CHAPTER 2 :

POTENTIAL FLOW
(DIFFENTIAL EQUATIONS
FOR FLUID FLOW)




Siti Mariam Basharie
JKLA, FKMP - OCT 2013




Overview
o
Flow Field :
Velocity and Acceleration Field
Material Derivatives
Linear Motion and Deformation
Angular Motion and Deformation
Rotational and Irrotational Flow
Vorticity
Stream Function
Velocity Potential
Continuity Equation
Momentum equation
The Navier-Stokes Equation - for Viscous Flow
The Euler Equation - for Inviscid Flow
Potential Flow (uniform flow, source and sink, and vortex )





In general, the fluids flow is a net of motion
of molecules from one point to another point
as a function of time.

A portion of fluid contains so many
molecules and it becomes unrealistic for us
to attempt to account for the motion of
individual molecules.

An assumption had been made to make it
possible to produce model for the flow of
fluids in and around solid boundaries.

Assumption: The fluids are inviscid,
incompressible and irrotational. This type of
fluid flow that governed by Laplaces
equation are called Potential Flows.
Since each particle contains numerous
molecules, we can describe the flow of a
fluid in terms of motion of fluid particles
(rather than individuals molecules).

Flow Field
The flow field is a representation of fluid parameters or
variables as function of spatial coordinates (location) and as
function of time.
It is a vector field which is used to describe the motion of a
fluid mathematically.



Let say, we have a fluid
element which flow from
point 1 at time t
1
to point
2 at time t
2
.



ContdFlow Field
Each of variables involved in the motion of this fluid element
can be given a field representation.
For example, we have velocity field V(x,y,z,t), acceleration
field a(x,y,z,t), temperature field T(x,y,z,t), pressure field,
p(x,y,z,t) and density field (x,y,z,t).
In the study of fluid dynamics, the velocity and acceleration
fields are two basic and important field variables which are
the focus in this chapter/topic.
Both the velocity and acceleration equations will be
presented in Eulerian* viewpoint and also in Cartesian
coordinates only.
*Eulerian method we observe the characteristics of fluid elaments passing fixed
point



Velocity Field
Velocity is a vector quantity (i.e it has a direction along with a
magnitude).
Velocity field implies a distribution of velocity in a given
region and denoted in a functional form as V(x,y,z,t) meaning
that velocity is a function of both the location and time.


ContdVelocity Field
The fluid flow generally is unsteady and
in three dimensional.
So, velocity vector can be expressed in
Cartesian coordinates as :
(2.1)

Velocity may have three components,
u,v and w, each in x, y and z directions
respectively. It is usual written as :
(2.2)

It is clear that each of u,v and w also can
be functions of x,y,z and t. Thus

(2.3)


Acceleration Field
Another important parameter in the study of fluid in motion is
the acceleration. Acceleration is related to the velocity, and it
can be determined once the velocity field is known.
The acceleration is the change in velocity, dV, over the change
in time, t,


But it is not just a simple derivative since the velocity is a
function of time, AND space (x,y,z).
The change in velocity must be track in both time and space.
Using the chain rule of calculus, the change in velocity is,



dt
dV
a =
( ) ( ) ( ) | | t t z t y t x V V , , , =
dt
dz
z
V
dt
dy
y
V
dt
dx
x
V
t
V
dt
dV
a
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
= =
Contd Acceleration Field
This can simplified using u, v, and w,
the velocity magnitudes in the three
coordinate directions. In cartesian
coordinates, the acceleration field is,


Or in component form




dt
dz
w and
dt
dy
v
dt
dx
u = = = ,
Material Derivative
The time and space derivative used to determine the
acceleration field from the velocity is so common in fluid
mechanics and it has a special name.
It is called the Material or Substantial or Total Derivative and
has a special symbol, D( )/Dt.
For cartesian coordinates, it is



or in vector form,

where is the del or gradient operator.
ContdMaterial Derivative
From the equation, it can be seen that the material derivative
consists of two terms.
The first term t( )/t is referred to as the local rate of change,
and it represents the effect of unsteadiness. For steady flow, the
local derivative t( )/t = 0)
The second term, , is referred to as the convective rate of
change, and it represents the variation due to the change in the
position of the fluid particle, as it moves through a field with a
gradient. If there is no gradient (no spatial change) then
is zero so there is no convective change.
As an example, the acceleration field equation can be written
as,




Go for In Class Practice
Conservation of Mass
The law of conservation of mass state,
Any change of mass within the control volume is equal to the
net gain of mass flowing into the volume through the control
surface.

