Acta Mechanica 188, 69–78 (2007)

DOI 10.1007/s00707-006-0400-1
Printed in The Netherlands
Acta Mechanica

Exact solutions for Couette and Poiseuille flows

for fourth grade fluids
T. Hayat, R. Ellahi, Islamabad, Pakistan, and F. M. Mahomed, Johannesburg, South Africa

Received December 27, 2005; revised July 25, 2006

Published online: October 25, 2006 Ó Springer-Verlag 2006

Summary. Exact solutions for four types of flows between two parallel plates are presented, viz. Couette
flow, plug flow, Poiseuille flow and generalized Couette flow. The nonlinear second-order ordinary dif-
ferential equation for the velocity field is solved exactly in each case. These solutions are compared to those
found by perturbation and homotopy analysis methods by Siddiqui et al. [1].

1 Introduction
Interest in the study of non-Newtonian fluids has been mainly motivated by their importance in
many technological and industrial problems. Numerous authors cite a wide variety of appli-
cations involving non-Newtonian fluids that include synthetic fibres, food stuffs, flow of
polymer solutions, the extrusion of molten plastics and drilling oil and gas wells. Some inter-
esting recent studies involving non-Newtonian fluids have been discussed by Hayat et al. [2]–[4],
Fetecau and Fetecau [5]–[7], Tan and Xu [8], Tan and Masuoka [9], [10] and Chen et al. [11].
More recently Siddiqui et al. [1] considered the problem of steady plane Couette flows between
two parallel plates sliding with respect to each other. They derived four different problems of a
fourth grade fluid depending upon the relative motion of the sliding plates, i.e., (i) one plate
moves and the other is at rest (simple Couette flow), (ii) both plates move with the same speed
and in the same direction (plug flow), (iii) both plates are stationary and flow is due to the
imposition of pressure gradient (Poiseuille flow), and (iv) either of the two plates moves with
constant speed with external pressure gradient (generalized plane Couette flow). Siddiqui et al.
[1] used the perturbation and homotopy analysis method (HAM) to obtain approximate
solutions. In this paper we derive exact solutions of the same problems and compare our results
with those of Siddiqui et al. [1].
The outline of the paper is as follows. In the next section we present the basic equations
given in Siddiqui et al. [1]. Section 3 gives the exact solutions for four problems of flows
mentioned earlier. In Sect. 4 we give a comparison of the exact and approximate solutions.
Then in Sect. 5 we provide concluding remarks.

2 Basic equations

We present the basic equations derived in Siddiqui et al. [1]. The ðx; yÞ coordinate system is
used, where x is the direction of motion of the fluid between two infinite parallel plates
70 T. Hayat et al.

separated by a distance 2d, and y is the axis perpendicular to the plates. For steady one-
dimensional flow ðv ¼ ðuðyÞ; 0; 0ÞÞ of a fourth grade fluid, the x and y components of the
balance of linear momentum are

2 2
@p d2 u du d u

þ l 2 þ 6ðb2 þ b3 Þ ¼0 ð1Þ
@x dy dy dy2

and

 

@p d du 2 c6  d du 4

þ ð2a1 þ a2 Þ þ 4 c3 þ c4 þ c 5 þ ¼ 0: ð2Þ
@y dy dy 2 dy dy

If the generalized pressure p~ is defined by

2 

du c  du 4
p~ ¼
p þ ð2a1 þ a2 Þ þ 4 c3 þ c4 þ c5 þ 6 ; ð3Þ
dy 2 dy
then

@p~
¼0
@y

and p~ ¼ p~ðxÞ: Equation (1) is written as a single equation which is second-order and nonlinear
as

2 2
d2 u du d u
þ 6b ¼ c; ð4Þ
dy2 dy dy2
where
b2 þ b3 d~
p=dx
b¼ and c ¼ :
l l
We remark that Eq. (4) for the velocity is similar for third and fourth grade fluids. However,
the difference for steady flow occurs in the pressure. For third grade fluids compatible with
thermodynamic considerations, b > 0:

3 Exact solutions

A first integral of Eq. (4) is

3
du du
þ 2b
cy ¼ D; ð5Þ
dy dy
where D is a real constant. Equation (5) can be solved for its first derivative as
vffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi v ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
u u
du t u 1 1 2 u 1 1 2
þ t ðcy þ DÞ

3 3
¼ ðcy þ DÞ þ ðcy þ DÞ2 þ ðcy þ DÞ2 þ : ð6Þ
dy 4b 4b 27b 4b 4b 27b

This solution (6) holds if the discriminant is positive. If the discriminant is less than or equal to
zero, then the right hand side of Eq. (6) should be xa þ x2 b or x2 a þ xb; where a and b
represent the cube root terms in Eq. (6) and x3 ¼ 1:
Exact solutions for Couette and Poiseuille flows 71

