Fluid mechanics

Fluid mechanics is the branch of physics which involves

the study of uids (liquids, gases, and plasmas) and the
forces on them. Fluid mechanics can be divided into uid
statics, the study of uids at rest; and uid dynamics, the
study of the eect of forces on uid motion. It is a branch
of continuum mechanics, a subject which models matter
without using the information that it is made out of atoms;
that is, it models matter from a macroscopic viewpoint
rather than from microscopic. Fluid mechanics, especially
uid dynamics, is an active eld of research with many
problems that are partly or wholly unsolved. Fluid mechanics can be mathematically complex, and can best be
solved by numerical methods, typically using computers.
A modern discipline, called computational uid dynamics (CFD), is devoted to this approach to solving uid mechanics problems. Particle image velocimetry, an experimental method for visualizing and analyzing uid ow,
also takes advantage of the highly visual nature of uid
ow.

Osborne Reynolds, Andrey Kolmogorov, and Georey

Ingram Taylor advanced the understanding of uid viscosity and turbulence.

2 Main branches
2.1 Fluid statics
Main article: Fluid statics
Fluid statics or hydrostatics is the branch of uid mechanics that studies uids at rest. It embraces the study
of the conditions under which uids are at rest in stable
equilibrium; and is contrasted with uid dynamics, the
study of uids in motion.
Hydrostatics is fundamental to hydraulics, the
engineering of equipment for storing, transporting
and using uids. It is also relevant to geophysics and
astrophysics (for example, in understanding plate tectonics and the anomalies of the Earths gravitational eld),
to meteorology, to medicine (in the context of blood
pressure), and many other elds.

Brief history

Main article: History of uid mechanics

Hydrostatics oers physical explanations for many phenomena of everyday life, such as why atmospheric pressure changes with altitude, why wood and oil oat on water, and why the surface of water is always at and horizontal whatever the shape of its container.

The study of uid mechanics goes back at least to the

days of ancient Greece, when Archimedes investigated
uid statics and buoyancy and formulated his famous
law known now as the Archimedes principle, which
was published in his work On Floating Bodies generally considered to be the rst major work on uid
mechanics. Rapid advancement in uid mechanics began with Leonardo da Vinci (observations and experiments), Evangelista Torricelli (invented the barometer),
Isaac Newton (investigated viscosity) and Blaise Pascal
(researched hydrostatics, formulated Pascals law), and
was continued by Daniel Bernoulli with the introduction of mathematical uid dynamics in Hydrodynamica
(1738).

2.2 Fluid dynamics

Main article: Fluid dynamics
Fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of uid mechanics
that deals with uid owthe natural science of uids
(liquids and gases) in motion. It has several subdisciplines itself, including aerodynamics (the study of air
and other gases in motion) and hydrodynamics (the
study of liquids in motion). Fluid dynamics has a wide
range of applications, including calculating forces and
moments on aircraft, determining the mass ow rate of
petroleum through pipelines, predicting weather patterns,
understanding nebulae in interstellar space and modelling
ssion weapon detonation. Some of its principles are even
used in trac engineering, where trac is treated as a
continuous uid, and crowd dynamics.

Inviscid ow was further analyzed by various mathematicians (Leonhard Euler, Jean le Rond d'Alembert,
Joseph Louis Lagrange, Pierre-Simon Laplace, Simon
Denis Poisson) and viscous ow was explored by a
multitude of engineers including Jean Lonard Marie
Poiseuille and Gotthilf Hagen. Further mathematical
justication was provided by Claude-Louis Navier and
George Gabriel Stokes in the NavierStokes equations,
and boundary layers were investigated (Ludwig Prandtl,
Theodore von Krmn), while various scientists such as Fluid dynamics oers a systematic structurewhich un1

4 ASSUMPTIONS

derlies these practical disciplinesthat embraces empirical and semi-empirical laws derived from ow measurement and used to solve practical problems. The solution
to a uid dynamics problem typically involves calculating
various properties of the uid, such as velocity, pressure,
density, and temperature, as functions of space and time.