Or it can be written as,


Or ,


Or it can be rewrite as,
Continuity Equation
According to the principle of conservation of mass, it is known
that mass is conserved for a system. Consider a small cubical
element of fluid as shown in the figure. Let the density and
velocities in the x-, y-, and z-directions at the center of the
element be , u, v and w, respectively.
Contd

Contd
The net mass flow rate through the control surface of the small
differential cubical element is given by the difference between
each parallel face, or







Hence, the net mass flow rate through the control surface is
given by,
Contd
While the change of mass within the element is given by;




By applying the conservation of mass to the element, we have




The element volume cancels out of all terms, leaving the partial
differential equation involving the derivatives of density and
velocity.
Or in compact vector notation,


This equation is the unsteady, three-dimensional continuity equation at a point
in a compressible fluid.

For steady flows, the density is not a function of time (d/dt = 0), and thus the
conservation of mass equation reduces to



If the flow is incompressible (i.e. constant density), then the conservation of mass
equation becomes the continuity equation :

or




Go for In Class Practice
Fluid Motion and Deformation
Fluid element motion consists of translation, linear deformation,
rotation and angular deformation.
A small cubical fluid element which is initially in one position will move
to another position during a short time interval t as illustrated in
figure.
Because of the generally complex velocity variation within the field, we
expect the element not only to translate from one position but also
have its volume changed (linear deformation), to rotate and to
undergo a change in shape (angular deformation).

Linear Motion and Deformation
The simplest motion that fluid element can
undergo is translation.
In translation, the fluid particle move from origin O
to new origin, O with small interval time, t.
If we consider of velocity gradient during the
translation, the element generally be deformed &
rotated as it move.
Let x-component velocity at point O & B is u, then
x-component velocity at point A & C can be
expressed as;

The difference in velocity cause stretching of the
element volume by amount of ;


The change in original volume

x
x
u
u o
c
c
+
t x
x
u
o o
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
( ) t z y x
x
u
V o o o o o
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
=
22
The rate at which the volume V changing/unit volume due to gradient
;



If the velocity gradient and are also present;




This rate of change of the volume per unit volume is called the
volumetric dilatation rate.

For incompressible flow, the volumetric dilatation rate = 0 since the
element volume cannot change without a change in fluid density.



x u c c /
( ) ( )
x
u
t
t x u
dt
V d
V
t
c
c
=
(

c
c c c
=

/
lim
1
0 o
o
o
y v c c / z w c c /
( )
V
z
w
y
v
x
u
dt
V d
V
.
1
V =
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
=
o
o
23
Angular Motion and Deformation
Derivatives , and simply cause a linear deformation.

Cross derivatives and will cause the element to rotate and
generally to undergo an angular deformation.










Let assume in very short time, t, the line segments OA & OB rotate
through the angle of and to the new position OA & OB. The angular
velocity of line OA;

x u c c / z w c c /
y v c c /
y u c c /
x v c c /
t
t
OA
c
c
=

o
e
o 0
lim
For small angle; , therefore;

So that;



Similar with angular velocity of the line OB;




The rotation of the element about z-axis,
z
is defined as the average of the
angular velocities
OA
and
OB
of the two mutually perpendicular lines OA
and OB.




Similar for other two axis (x & y axis),

24
oo oo ~ tan t
x
v
o oo
c
c
=
( )
x
v
t
t
x v
t
OA
c
c
=
(

c c
=

o
o
e
o
/
lim
0
( )
y
u
t
t
y u
t
OB
c
c
=
(

c c
=

o
o
e
o
/
lim
0
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c

c
c
=
y
u
x
v
z
2
1
e
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c

c
c
=
z
v
y
w
x
2
1
e
|
.
|

\
|
c
c

c
c
=
x
w
z
u
y
2
1
e
What happen if
y
u
x
v
c
c
=
c
c
* In fluid conventions: CCW is +ve
& CW is -ve
25
The three components,
x
,
y
and
z
can be combined to give rotation vector,
is in the form of;


The rotation vector, is equal to one-half the curl of velocity vector.






