Flow of an elasto-viscoplastic fluid around a flat plate: Experimental and numerical data

This study focuses on the creeping flow of an elasto-viscoplastic fluid around a flat plate moving at a constant velocity. The flow is analyzed both experimentally and numerically. The experiments are performed with a Carbopol gel whose behavior is described by an elasto-viscoplastic model in the numerical analysis. This elasto-viscoplastic model is a 3D Elastic Herschel-Bulkley model implemented in a numerical tool based on the Finite Element Method with Lagrangian Integration Points (FEMLIP). In this model, the yield stress is detected by means of the second invariant of the Cauchy stress tensor and the fluid behaves elastically below the yield stress. The model relies on the understanding of the flow properties especially below the yield stress. After a presentation of the experimental protocol and the numerical method, the numerical and experimental results are compared in terms of kinematic fields and drag coefficients.