ABSTRACT

The present chapter introduces a nontraditional approach to the numerical calculation of complex flows of complex fluids, with especial application to polymeric systems such as melts and solutions.

The applicability of the CONNFFESSIT (Calculation Of Non-Newtonian Flows: Finite Elements and Stochastic Simulation Technique) in its present form is limited to the solution of fluid mechanical problems of incompressible fluids under isothermal conditions. The method is based on a combination of traditional continuum-mechanical schemes for the integration of the mass-and momentum-conservation equations and a simulational approach to the constitutive equation.