3.1 Plane Couette flow

Here the upper plate moves with constant speed U and the lower plate is at rest. There is no
pressure gradient. Equation (4) becomes

2 2
d2 u du d u
2
þ 6b ¼ 0; ð7Þ
dy dy dy2
and the boundary conditions are
uðyÞ ¼ 0 at y ¼ 0;
ð8Þ
uðyÞ ¼ U at y ¼ 2d:
We rescale Eqs. (7) and (8) by choosing
2d
y ¼ 2dy ; u ¼ pffiffiffi u : ð9Þ
b
Then Eqs. (7) and (8) become (we drop the asterisks)

2 2
d2 u du d u
þ 6 ¼ 0;
dy2 dy dy2 ð10Þ
uð0Þ ¼ 0; uð1Þ ¼ U:
The solution of the boundary value problem (10) can be obtained from Eq. (6) by setting c ¼ 0
and it is
u ¼ Uy; ð11Þ
where U satisfies (cf. [1])
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
3 D 1 2
2 3 D 1 2
U¼ þ D þ þ
D2 þ : ð12Þ
4 4 27 4 4 27
Siddiqui et al. [1] gave an approximate solution up to second order and do not give the relation
(12). Graphical and numerical relation between U and D are given in Fig. 7 and Table 4,
respectively.

3.2 Plug flow

Both the plates moves with constant speed U and there is no pressure gradient. The equation is
again (7), but the boundary conditions are

uðyÞ ¼ U at y ¼ 0;
ð13Þ
uðyÞ ¼ U at y ¼ 2d:
For the scaled problem via the transformations (9) (dropping the asterisks) we have

2 2
d2 u du d u
þ 6 ¼ 0;
dy2 dy dy2 ð14Þ
uð0Þ ¼ U; uð1Þ ¼ U:
The solution of this boundary value problem is rather straightforward. Again we invoke Eq. (6)
and set c ¼ 0: We get (cf. [1])
72 T. Hayat et al.

u ¼ U: ð15Þ
In [1] an approximate solution of order two is given. The solution obtained in [1] is (15) which
as can be noted here is also exact.

3.3 Fully developed plane Poiseuille flow

The governing equation is (4) with boundary conditions

uð
dÞ ¼ 0; uðdÞ ¼ 0: ð16Þ
We nondimensionalize Eqs. (4) and (16) by selecting the scale in the transformation
y ¼ dy ; u ¼
d2 cu ; bc2 d2 ¼ b : ð17Þ
Equations (4) and (16), via Eq. (17), become (we drop the asterisks)

2 2
d2 u du d u
þ 6b ¼
1;
dy2 dy dy2 ð18Þ
uð
1Þ ¼ 0; uð1Þ ¼ 0:
We substitute c ¼
1 into Eq. (6) and let
y ¼
y þ D: ð19Þ
Then Eq. (6), under transformation (19), becomes
vffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi v ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
u u
du u 1 1 2 u 1 1 2
¼
t y þ
t y

3 3
y2 þ y2 þ : ð20Þ
dy 4b 4b 27b 4b 4b 27b

Under transformation (19), the boundary conditions in Eq. (18) become

uðyÞ ¼ 0 at y ¼ 1 þ D;
ð21Þ
uðyÞ ¼ 0 at y ¼
1 þ D:
Since the constant D appears in the boundary conditions (18), we can select D ¼ 0: The solution
of the equation in (18) subject to the boundary conditions (21) with D ¼ 0 is
2vffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ffi vq ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi3
uqffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi u ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
u 2 þ 6
9y u 2 6
9y 6 t3 81y b t 81y þ b þ 9y7
3

u¼ 6
2 4
7
b b 5
8ð6Þ3
2vqffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ffi vq ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi3
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi u u ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
u 2 þ 6 þ 9y u 2 6
6 6t3 81y b t 81y þ b
9y7
3

81y2 þ 6 þ 7
b4 b b 5

2vffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi vqffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi3
uqffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi u ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
u þ 6
þ u 6
9 6 t
3 81 b 9 t 81 þ b
97
3

þ 6
2 4
7
b b 5
8ð6Þ3
2vffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi vqffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi3
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi u u ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
u þ 6
þ u 6
6 6t3 81 b 9 t 81 þ b
97
3

þ 81 þ 6 þ 7: ð22Þ
b4 b b 5
Exact solutions for Couette and Poiseuille flows 73

This solution has mirror symmetry about y ¼ 0: It is invariant under y ¼
y: We further
discuss this solution in the next section and compare our results with those obtained in [1] for
small b. However, our solution (22) is exact and also applies for b > 1 and we present graphs
for various b in Sect. 4 as well.

