ABSTRACT
Values o f the uniform Bingham yield stress xb and plastic viscosity ppl used in the sets o f calculations were representative o f the ER fluid used in the experiments being the averages derived from the valve test data for a range o f electrical field strength E and Ap, q , £ and h. In the CFM model a grid aspect ratio o f 100:1 was found tenable from a comparison o f laminar, incompressible isothermal flat plate flow through the asymmetric half valve and corresponding Poiseuille equation solutions. For the Bingham plastic the boundary condition at inlet is likewise put in as the average flow velocity q /bh and a uniform grid is initially set with extra grid lines later being inserted near the indicated edge o f the ‘solid’ core. The FLUENT programme for non-Newtonian power law fluids uses converted rheometry data in an effective viscosity form T / y , where y is the shear rate.
