Deformation of a Bingham viscoplastic fluid in a plane confuser

A review is given to and comprehensive numerical-analytic study is carried out of the problem of steady Bingham viscoplastic flow in a plane confuser. The solution is constructed in the first approximation with the yield stress as a small parameter and the solution of the Jeffery-Hamel problem (steady radial motion of an incompressible viscous material in a plane confuser) as the zero-order approximation. The numerical analysis is based on the modified accelerated-convergence method proposed earlier by the authors. The bifurcations of the deformation pattern occurring when the parameters reach some critical values are discussed and commented on. The asymptotic boundaries of the rigid zones that appear at infinity upon perturbation of the yield stress are determined