ n c1 2 2 c1
a1
ˆ eÿa1 t ‰1 ‡ a1 tŠ; n ˆ ;
c1
" q q #
ÿa1 t a 1 a1
ˆe cos n2 c1 ÿ a1 t ‡ p
2 2  sin n 2 c2 ÿ a2 t ;
1 1 n > ;
n2 c21 ÿ a21 c1

"  2 #
1 k2 p2 m 1
a1 ˆ 1‡ 2 n‡ ;
2k1 d 2

 2
p2 m 1
c21 ˆ 1‡ :
k1 d 2 2n

6.3. Flow between two rigid boundaries which are suddenly started

Suppose now that the ¯uid is bounded by two rigid boundaries at y ˆ 0 and y ˆ d: The plates
~
at y ˆ 0 and y ˆ d are initially at rest and brought suddenly to the steady velocities U and U,
respectively. The appropriate boundary conditions are:

ou
uˆ ˆ 0 at t ˆ 0;
ot
u ˆ U at y ˆ 0; …46†
uˆU ~ at y ˆ d:

It can be shown that a solution of the following form exists:

  2X 1
1   
~ ÿ U† y
u…y; t† ˆ U ‡ …U ÿ ~ cos np sin npy Tn …t†:
UÿU …47†
d p nˆ1 n d

7. Symmetric ¯ow between parallel plates with an arbitrary initial velocity

We consider a coordinate system in which x denotes the mean ¯ow direction and y is normal to
x and to the plate. The spacing between the plates is 2h and y origin is taken midway between the
plates. The governing equation of motion is (10b) with the following boundary conditions:
 T. Hayat et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 39 (2001) 135±147 145

u…y; 0† ˆ f …y†; ÿh 6 y 6 h;

ou…y; 0†
ˆ 0; ÿh 6 y 6 h;
ot
…48†
u…h; t† ˆ 0;

ou…0; t†
ˆ 0:
oy

The solution to Eqs. (10b) and (48) is

X
1  
…2n ÿ 1†py
u…y; t† ˆ bn Ten …t† cos ; …49†
nˆ1
2h

where

Z h  
2 …2n ÿ 1†pb
y
bn ˆ f …b
y † cos d^
y; …50†
h 0 2h

" q q #

a
Ten ˆ eÿa2 t
2
cosh a22 ÿ c22 t ‡ p sinh a22 ÿ c22 t ; c2 < a2 ;
a22 ÿ c22

ˆ eÿa2 t ‰1 ‡ a2 tŠ; c2 ˆ a2 ;
" q q #
a 2
ˆ eÿa2 t cos c22 ÿ a22 t ‡ p sin c22 ÿ a22 t ; c2 > a2 ;
c22 ÿ a22

1  
a2 ˆ 1 ‡ k 2 m2 m ;
2k1

m2 m
c22 ˆ ;
k1

…2n ÿ 1†p
m2 ˆ :
2h

We remark here that solutions in above sections reduce to the results of viscous and Maxwell
¯uids by taking k1 ˆ k2 ˆ 0 and k2 ˆ 0; respectively.
146 T. Hayat et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 39 (2001) 135±147

8. Concluding remarks

We investigated the unsteady ¯ow due to an in®nite plate oscillating in its own plane. The ¯uid
considered is an Oldroyd-B type and is quiescent at in®nity. The main features of the general
solution (13) are as expected. The ¯uid, initially at rest, oscillates harmonically in the x-direction.
The envelope of these oscillations grows with increasing time t and decreases with distance from
the surface y. The character of the unsteady-state solution is given in expression (13). The solution
obtained represents a transverse wave: its velocity u…y; t† is perpendicular to the direction of
propagation. The most important property of this wave is that it is rapidly damped in the interior
of the ¯uid. Thus transverse waves can occur in an Oldroyd-B ¯uid, but they are rapidly damped
as we move away from the solid surface whose motion generates the waves. Thus, of interest here
are the e€ects of the ¯uid on the amplitude eu max ˆ U exp fÿfk y g and on the node or phase velocity
V  …ˆ dy=dt ˆ 0†: In this case the phase velocity is …kx0 =gk † and the `penetration' depth is f1=fk g:
Now we consider the expression (14), i.e.

u1 …y; t† ˆ Ueÿf1 y‡i…x0 tÿg1 y† :

In this case the expression for node velocity is given by

x0
V1 ˆ : …51†
g1

In the limiting case of k1 ˆ 0 and k2 ˆ 0; the expression (14) reduces to

 r 
x0
u1 ˆ U exp ÿ …1 ‡ i†y ‡ ix0 t …52†
2m

which is the same as obtained by Stokes. We also observe that in case of k1 ˆ k2 ˆ 0, the node
p
velocity V1 approaches
p to the Stokes value … 2mx 0 †: Stokes [12] introduced the `penetration
depth' de®ned as m=x0 to characterize the decrease of amplitude with distance from the surface.
The equal quantity in u1 is f1=f1 g:
We also observe from the result (41) that the velocity oscillates with the same frequency as the
pressure gradient but that a phase lag, which depends upon y exists. Thus the motion of the ¯uid
which is adjacent to the boundaries will have a time-wise phase shift relative to the motion near
the center line of the boundaries. The amplitude of the motion near the boundaries will also be
di€erent from that near the center line, and in order to satisfy the boundary conditions, this
amplitude will approach zero as the boundaries are approached.

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york, 1987.
 T. Hayat et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science 39 (2001) 135±147 147

[4] K.R. Rajagopal, R.K. Bhatnagar, Acta Mechanica 113 (1995) 233.
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