Basic assumptions and equations in Fluid Mechanics

Basic assumptions
- The fluid is continuous.
- All the fields of interest like pressure, velocity, density, temperature, etc., are
differentiable (i.e. no phase transitions).
The equations are derived from the basic principles of conservation of mass,
momentum, and energy. For that matter sometimes it is necessary to consider a finite
arbitrary volume, called a control volume, over hich these principles can be easily
applied. This finite volume is denoted by ! and its bounding surface . The control
volume can remain fi"ed in space or can move ith the fluid.
The substantive derivative
The derivative of a field ith respect to fi"ed position in space is called the spatial or
Eulerian derivative.
The derivative folloing a moving particle is called the substantive or Lagrangian
derivative.
The substantive derivative is defined as the operator#
( )
( )
( )( ) +

v
t Dt
D
$here v is the velocity of the fluid. The first term on the right-hand side of the
equation is the ordinary %ulerian derivative (i.e. the derivative on a fi"ed reference
frame) hereas the second term represents the changes brought about by the moving
fluid.
This effect is referred to as advection.
The operator(nabla) is defined#
k
z
j
y
i
x

Equation of continuity
&onservation of mass is ritten#
( ) 0 v
Dt
D
v
t
+ +

$here ' is the density, and v is the velocity of the fluid.

(n the case of an incompressible fluid ' is not a function of time or space) the equation
is reduced to#
0 v
The General Equation of Fluid Dynamics
Applying *+Alembert ,rinciple to the control volume
0 F F F F
p m i
+ + +

e have#
f T p
Dt
v D
+ +
The tensor T is given by#

,
_

,
_

,
_

p 0 0
0 p 0
0 0 p
zz zy zx
yz yy yx
xz xy xx
zz zy zx
yz yy yx
xz xy xx






*epending on the tensor of the surface forces applied on a fluid particle and the
pressure
3
p
zz yy xx
+ +
.
The closure problem
These equations are incomplete.
(n the case of a perfect fluid - components are nil, for e"ample.
Those equations used to complete the set are equations of state. For e"ample, the
pressure can be function of, notably, density and temperature.
( ) 0 T , , p
The variables to be solved for are the velocity components, the fluid density, static
pressure, and temperature. The flo is assumed to be differentiable and continuous,
alloing these balances to be e"pressed as partial differential equations. The equations
can be converted to $ilkinson equations for the secondary variables vorticity and
stream function. .olution depends on the fluid properties (such as viscosity, specific
heats, and thermal conductivity), and on the boundary conditions of the domain of
study.
A Newtonian fluid is a fluid that flos like ater - its shear stress is linearly
proportional to the velocity gradient in the direction perpendicular to the plane of shear.
The constant of proportionality is knon as the viscosity.
A simple equation to describe /etonian fluid behaviour is
dx
dv

here
- is the shear stress e"erted by the fluid (0drag0)
1 is the fluid viscosity - a constant of proportionality
dx
dv
is the velocity gradient perpendicular to the direction of shear
(n common terms, this means the fluid continues to flo, regardless of the forces acting
on it. For e"ample, ater is /etonian, because it continues to e"emplify fluid
properties no matter ho fast it is stirred or mi"ed. For a /etonian fluid, the viscosity,
by definition, depends only on temperature and pressure (and also the chemical
composition of the fluid if the fluid is not a pure substance), not on the forces acting
upon it.
(f the fluid is incompressible and viscosity is constant across the fluid, the equation
governing the shear stress, in the &artesian coordinate system, is

,
_

i
j
j
i
ij
x
v
x
v

here
-
ij
is the shear stress on the i
th
face of a fluid element in the j
th
direction
v
i
is the velocity in the i
th
direction
x
j
is the j
th
direction coordinate
(f a fluid does not obey this relation, it is termed a non-/etonian fluid,
Navier to!es Equations
The motion of a non-turbulent, /etonian fluid is governed by the /avier-.tokes
equations. For an incompressible fluid results#
Z
z

z
p !
Dt
D
"
z
v
y
v
x
v
y
p !
Dt
Dv
#
z
u
y
u
x
u
x
p !
Dt
Du
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
+
,
_

+
,
_

+
,
_

$here % is the molecular viscosity and %&' is called the kinematical viscosity
Euler"s Equations
For the case hen the viscosity is 2ero the /avier .tokes equations become %uler+s
equations#
g
z
p !
Dt
D
y
p !
Dt
Dv
x
p !
Dt
Du

(3.34)


Bernoulli"s Equation
5esults from %uler+s equations in the conditions of irrotationality (
u
) for an
incompresibile fluid
( t ) * gz
p
( u )
$
!
t
$ $
+ + + +

or#
( t ) * gz
z x $
! p
t
$ $
+
1
]
1

,
_

,
_

+ +

(3.36)
For the case of the potential motion the ecuation of continuity becomes# 0 u
hich implies
0
, or
0
, that is $aplace"s equation#
0
z y x
$
$
$
$
$
$

Two Dimensional tream Function
The stream function 7 for a to dimensional flo is defined such that the flo velocity
can be e"pressed as#
x
,
z
u

$here u and v are the velocities in the x and y directions, respectively.
t
z
,
t
x
u

This formulation of the stream function satisfies the to dimensional continuity

equation#
0
z

x
u

The stream line, or line of constant stream function, and lines of constant velocity
potential are perpendicular as can be seen from the fact that their gradients are
perpendicular#
0