Vorticity, is defined as a vector that twice the rotation vector.
V V curl V = =
2
1
2
1

k j i
z y x

e e e + + =
(
(
(
(

c
c
c
c
c
c
=
w v u
z y x
k j i

2
1
k
y
u
x
v
j
x
w
z
u
i
z
v
y
w

2
1

2
1

2
1
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c

c
c
+
|
.
|

\
|
c
c

c
c
+
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c

c
c
=

V V = = e , 2
A flow is said to be irrotational when the curl of the
velocity or vorticity vanishes, or
0 = V = V ,
Rotational and irrotational flow
If the vorticity at a point in a flow field is nonzero, the fluid
particle that happens to occupy that point in space is rotating;
the flow in that region is called rotational.
Likewise, if the vorticity in a region of the flow is zero
(or negligibly small), fluid particles there are not rotating; the
flow in that region is called irrotational.
Physically, fluid particles in a rotational region of flow rotate
end over end as they move along in the flow.
Contd
For example, fluid particles within the viscous boundary layer
near a solid wall are rotational (and thus have nonzero
vorticity), while fluid particles outside the boundary layer are
irrotational (and their vorticity is zero).

Contd
Rotation of fluid elements is associated with wakes, boundary
layers, flow through turbomachinery (fans, turbines,
compressors, etc.), and flow with heat transfer.
The vorticity of a fluid element cannot change except through
the action of viscosity, nonuniform heating (temperature
gradients), or other nonuniform phenomena. Thus if a flow
originates in an irrotational region, it remains irrotational until
some nonuniform process alters it.

29
Example 1 : Vorticity
Determine the vorticity for the following velocity field :


Is it the flow field rotational or irrotational?
( ) j xy i y x V

2 2
=
Determine an expression for the vorticity of the flow field for the given
velocity component below. Is it a rotational flow or an irrotational flow?
j y i xy V

4 3
+ =
Exercise 1
30
Exercise 2
For a certain two-dimensional flow field the velocity vector is given by;

Is this flow irrotational?
( )j y x i xy V

4
2 2
+ =
Exercise 3
The three components of velocity in a flow field are given by;




Determine an expression for the rotation vector, Is this an irrotational flow
field?
4
2
3
2
2
2 2 2
+ =
+ + =
+ + =
z
xz w
z yz xy v
z y x u
Streamline




A streamline is a curve that is everywhere tangent to the velocity
vector.
Streamlines are useful as indicators of the instantaneous direction of
fluid motion throughout the flow field.
Every streamline in a flow has a unique streamline function, ,
associated with it (i.e. the stream function, , is constant).
As such, no flows across any streamline are possible flows are
fenced-up from one another by streamlines.


Stream Function & Velocity Potential
Stream Function,
Steady, incompressible, plane, two-dimensional flow represents
one of the simplest types of flow of practical importance. By
plane, two-dimensional flow we mean that there are only two
velocity components, such as u and v when the flow is
considered to be in the xy plane. For this flow the continuity
equation reduces to

We still have two variables, u and v to deal with, so the stream
function, was defined so that the number of unknowns can
be reduced from two to one.
The stream function, is defined as ;



0 =
c
c
+
c
c
y
v
x
u
Contd
The continuity equation then can be rewrite as;



The stream function, , was just mathematically defined so that
the number of unknowns (i.e., u and v) are reduced from two to
one.
This makes solving the 2D continuity equation easier, but it is
now a second order differential equation.

0
2 2
=
c c
c

c c
c
=
|
.
|

\
|
c
c

c
c
+
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
c
c
x y y x x y y x

Contd
Another particular advantage of using the stream function is
related to the fact that lines along which is constant are
streamlines. Recall that streamlines are lines in the flow field
that are everywhere tangent to the velocities, It follows from
the definition of the streamline that the slope at any point
along a streamline is given by



But for any smooth function of two variables x and y, we
know by the chain rule of mathematics that the total change of
from point (x, y) to another point (x + dx, y + dy) is given by,
35
Example 1 : Stream Function
The velocity vector of a two-dimensional flow field is given by;

Find the corresponding stream function.

