A finite element code for initial value problems with a Maxwell model

Abstract

Substantial efforts have recently been made in the development of numerical methods for the simulation of nonhomogeneous flow of viscoelastic fluids described by models of the Oldroyd-Maxwell type [1]. Most of the models used may be formulated either in differential form or in integral form. The differential and integral forms of the models are equivalent, but the numerical methods used in the two situations are quite different. Most simulation programs developed to this day use the differential form (see e. g. [2, 3]), but simulations with integral models have also been performed [4–6].