3.4 Generalized plane Couette flow

The equation of motion is again (4) with boundary conditions

uð0Þ ¼ 0; uð2dÞ ¼ U: ð23Þ
By means of the scaling transformation (17), the nondimensional problem is (without the
asterisks)

2 2
d2 u du d u
2
þ 6b ¼
1;
dy dy dy2
ð24Þ

uð0Þ ¼ 0; uð2Þ ¼ U:

We again utilize Eqs. (19) and (20). By means of the transformation (19), the boundary con-
ditions in Eq. (24) become

uð DÞ ¼ 0; uð
2 þ DÞ ¼ U: ð25Þ

Again we set D ¼ 0 in Eq. (25). Therefore, the solution of Eq. (24) subject to the boundary
conditions (25) with D ¼ 0 is
2vffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ffi vq ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi3
uqffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi u ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
u 2 6 u 2 6
9y 6 t 81y þ b
9y t 81y þ b þ 9y7
3 3

u¼ 6
2 4
7
b b 5
8ð6Þ3

2vq ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ffi vq ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi3
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi u u ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi pffiffiffiffiffiffi
u 2 6 u 2 6
66 t 81y þ b þ 9y t 81y þ b
9y7 2 3 36
3 3

81y þ 4 2 6 þ 7
b b b 5þ b ; ð26Þ

where U satisfies
2vffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi vqffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi3
uqffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi u ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
u 6 u 6
9 6 t 324 þ b
18 t 324 þ b þ 187
3 3

U¼ 6
2 4
7
b b 5
4ð6Þ3

2vffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi vqffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi3
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi u u ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi pffiffiffiffiffiffi
u þ 6

u 6
66 t3 324 b 18 t 324 þ b þ 187 2 3 36
3

324 þ 4 6 þ 7
b b b 5þ b : ð27Þ

Solution (26) is invariant under y ¼
y. We further look at this solution in Section 4 and make
comparison of ours with the solutions of [1].
For the convenience of the reader the HAM solution of [1] in which h appears is given
by
74 T. Hayat et al.

3 
U  A
uðyÞ ¼ 2dy
y2 þ 6ðb2 þ b3 Þh y 4

By 3
þ Cy 2

Ey
2d 12l4
0 3
3  1
A 4 A A3 U 3
B 12l4 y
d
y C
B 3l4 6l3 d C
B C
B
3  C
B A A 2
U AU 2 C
þ 6ðb2 þ b3 Þð1 þ hÞhBB þ 4
d 2

3
þ 2 2
y2C
C
B 2l 2l 8l d C
B C
B
 C
@ A3 3 A2 Ud AU 2 A

d
þ y
3l4 3l3 4l2 d
0 1
A5 6
B
y
Oy5 þ Ry4 C
þ 18ðb2 þ b3 Þ2 h2 B 18l7 C
@ A

W1 y3 þ W2 y2
Xy

3ðb2 þ b3 Þð1 þ hÞhTy;

where

d~
p A3 A2 U A3 2 A2 U AU 2
A¼ ; B¼ 4
d
3 ; C¼ 4
d
3 þ 2 2;
dx 3l 6l d 2l 2l 8l d

A3 3 A2 Ud AU 2 2A5 A4 U
E¼ d
þ ; O¼ d
6 ;
3l4 3l3 4ld 3l7 3l d

5A5 2 5A4 U 5A3 U 2

R¼ d
þ ;
3l7 3l6 12l5 d2

22A5 3 29A4 Ud 11A3 U 2 A2 U 3

W1 ¼ d
þ
4 3;
3l7 9l6 6l5 d2 4l d

17A5 4 8A4 Ud2 17A3 U 2 A2 U 3 AU 4

W2 ¼ 7
d
6
þ 5

4 2 þ ;
l 3l 6l l d 16l3 d4

13A5 5 148A4 Ud3 5A3 U 2 d A2 U 3 AU 4

X¼ 7
d
6
þ 5

4 þ 3 3;
12l 9l 3l l d 8l d
2A3 3 2A2 Ud AU 2
T¼ d
þ 2 :
3l4 3l3 2l d

The shearing viscosity coefficient l; and the material constants b2 ; b3 ; c3 ; c4 ; c5 and c6 do not
play any role in the pressure distribution.