Relationship to continuum mechanics

Fluid mechanics is a subdiscipline of continuum mechanics, as illustrated in the following table.

In a mechanical view, a uid is a substance that does not
support shear stress; that is why a uid at rest has the shape
of its containing vessel. A uid at rest has no shear stress.

Assumptions
Rate of Change of Property, N for a System

Control Volume

Control Surface

Conservation of mass
Conservation of energy
Conservation of momentum
The continuum hypothesis, detailed below.
Further, it is often useful (at subsonic conditions) to assume a uid is incompressible that is, the density of the
uid does not change.
Similarly, it can sometimes be assumed that the viscosity
of the uid is zero (the uid is inviscid). Gases can often
be assumed to be inviscid. If a uid is viscous, and its ow
contained in some way (e.g. in a pipe), then the ow at the
boundary must have zero velocity. For a viscous uid, if
the boundary is not porous, the shear forces between the
uid and the boundary results also in a zero velocity for
the uid at the boundary. This is called the no-slip condition. For a porous media otherwise, in the frontier of the
containing vessel, the slip condition is not zero velocity,
and the uid has a discontinuous velocity eld between
the free uid and the uid in the porous media (this is
related to the Beavers and Joseph condition).

4.1 Continuum hypothesis

Main article: Continuum mechanics

+ Input Rate

+ Production Rate
- Consumption Rate

- Output Rate

Balance for some integrated uid quantity in a control volume

enclosed by a control surface.

Fluids are composed of molecules that collide with one

another and solid objects. The continuum assumption,
however, considers uids to be continuous. That is, properties such as density, pressure, temperature, and velocity
are taken to be well-dened at innitely small points,
dening a REV (Reference Element of Volume), at the
geometric order of the distance between two adjacent
molecules of uid. Properties are assumed to vary continuously from one point to another, and are averaged values
in the REV. The fact that the uid is made up of discrete
molecules is ignored.

Like any mathematical model of the real world, uid mechanics makes some basic assumptions about the materials being studied. These assumptions are turned into
equations that must be satised if the assumptions are to
be held true.

The continuum hypothesis is basically an approximation,

in the same way planets are approximated by point particles when dealing with celestial mechanics, and therefore results in approximate solutions. Consequently, assumption of the continuum hypothesis can lead to results
For example, consider a uid in three dimensions. The as- which are not of desired accuracy. However, under the
sumption that mass is conserved means that for any xed right circumstances, the continuum hypothesis produces
control volume (for example a sphere) enclosed by a extremely accurate results.
control surface the rate of change of the mass contained Those problems for which the continuum hypothesis does
is equal to the rate at which mass is passing from outside not allow solutions of desired accuracy are solved using
to inside through the surface, minus the rate at which mass statistical mechanics. To determine whether or not to
is passing the other way, from inside to outside. (A special use conventional uid dynamics or statistical mechanics,
case would be when the mass inside and the mass outside the Knudsen number is evaluated for the problem. The
remain constant). This can be turned into an equation in Knudsen number is dened as the ratio of the molecular
integral form over the control volume.[1]
mean free path length to a certain representative physiFluid mechanics assumes that every uid obeys the fol- cal length scale. This length scale could be, for examlowing:
ple, the radius of a body in a uid. (More simply, the

5.1

General form of the equation

Knudsen number is how many times its own diameter a

f is the specic body force vector, and
particle will travel on average before hitting another par is the stress tensor.
ticle). Problems with Knudsen numbers at or above one
are best evaluated using statistical mechanics for reliable
solutions.
Unless the uid is made up of spinning degrees of freedom like vortices, is a symmetric tensor. In Navier
Stokes equations the stress tensor can be decomposed as

