Modeling the flow of viscoelastic fluids through porous media

A tube with sinusoidal axial variations in diameter has been used as a first step toward modeling the flow channels of a porous medium in such a way that appreciable Lagrangian unsteadiness is present. Experiments with dilute aqueous solutions of a polyacrylamide (Dow Separan AP‐30) show that the Lagrangian unsteadiness gives rise to an increase in resistance to flow through the sinusoidal channel relative to that predicted for a purely viscous fluid. The increase in pressure drop can occur as a consequence of fluid elasticity, without any observable secondary flow. At sufficiently high flow rates, secondary flow appears.