Wall Boundary Layers for Maxwell Liquids

Flows of viscoelastic liquids at high Weissenberg number exhibit stress boundary layers near walls. These boundary layers are caused by the memory of the fluid: while particles at the wall remain in their position, particles at some distance from the wall move a long distance within one relaxation time if the Weissenberg number is high. Since the stresses depend on the flow history, this causes a steep boundary layer to form. A rescaling of the variables exploiting the thinness of this boundary layer can be used to derive a reduced set of boundary layer equations. This paper addresses the question of existence of solutions for these boundary layer equations. Using an implicit function argument, we prove the existence of a large class of solutions which arise from spatially periodic perturbations of uniform shear flow. The solutions we find can be characterized by the shear rate outside the boundary layer, which can be prescribed arbitrarily. Accepted: September 27, 1999