Calculation of the effect of polymer additive in a converging flow

The conical-channel flow of a dilute polymer solution is investigated theoretically. The stress field due to polymer additive is calculated using a new molecular model, based on the physical picture of the polymer molecules unravelling in strong flows and Batchelor's theory for the stress in a suspension of elongated particles. Good agreement is obtained with the experimental results of James & Saringer (1980). The absence of a significant polymer effect in a two-dimensional case (the wedge-channel flow), observed by the same authors (James & Saringer 1982a), is also explained. The fundamental differences between the proposed model and the elastic-dumbbell models are discussed.