Abstract
This paper describes the three-dimensional numerical computation of viscoelastic fluid flow in a serpentine channel under low Reynolds number condition. The results showed that the main flow, at which the velocity is maximum, flows along the curvature with its position located close to the outside of the channel, particularly downstream of the curvature. This flow was generated by two pairs of longitudinal vortices like secondary flows appearing in the channel due to the normal forces of the viscoelastic fluid. The main flow will, therefore, flow from the outside of one curvature toward the outside of the next curvature in the serpentine channel. This, in combination with the normal stress distribution, accompanies a strong secondary flow of single pair of vortices in the downstream area of the channel inflection point.