NavierStokes equations

Main article: NavierStokes equations

The NavierStokes equations (named after ClaudeLouis Navier and George Gabriel Stokes) are the set of
equations that describe the motion of uid substances
such as liquids and gases. These equations state that
changes in momentum (force) of uid particles depend
only on the external pressure and internal viscous forces
(similar to friction) acting on the uid. Thus, the Navier
Stokes equations describe the balance of forces acting at
any given region of the uid.

ij = pij + ij
where pij is a static isotropic stress state (that would
exist if the uid were at rest), and ij is the deviatoric
stress tensor, corresponding to the part of the stress due
to the uid motion. Generally, the scalar p can be taken
as the thermodynamic pressure, whereas ij is called the
viscous stress tensor. Furthermore, the diagonal components of tensor are called normal stresses and the odiagonal components are called shear stresses.
The vectorial Cauchy equation above can be written then
as

The NavierStokes equations are dierential equations

which describe the motion of a uid. Such equations establish relations among the rates of change of the variDu
= p + + f
ables of interest. For example, the NavierStokes equa-
Dt
tions for an ideal uid with zero viscosity states that acceleration (the rate of change of velocity) is proportional This is actually a set of three equations, one per dimento the derivative of internal pressure.
sion. By themselves, these equations are not sucient to
This means that solutions of the NavierStokes equations produce a solution. However, adding other conservation
for a given physical problem must be sought with the help laws and appropriate boundary conditions to the system
of calculus. In practical terms only the simplest cases of equations produces a solvable set of equations. The
can be solved exactly in this way. These cases generally conservation of mass provides another equation relating
involve non-turbulent, steady ow (ow does not change the density and the ow velocity:
with time) in which the Reynolds number is small.
For more complex situations, involving turbulence, such
as global weather systems, aerodynamics, hydrodynamics t + (u) = 0
and many more, solutions of the NavierStokes equations
can currently only be found with the help of computers. On the other hand, the identication of p with the therThis branch of science is called computational uid dy- modynamic pressure is usually possible (unless the uid
is not in thermodynamic equilibrium; such situation is
namics.
however rare [e.g. shock waves]). Therefore, a thermodynamic equation of state must be used to connect the
pressure with the density and another state property, such
5.1 General form of the equation
as temperature or enthalpy. This in turn brings another
The general form of the Cauchy momentum equation is: unknown to the problem so that an equation for conservation of thermal energy must also be solved along with
momentum and mass conservations.
Du
In the case of an incompressible uid there is no relation
= + f
Dt
ship between the pressure and the density. The Navier
Stokes equations and mass conservation are then sucient to determine the solution to a uid mechanics problem. Actually, the absolute pressure in an incompressible
is the uid density,
uid is indeterminate, and only its gradient is relevant for
D
Dt is the substantive derivative (also called the ma- the equations of motion. Taking the divergence of the
NavierStokes equation and using the mass conservation
terial derivative),
equation to simplify the result gives a Poisson equation
u is the ow velocity vector,
for the pressure.

where

7 SEE ALSO

dv
Additionally, in order to close the system of equations
dy is the velocity gradient perpendicular to the
a constitutive equation relating the viscous stress tensor
direction of shear.
to the velocity eld must be introduced. This constitutive model, which depends on the nature of the uid, is For a Newtonian uid, the viscosity, by denition, dethe basis for the distinction between Newtonian and non- pends only on temperature and pressure, not on the forces
acting upon it. If the uid is incompressible the equation
Newtonian uids.
governing the viscous stress (in Cartesian coordinates) is

