Flow development in compression of a finite amount of a Bingham plastic

The flow and shape evolution during the compression of a finite amount of a Bingham plastic is investigated by means of numerical simulations. The problem relates to the popular compression test used for the rheological characterization of non-Newtonian fluids. The flow is modelled in Lagrangian coordinates using the Papanastasiou regularization for the Bingham plastic and a mixed-Galerkin finite element method. Simulations have been performed for compression under both constant load and constant velocity. Results for various Reynolds and Bingham numbers are presented and discussed.