( ) ( )j y x i y x V

2
2
+ + =
Example 2 : Stream Function
The components of velocity in a flow field are given as;



a) Is this 1D, 2D or 3D flow?
b) Is it incompressible?
c) Find stream function if possible.
z y w
z y v
u
2
3
3
4
0
=
=
=
36
Velocity potential, .















In vector form, the above equations can simplified as;


The velocity potential is a consequence of the irrotationality. Therefore, for
incompressible, irrotational flow (with ), it follow that;


where is the Laplacian operator. Therefore the equation can be
rewrite as;
x
u
c
c
=
|
y
v
c
c
=
|
z
w
c
c
=
|
| V = V
| V = V
0
2
= V |
( ) ( ) V V = V .
2
0
2
2
2
2
2
2
=
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
z y x
| | |
Velocity potential lines are perpendicular to streamlines.

Similar to the stream function, it can be shown that velocity
potential function can be written as;
Example 1 : Velocity potential
If the expression for stream function is described by (x,y) = x
2
y
2
,
determine whether flow is rotational or irrotational. If the flow is
irrotational, then determine the velocity potential, | and velocity vector,
V.

Example 2 : Velocity potential
The velocity components in steady, incompressible, two dimensional flow are;
u = 2y
v = 4x
Determine the corresponding stream function and velocity potential.
Exercise 1: Velocity Potential
Exercise 2 : Velocity Potential
If the expression for stream function is described by (x,y) = x
3

3xy
2
, determine whether flow is rotational or irrotational. If the flow is
irrotational, then determine the velocity potential, | and velocity vector,
V.
The flow field is represented by the potential function | = x
2
y
2
,
i) Verify that it is an incompressible flow.
ii) Determine the corresponding stream function.

Forces acting on the Differential Element
The differential form of the linear momentum equation (also
known as the Navier-Stokes equations) will be derived by applying
the Newtons Second Law, F= ma.
There are two types of forces acting on the fluid element: body
force (F
B
) and surface force (F
S
).
The only body force considered is the gravitational force (weight)
of the fluid element while for surface forces the forces that are
considered include pressure forces and viscous forces.
Generally, gravity only acts in one direction, but since the
coordinate system is not set, all three terms are included for the
general case.
Therefore F = F
B
+ F
S


Conservation of Momentum
Consider a cubical fluid element

For 3D control volume, all forces act
in 3D direction and flow stresses act
on all six cubical faces.
However, for simplicity, only x
direction will be considered first.
There are two types of stresses
applied on the surface: normal
stress and shear stress.
Normal stress acts perpendicular to
the surface while shear stress is
tangential to the surface.
For stress
ij,
the subscript i refers to
the axis normal to the surface, and
the subscript j represents the
direction of the stress.

Body Force
The weight or gravitational force on the fluid element is
simply given by,


Surface forces pressure forces
Surface forces Viscous forces
Contd
For moving fluid element, the net surface force in x direction is;





By canceling terms, the total net force in the x direction Fx, is
given by the sum of body force and surface forces in x direction
or;




Contd
By applying Newtons Second Law, F
x
= ma
x
, with



we obtain;



and dividing with dxdydz, we obtain the momentum equations
(for x direction) in non-conservation form as;


|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
=
z
u
w
y
u
v
x
u
u
t
u
dxdydz ma
x

|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
=
(

c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
+
z
u
w
y
u
v
x
u
u
t
u
z y x x
p
g
zx
yx
xx
x

t
t
t

dxdydz
z
u
w
y
u
v
x
u
u
t
u
dxdydz
z y x x
p
dxdydz g
zx
yx
xx
x
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
=
(

c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
+
t
t
t

Contd
Or in the form of;



And the y and z components can be obtained as;
(

c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
+ =
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
z y x x
p
g
z
u
w
y
u
v
x
u
u
t
u
zx
yx
xx
x
t
t
t

(

c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
+ =
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
z y x y
p
g
z
v
w
y
v
v
x
v
u
t
v
zy yy xy
y
t t t

(

c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
+ =
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
z y x x
p
g
z
w
w
y
w
v
x
w
u
t
w
zz
yz
xz
z
t
t
t

