Abstract
The unsteady flow of a Maxwell fluid caused by a suddenly moved plane wall between two side walls perpendicular to the plane is considered. Closed form solution is developed employing the Fourier sine transforms. The solution obtained for large values of time is similar to the steady solution of a Newtonian fluid. The unsteady solution for a Newtonian fluid have been recovered as a limiting case by choosing lambda -> 0. The physical interpretation of the solution is presented through the graph and tables. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.