Instabilities in viscoelastic fluids: a long story

Add to your list(s) Download to your calendar using vCal

• Prof Helen Wilson, University College London
• Friday 02 May 2025, 16:00-17:00
• MR2.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Professor Grae Worster.

Many real-life fluids are not Newtonian and have to be modelled with something more complex than a single scalar viscosity. In this talk we will look specifically at dilute polymer solutions. We’ll see some simple models that capture the essential features of their behaviour, and then investigate how the properties of these models affect the stability of channel flow.

The story spans my whole research career so far, from an early theoretical prediction which was later observed in experiments, to a more recent realisation that there is still quite a lot we don’t understand. If time permits I will also discuss the latest place the research has taken me, which is neither viscoelastic nor unstable.

This talk is part of the Fluid Mechanics (DAMTP) series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• All CMS events
• All Talks (aka the CURE list)
• CMS Events
• CamBridgeSens
• Cambridge talks
• Combined External Astrophysics Talks DAMTP
• Cosmology, Astrophysics and General Relativity
• DAMTP Fluids Talks
• DAMTP info aggregator
• Fluid Mechanics (DAMTP)
• Interested Talks
• Life Science Interface Seminars
• MR2
• SJC Regular Seminars
• School of Physical Sciences
• Talks related to atmosphere and ocean dynamics and climate science
• Trust & Technology Initiative - interesting events
• bld31

Note that ex-directory lists are not shown.