4 Comparison of results

In this Section we compare the exact solutions obtained in the previous section with those of
Siddiqui et al. [1] for small b. These are given in Figs. 1–4. Since our exact solutions are valid
for large b, we plot the velocity field for selected b > 1 for Poiseuille and Generalized Couette
flows in Figs. 5 and 6. Tables 1 and 2 compare the velocity field for the exact and perturbation
solutions. In Table 3 the velocity condition U is given for various values of b > 1 for Gener-
alized Couette flow. In Figs. 1–4, we take 2¼ 6b.
Exact solutions for Couette and Poiseuille flows 75

∈= 0.1
0.5 ∈= 0.3
∈= 0.5
∈= 0.7
0.4
U

0.3

0.2

0.1
Fig. 1. The variation of velocity for
–1 –0.5 0 0.5 1 Poiseuille flow with 2¼ 0:3 and h ¼
1
Y for the perturbation solution

50 ∈= 0.1
∈= 0.3
40 ∈= 0.5
∈= 0.7
30
U

20

10

–1 –1.5 0 0.5 1 Fig. 2. The variation of 2 for Poiseuille

Y flow for the exact solution

600000 ∈= 0.1
∈= 0.3
400000 ∈= 0.5
∈= 0.7
200000
U

0
–200000
–400000
–600000
Fig. 3. The variation of 2 for Generalized
–0 –1 0 1 2 Couette flow with h ¼
1 and
Y U ¼
81:49 for the perturbation solution

0
∈= 0.1
–20 ∈= 0.3
∈= 0.5
–40 ∈= 0.7
–60
U

–80
–100
–120
–140 Fig. 4. The variation of 2 for Generalized
–3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 Couette flow with U ¼
81:49 for the
Y exact solution
76 T. Hayat et al.

16
b=5
14 b = 10
12 b = 15
b = 20
10
8
U

6
4
2

–1 –0.5 0 0.5 1 Fig. 5. The variation of b for b > 1 for

Y Poiseuille flow for the exact solution

0 b=5
b = 10
–10 b = 15
b = 20
–20
U

–30

–40

Fig. 6. The variation of b for b > 1 for

–3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 Generalized Couette flow for the exact
Y solution

0.8

0.6
U

0.4

0.2

0
0 1 2 3 4 Fig. 7. The variation of U as a function
D of D given in (12)

5 Concluding remarks

We have obtained exact solutions for four types of flows between two parallel plates. This
problem was considered before in Siddiqui et al. [1] who gave perturbation and homotopy
solutions. We note the following features:

 The velocity field u decreases for increasing third grade parameter 2< 1 for both the
perturbation and exact solutions in the case of Poiseuille flow. This is observed in Figs. 1
and 2.
Exact solutions for Couette and Poiseuille flows 77

Table 1. The comparison of velocities for Figs. 1 and 2 with 2¼ 0:3:%

y Exact solution u Perturbation solution u

1 0 0

0:5 33:002 0:356
0 45:258 0:480
0:5 33:002 0:356
1 0 0

Table 2. The comparison of velocities for Figs. 3 and 4 with 2¼ 0:3 and U ¼
81:49

y Exact solution u Perturbation solution u

2
148:73
2191:42

1
45:25 117167:27
0 0 0
1
45:25
318951:04
2
148:73
807786:15

Table 3. The velocity condition uð
2Þ ¼ U for various values of b for Generalized Couette flow

b U

5
38:0928
10
30:0561
15
26:1569
20
23:7006

Table 4. We can easily observe that one can choose e.g. any integral value of U for the corresponding
value of D given in Eq. (12) as follows:

U D

0 0
1 0:5897
2 0:8351
3 0:9999
4 1:1281

 The solution behavior appears the same for both the exact and perturbation solutions.
However, the velocity field u is markedly different in both cases. This can easily be seen from
Figs. 1, 2 and Table 1, which tabulates the values of u – there is a factor of about 100
difference. This we believe is due to the method of solution used in [1].
 For the Generalized Couette flow the solution of [1] is not stable as can be observed from
Fig. 3 and Table 2. However in the exact solution plotted in Fig. 4, the solution is not only
stable but there is bilateral symmetry in the solution (see Fig. 4 and Table 2).
 It is also noted that our exact solution is valid for both Poiseuille and Generalized Couette
flows for large values of b (see Figs. 5 and 6). In Table 3 we give values of U for corre-
sponding values of b. The solution of [1] is not valid for large b.
78 T. Hayat et al.: Exact solutions for Couette and Poiseuille flows

Acknowledgements
One of the authors (FMM) gratefully acknowledges the award of a short term visiting professorship
by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan and the Department of Mathematics,
Quaid-i-Azam University 45320, Islamabad, which made possible the present work.

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Authors’ addresses: T. Hayat, Department of Mathematics, Quaid-i-Azam University 45320, Islama-

bad, Pakistan (E-mail: t_pensy@hotmail.com); R. Ellahi, Department of Mathematics, Faculty of
Applied Sciences IIU, H-10 Sector Islamabad, Pakistan; F. M. Mahomed, Centre for Differential
Equations, Continuum Mechanics and Applications, School of Computational and Applied Mathe-
matics, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa