Three-Dimensional Stream Functions

Hiroaki Nishikawa

29th March 1999

Stream Functions in Three Dimensions

Consider the continuity equation for incompressible flows in three dimensions,

=0
divV

(1)

is the velocity vector. Owing to the identity div(curla) = 0, the velocity defined by
where V
= curlA,

(2)

is the so-called vector potential, satisfies the continuity equation identically. Now suppose
where A
that we set
= grad
A
(3)
where and are scalar functions. Then,

= curl( grad)

(4)

= curl(grad) + grad grad.

(5)

The first term vanishes identically, and we have

= grad grad.
V

(6)

This shows that the velocity vector is orthogonal to each gradient vector, that is, tangent to the
surfaces defined by = constant and = constant. Therefore the functions and are stream
functions in three dimensions (See Figure 1).
The stream functions thus obtained are associated with the volume flow. Consider a volume
flow Q through a section which is bounded by four stream surfaces (See Figure 2) given by

dS.

Q=
V
(7)
S

By Stokes theorem, this reduces to the line integral,

I
Q=
grad dl.

(8)

Note that on each boundary segment, one of the functions is constant. Hence we have

Q = 2
grad dl + 1
grad dl.
AB
Doctoral

CD

Candidate, Aerospace Engineering and Scientific Computing

(9)

CFD Notes by Hiroaki Nishikawa

www.cfdnotes.com

By the definition, d = grad dl, we obtain

Q = (1 2 )(1 2 ).

(10)

Therefore the volume flow is given by the product of the dierences of the stream functions.
It is well known that the stream function satisfies a Poisson equation in two dimensions. To
obtain the equation in three dimensions, we first substitute (2) into the definition of the vorticity
) to get
(
= curlV
=
curl curlA
.
(11)
curl curlA
= div gradA,
we obtain
Using the identity, grad (divA)
+ grad (divA)
=
div gradA
.

(12)

In terms of the stream functions, this is

div grad( grad) + grad div( grad) =
.

(13)

It can be written, as in [1], also in the following form,

L() grad L() grad =

(14)

where the operator L is defined by1

L() = I div(grad) + grad(grad).

(15)

This is the governing equation of the stream functions in three dimensions.

Special Cases

2.1

Two Dimensional Flows

In two dimension with coordinates (x, y), we set = z and = (x, y), i.e. we choose the planes
perpendicular to z-axis to be stream surfaces. From (6), the velocity is given by
= grad ez
V

(16)

where ez is the unit vector in z-axis. The velocity components (u, v) are therefore given by
u=

, v=
.
y
x

(17)

From (10), we find that the volume flow between two stream lines is given by
Q = 1 2

(18)

where we have set 1 2 = 1. The equation that satisfies is obtained by (14). With = z and
= (x, y), (14) simplifies to
div(grad) = z .
(19)

1 grad

is defined by a = (grada) dl for an arbitrary vector a.

c
1999
by Hiroaki Nishikawa

CFD Notes by Hiroaki Nishikawa

2.2

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Axisymmetric Flows

We take the spherical coordinate system (r, , ), and assume that the flow is independent of ,
i.e. axisymmetric. We then take = and = (r, ) so that = constant constitues a family
of stream surfaces. In this case, from (6), the velocity is given by
= grad
V

1
e
rsin

(20)

where e is the unit vector in direction. Its components, (ur , u ), are therefore given by
ur =

1
r2 sin

1
, v=
.

rsin r

(21)

The volume flow is obtained again by the dierence of the stream function. The equation that
satisfies is, again from (14),
1
div(grad) = .
(22)

rsin
Similar results can be obtained for the cylindrical coordinate system.

Irrotational Flows

In two-dimensional or axisymmetric irrotational flows, it is clear that the stream function satisfies
Laplace equation. Therefore can be determined, up to an arbitrary constant, by solving Laplace
equation for which various techniques are available. In three dimensions, the stream functions
satisfy
L() grad L() grad = 0.
(23)
Note that this is a nonlinear system of equations, and that we have three equations for two
unknowns.

References
[1] Pozrikidis, C., Introduction to Theoretical and Computational Fluid Dynamics, Oxford University Press, 1997.

c
1999
by Hiroaki Nishikawa