Dynamically forced cells of a viscoelastic fluid over an array of rollers

Our fluid dynamics video shows the response of a layer of viscoelastic fluid to an array of four-roll mills steadily rotating underneath. When the relaxation time of the fluid is sufficiently long, the fluid divides into "cells" with a convex free surface above the site of each roller. This is reminiscent of the rod-climbing effect. On this relaxation time-scale, the flow also transitions from being initially Newtonian-like to one where the fluids' elasticity plays a dynamical role: The fluid cells oscillate with regularity in position and shape on a timescale much longer than the relaxation time. As the relaxation time is further increased, the cells become less localized to the underlying rollers, and their now irregular oscillations reflect the presence of many frequencies.