Newtonian
versus
Newtonian uids

non-

(
ij =

vi
vj
+
xj
xi

where
A Newtonian uid (named after Isaac Newton) is
dened to be a uid whose shear stress is linearly
proportional to the velocity gradient in the direction
perpendicular to the plane of shear. This denition
means regardless of the forces acting on a uid, it continues to ow. For example, water is a Newtonian uid,
because it continues to display uid properties no matter
how much it is stirred or mixed. A slightly less rigorous
denition is that the drag of a small object being moved
slowly through the uid is proportional to the force applied to the object. (Compare friction). Important uids,
like water as well as most gases, behave to good approximation as a Newtonian uid under normal conditions
on Earth.[2]

ij is the shear stress on the ith face of a uid

element in the j th direction
vi is the velocity in the ith direction
xj is the j th direction coordinate.
If the uid is not incompressible the general form for the
viscous stress in a Newtonian uid is
(
ij =

)
vi
vj
2
+
ij v + ij v
xj
xi
3

where is the second viscosity coecient (or bulk viscosity). If a uid does not obey this relation, it is termed
By contrast, stirring a non-Newtonian uid can leave a a non-Newtonian uid, of which there are several types.
hole behind. This will gradually ll up over time this Non-Newtonian uids can be either plastic, Bingham
behaviour is seen in materials such as pudding, oobleck, plastic, pseudoplastic, dilatant, thixotropic, rheopectic,
or sand (although sand isn't strictly a uid). Alterna- viscoelastic.
tively, stirring a non-Newtonian uid can cause the vis- In some applications another rough broad division among
cosity to decrease, so the uid appears thinner (this is uids is made: ideal and non-ideal uids. An Ideal uid
seen in non-drip paints). There are many types of non- is non-viscous and oers no resistance whatsoever to a
Newtonian uids, as they are dened to be something shearing force. An ideal uid really does not exist, but in
that fails to obey a particular property for example, some calculations, the assumption is justiable. One exmost uids with long molecular chains can react in a non- ample of this is the ow far from solid surfaces. In many
Newtonian manner.[2]
cases the viscous eects are concentrated near the solid
boundaries (such as in boundary layers) while in regions
of the ow eld far away from the boundaries the viscous
6.1 Equations for a Newtonian uid
eects can be neglected and the uid there is treated as
it were inviscid (ideal ow). When the viscosity is neMain article: Newtonian uid
gleted, the term containing the viscous stress tensor in
the NavierStokes equation vanishes. The equation reThe constant of proportionality between the viscous stress duced in this form is called the Euler equation.
tensor and the velocity gradient is known as the viscosity.
A simple equation to describe incompressible Newtonian
uid behaviour is

7 See also
Aerodynamics

dv
=
dy
where

Applied mechanics
Bernoullis principle
Communicating vessels

is the shear stress exerted by the uid ("drag")

Secondary ow

is the uid viscosity a constant of proportionality

Dierent types of boundary conditions in uid dynamics

Notes

[1] Batchelor (1967), p. 74.

[2] Batchelor (1967), p. 145.

References
Batchelor, George K. (1967), An Introduction to
Fluid Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, ISBN
0-521-66396-2

10

Further reading

Falkovich, Gregory (2011), Fluid Mechanics (A

short course for physicists), Cambridge University
Press, ISBN 978-1-107-00575-4
Kundu, Pijush K.; Cohen, Ira M. (2008), Fluid Mechanics (4th revised ed.), Academic Press, ISBN
978-0-12-373735-9
Currie, I. G. (1974), Fundamental Mechanics of
Fluids, McGraw-Hill, Inc., ISBN 0-07-015000-1
Massey, B.; Ward-Smith, J. (2005), Mechanics of
Fluids (8th ed.), Taylor & Francis, ISBN 978-0-41536206-1
White, Frank M. (2003), Fluid Mechanics,
McGrawHill, ISBN 0-07-240217-2
Nazarenko, Sergey (2014), Fluid Dynamics via Examples and Solutions, CRC Press (Taylor & Francis
group), ISBN 978-1-43-988882-7

11

External links

Free Fluid Mechanics books

Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics
CFDWiki the Computational Fluid Dynamics reference wiki.
Educational Particle Image Velocimetry resources
and demonstrations

12

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