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Virginia Tech

Mathematical Analysis on the PEC model for Thixotropic Fluids

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

A lot of fluids are more complex than water: polymers, paints, gels, ketchup etc., because of big particles and their complicated microstructures, for instance, molecule entanglement. Due to this structure complexity, some material can display that it is still in yielded state when the imposed stress is released. This is referred to as thixotropy. This dissertation establishes mathematical analysis on a thixotropic yield stress fluid using a viscoelastic model under the limit that the ratio of retardation time versus relaxation time approaches zero. The differential equation model (the PEC model) describing the evolution of the conformation tensor is analyzed. We model the flow when simple shearing is imposed by prescribing a total stress. One part of this dissertation focuses on oscillatory shear stresses. In shear flow, different fluid states corresponding to yielded and unyielded phases occur. We use asymptotic analysis to study transition between these phases when slow oscillatory shearing is set up. Simulations will be used to illustrate and supplement the analysis. Another part of the dissertation focuses on planar Poiseuille flow. Since the flow is spatially inhomogeneous in this situation, shear bands are observed. The flow is driven by a homogeneous pressure gradient, leading to a variation of stress in the cross-stream direction. In this setting, the flow would yield in different time scales during the evolution. Formulas linking the yield locations, transition width, and yield time are obtained. When we introduce Korteweg stress in the transition, the yield location is shifted. An equal area rule is identified to fit the shifted locations.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Ph. D.
Level thesis:degree_level
doctoral
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Mathematics
Department dc:contributor.department
Mathematics
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2016

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Wang, Taige
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Renardy, Michael J.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Rogers, Robert C.
  • Sun, Shu Ming
  • Renardy, Yuriko Y.

Subjects

dc:subject × 6

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
vt_gsexam:7689
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/70907

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Wang, Taige. Mathematical Analysis on the PEC model for Thixotropic Fluids. doctoral thesis, Virginia Tech, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/70907