Application of finite element method to non-Newtonian fluid flows

Some of the finite element formulations which have been applied to non-Newtonian fluid flows have been reviewed in this paper. Particular emphasis is placed on velocity-pressure formulation in conjunction with the Galerkin's method. This formulation has been extended to non-Newtonian fluid flows using a simple iteration procedure. Numerically integrated isoparametric elements have been preferred. Frontal technique has been used for solving the resulting equations. The procedure has been found to be converging and its application to a problem of flow of pseudoplastic fluid has yielded results which are in good agreement with the analytical results.