Contd
The non-conservation of is not very useful to us as it contains
many unknown (, u, v, w,
xx,

xy,

xz,

yy,

yz,
and
zz
) compare to the
only four equations (include continuity eqn.) that we have.
Of course, to be mathematically solvable, the number of
equations must equal the number of unknowns, and thus we
need six more equations.
To reduce the number of unknowns, we have to convert the
annoying stresses terms into the velocity and pressure terms.
We know that, for the Newtonian fluid, the shear stress is
proportional to the shear strain rate or rate of deformation.
Contd
The normal and shear stresses are given as;







Where is the molecular viscosity coefficient, and is the second
viscosity coefficient which is equal to -2/3 (Stokes hypothesis).
Contd
For incompressible flow, the term .V is zero based on the
continuity equation.
The stresses elements then can be write in matrix form as;
Contd
By replacing the stresses terms, we obtain the linear momentum
equation (for x direction) in conservation form;



We note that as long as the velocity components are smooth
functions of x, y, and z, the order of differentiation is irrelevant.
For example,



Contd
After some rearrangement of the viscous terms, we obtain;





The term in parentheses is zero because of the continuity
equation for incompressible flow . We also recognize the last
three terms as the Laplacian of velocity component u.Thus, we
write the x-component of the momentum equation as;
Contd
In a similar fashion we can write the y and z components of the
momentum equation as;





These equations is called as Navier-Stokes equations. It is for
incompressible flow with constant viscosity.
Have to remember all
these equations !!!
Contd
The Navier-Stokes equations is the core fluid mechanics equations
and is an unsteady, nonlinear, 2nd order, partial differential
equation for viscous flow.
It is extremely hard to solve, and only simple 2D problems can be
solved.
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is most often used to solve
the Navier-Stokes equations.
Euler Equation for inviscid flow
Some common fluids such as air and water have a small viscosity
and may be able to neglect the effect of viscosity (thus, no shear
stress considered).
Fluid fields in which the shear stresses are assumed to be
negligible are know as inviscid, nonviscous or frictionless flow.
For inviscid flow, all shear stresses are zero , and
the Navier-Stokes equation in x direction reduces to;



The above equations (also have in y and z directions) are known as
Euler's equations.

|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
=
c
c

z
u
w
y
u
v
x
u
u
t
u
x
p
g
x

Contd
Note that the equations governing inviscid flow have been
simplified tremendously compared to the Navier-Stokes
equations.
However, they still cannot be solved analytically due to the
complexity of the nonlinear terms (i.e., u u/x, v u/y, w u/z,
etc.).
Hence, in the study of fluid mechanics, numerical methods such as
the finite element and finite difference methods (along with the
use of computers) are often used to approximate the fluid flow
problems.
Euler's equations can be simplified further to obtain Bernoulli's
equation, which is applicable to steady, incompressible, inviscid
flow along a streamline.
Bernoulli Equation
Euler's equations can be simplified further to obtain Bernoulli's
equation, which is applicable to steady, incompressible, inviscid
flow along a streamline.
58
Example 1 : Find pressure field (Cengel E.g 9-13)
Consider the steady, two-dimensional velocity field of ;


Calculate the pressure as a function of x and y.
( ) ( ) j cx ay i b ax V

+ + + =
59
Flow through the converging nozzle can be
approximated by one-dimensional velocity
distribution;


a) Find a general expression for the fluid
acceleration in the nozzle.
b) For the specific case V
0
= 3.048 m/s and L
= 15.24 cm, calculate the acceleration at
the entrance and at the exit of the nozzle.

Example 2 : Find acceleration field
0
2
1
0
~ ~
(

+ ~ w 0 v
L
x
V u
60
1. The velocity field for a steady, two-dimensional incompressible
Newtonian fluid flow is given by the following relation ;


By neglecting the effect of gravity, obtain the relation representing
the pressure field p in terms of the fluid density, and the coordinate x
and y if,
a) the pressure at the origin (0,0) is Patm
b) the Patm is set to be zero.

