Example Problems: Streamlines and Pathlines Problem 1. A 2D velocity field is prescribed by the following equation: u = ( a t x, a t y ,0).

. a) Derive expressions for streamlines and pathlines associated with this velocity field. b) What shapes do these lines have? Solution. Given a 2D velocity field: u = ( a t x, a t y, 0 ) . a) To derive expressions for streamlines and pathlines associated with the velocity field. Streamlines are expressed by:

dx dy dx dy dx dy = = = ydx + xdy = 0 = d ( xy ) xy = C. u v atx aty x y

Pathlines are expressed by two equations:

dx dx a = u = atx = at dt x = x0 exp t 2 dt x 2 dy dy a = v = aty = at dt y = y0 exp t 2 . dt y 2

Note here that if we multiply x and y, we also get a constant x0 y0, which is the same as the starting point for a streamline. Despite the fact that the flow is unsteady, streamlines and pathlines yield here the same x-y curve. b) Both curves are hyperbolae.

Problem 2. Consider a 2D velocity field that is expressed in Cartesian coordinates as follows:

u = ( k x1 , k x2 ,0 ) , where k>0.
a) Derive an expression for and y corresponds to x2. b) Derive an expression for y(x) by integration of

dy in terms of x, y and other constants. Here, x corresponds to x1 dx

dy . dx

c) Plot streamlines based on inlet conditions at y0 = 1, and x0 ranging from -0.5 to 0.5 at increments of 0.1. These pairs (x0, y0) of inlet values can be used to pin down the values of any arbitrary constants of integration. The resulting x-y plot is a set of curves corresponding to streamlines. Also, indicate arrows showing the direction of the flow. Solution:

a) Along a streamline, the following expression stands for a Cartesian coordinate system:

dx1 dx2 dx3 . In this problem, we drop the third dimension, because the velocity is zero. = = u1 u2 u3 dx dx dx dy dy y = = . Applied to the present problem, this yields: 1 = 2 u1 u2 kx ky dx x
b) Now, we attempt to integrate the expression:

dy y dy dx = = . If x and y are dx x y x positive, then integration yields: ln y = ln x + Const x y = C. If any one of the two
variables is negative, then we can substitute a new variable that has a negative sign of the negative variable, and integrate a gain to get a function of the natural logarithms of x or y. The different scenarios can be expressed in terms of a simple relation: y =

C , which is x

valid in the different quadrants of the x-y plane with respect to the origin. The value of the constant, C, can be determined by the origin, (x0,y0), of the streamline such that:

y x = 0. y0 x

Also, note the symmetry with respect to the x and y axis. So, it is sufficient to plot y vs. x in the positive x and y quadrant, and mirror it across the x and y axes. c) The figure below shows the streamlines for the positive x and y quadrant for the range specified in the problem statement.

1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6

y
0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1