( )j x y i xy V

2
2 2
+ =
Exercise (have to be submitted)
61
2. A frictionless, two-dimensional incompressible steady flow is given by


a) Determine if this field is a valid solution to continuity equation,
thus Navier-Stokes equation
b) Check whether it is rotational or not. If yes, calculate the vorticity.
c) By neglecting the gravitational effect, find the expression for the
pressure gradient in the x direction.


j y i xy V

2
2
=
Contd...Exercise (have to be submitted)
62

3. Discuss the following basic flow patterns and give an example of each
flow;
a) Source and sink
b) Vortex
i. Free vortex
ii. Forced vortex

Contd...Exercise (have to be submitted)
Constant velocity magnitude with straight
parallel streamlines.


Since



Also similar for velocity potential;





For uniform flow at some arbitrary angle;


Basic Potential Flows
0 =
c
c
=
c
c
x
U
y

Uy =
U
y
U
x
=
c
c
=
c
c | |
Ux = |
( ) o o sin cos x y U =
( ) o o | sin cos y x U + =
i) Uniform Flows
Fluid flowing radially outwards (source) or
inwards (sink) from a single point.


Source/sink strength m, K, Q etc. The
strength are flow rate of the fluids outwards /
inwards from the single point.

Conservation of mass indicate that;





ii) Source / Sink
( ) Q V r
r
= t 2
r
Q
V
r
t 2
=
* There are no tangential
velocity, V

for source and sink.

The stream function can be derived:


Similar for velocity potential:

u
t

t u

2 2
1 Q
r
Q
r
= =
c
c
r
Q
r
Q
r
ln
2 2 t
|
t
u
= =
c
c
Fluid rotating about a single point.
2 types ; 1. Free vortex 2. Forced vortex
Free vortex (an irrotational vortex) e.g: swirling motion of the water as it
drains from a sink, tornados, waterspouts, and hurricanes.
Forced vortex (a rotational vortex) one which has non-zero vorticity away
from the core can be maintained indefinitely in that state only through the
application of some extra force, that is not generated by the fluid motion
itself.

65
iii) Vortex
Vortex strength K = /2

For standard math. conversion., +ve
represent ccw and vise versa.

For azimuthal velocity component;





66
r
r r
ln
2 2 t

t
I
=
I
=
c
c

ContdVortex
r r
K
V
t
u
2
I
= =
* There are no radial velocity, V
r

for free vortex.
u
t
|
t u
|
2 2
1 I
=
I
=
c
c
r r
The stream function can be derived:


Similar for velocity potential:

Extra Informations
Types of Motion or Deformation of Fluid
Elements
a) Translation
b) Rotation
c) Linear deformation
d) Angular deformation


The curl
The curl is a vector operator that describes the fluid element
rotation of a 3-dimensional vector field. The curl is a form of
differentiation for vector fields.
A vector field whose curl is zero is called irrotational.
The del operator and the cross product, is used for curl.
Unlike the gradient and divergence, curl does not generalize
as simply to other dimensions; some generalizations are
possible, but only in three dimensions is the geometrically
defined curl of a vector field again a vector field. This is a
similar phenomenon as in the 3 dimensional cross product,
and the connection is reflected in the notation for the
curl.

Forces acting on the Differential Element

* Body forces forces that act throughout the entire body of CV
(e.g : gravitational force, electric and magnetic forces )
* Surface forces forces that act on the control surface
(e.g : pressure force, viscous forces and reaction forces at points
of contact).
The Navier-Stokes equations
The NavierStokes equations are mathematical equations that describe
the motion of fluids. The equations are named after Claude-Louis
Navier and George Gabriel Stokes. The equations result from applying
Newton's second law to fluid motion, with the belief that the fluid
stress is the sum of a diffusing viscous term (in relation to the gradient
of velocity), plus a pressure term.
They are very useful because they describe the physics of many things
of academic and economic interest. They may be used to model the
weather, ocean currents, water flow in a pipe, the air's flow around a
wing, and motion of stars inside a galaxy. The NavierStokes equations
in their full and simplified forms help with the design of aircraft and
cars, the study of blood flow, the design of power stations, the analysis
of pollution, and many other things.
The NavierStokes equations are also of great interest in a purely
mathematical sense. Somewhat surprisingly, given their wide range of
practical uses, mathematicians have not yet proven that in three
dimensions solutions always exist (existence), or that if they do exist,
then they do not contain any singularity (or infinity or discontinuity)
(smoothness).