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AeronauticsFluidDynamicsLevel3
FlowEquations
EquationsDescribingFluidFlow
Theflowofmostfluidsmaybeanalyzedmathematicallybytheuseoftwoequations.Thefirst,often
referredtoastheContinuityEquation,requiresthatthemassoffluidenteringafixedcontrolvolumeeither
leavesthatvolumeoraccumulateswithinit.Itisthusa"massbalance"requirementposedinmathematical
form,andisascalarequation.TheothergoverningequationistheMomentumEquation,orNavierStokes
Equation,andmaybethoughtofasa"momentumbalance."Aswillbeseenlater,theNavierStokes
equationsarethefluiddynamicequivalentofNewtonssecondlaw,forceequalsmasstimesacceleration.
TheNavierStokesequationsarevectorequations,meaningthatthereisaseparateequationforeachofthe
coordinatedirections(usuallythree).
Therearemanymethodstoderivetheseequations.Oneofthesimplest,acontrolvolumeapproach,isused
heretodemonstratetheoriginofeachterm.Theseequationsmaybeusedtoanalyzetheflowofmost
commonfluidsininternal(pipes)orexternal(wings)flowsituations.Mathematicallyspeaking,these
equationsareextremelydifficulttosolveintheirrawform.TheNavierStokesequationsaresecondorder,
nonhomogenous,nonlinearpartialdifferentialequationsthatrequireatleasttwoboundaryconditionsfor
solution.Mostsolutionsthatexistareforhighlysimplifiedflowsituationswherecertaintermsinthe
equationshavebeeneliminatedthroughsomerationalprocess.
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DerivationoftheContinuityEquation
Letsstartwithasmall,fixedvolumeoffluidsomewhereinthemiddleofaflowstream.Thiselemental
volumehassidesoflengthsx,yandz(seeFigure1).
Figure1.Illustrationoftheelementalvolumeusedtoderivetheequations.
Theselengthsareshortenoughsothatchangesinallfluidpropertiesacrossthevolumemaybewell
approximatedwithlinearfunctions.Ontheotherhand,thesedimensionsmustmelargeenoughsothatthe
fluidmaybeconsideredasacontinuum(i.e.,muchlargerthanthemolecularscale).Themassoffluidinthis
elementalvolumedependsontheamountoffluidenteringandleavingthroughthefaces.Thedifference
betweenthesetwoistherateofmassthataccumulatesinthevolume.Therateofmassenteringafaceisthe
productofthedensity,thefluidvelocityandthefacearea.Forexample,onthesidefacingthereader,the
density()ismultipliedbythevelocityinthexdirection(u)andtheareaofthefaceyz.Thus,themass
fluxenteringthevolumethroughthisfaceis
Themassleavingthevolumeontheoppositesideofthevolumeisagaintheproductofdensity,velocityand
area,butthedensityandvelocitymayhavechangedasthefluidpassedthroughthevolume.Wewillexpress
thesechangesassmallquantities(sinceourvolumeissmallenough),i.e.,+andu+u.Themassflux
leavingthatfaceisthus
Thenegativesigntellsusthatthemassisleaving,ratherthanentering,thecontrolvolume.Performingthe
sameanalysisonthemassenteringthevolumethroughtheotherfacesofthevolumegivesus
wherevistheydirectionvelocityandwisthezdirectionvelocity.Similarly,themassfluxesleavingthe
volumeontheoppositefacesare
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Alloftheseaddedtogethermustequalthemassoffluidaccumulatinginthevolume, ,
Puttingallofthesetogether,wehave
Multiplyingoutthequantitiesinparenthesesresultsinthecancellationofsometermsandtheappearanceof
higherordertermssuchasuyz.Sincethequantitiesprecededbyareverysmall,productsofthese
quantitieswillbeextremelysmall,dependingonthenumberoftermsincludedintheproduct.Theterms
withfourofthesewillbemuchsmallerthanthetermswithonlythreeterms.Thus,allhigherorderterms
areneglected.Thisleaves
which,whendividedby andrearranged,yields
Theapplicationofbasiccalculus(takingthelimitasttendsto0)allowsustowritethisequationas
wherethesymbol / t,forexample,isa"partialderivative"withrespecttotime.Partialderivativesareused
whenthefunction(velocityordensityinthiscase)dependsonseveralvariables(3positionorspatial
variablesandtime,inthiscase).
TheContinuityEquationmaybesimplifiedforsomecommonflowsituationsasfollows.Ifthefluidmaybe
treatedasincompressible(asisthecasewithwaterorinlowvelocityairflows),thedensitywillbeconstant.
TheContinuityEquationthenbecomes
Inthecasewhentheflowissteady(alltimederivativesarezero),then
Notethatinthisequation,thedensityandvelocitiesarestillfunctionsofthespatialcoordinatesx,yandz.
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DerivationoftheMomentum(NavierStokes)Equations
Againwestartwithasmall,fixedvolumeoffluidsomewhereinthemiddleofaflowstreamwithsidesof
lengthsx,yandz(seeFigure1).Thelawoftheconservationofmomentumstatesthattherateof
changeofmomentuminthecontrolvolumemustequalthenetmomentumfluxintothecontrolvolumeplus
anyexternalforcesactingonthecontrolvolume.Wewillfirstdealwiththemomentumchangeandflux,
thenwiththeexternalforces.Recallthatmomentum,theproductofmassandvelocity,isavectorquantity.
ThisderivationwillbebasedonthemomentuminthexdirectioninCartesiancoordinates.Similar
derivationsmaybedemonstratedfortheyandzdirection.Thiswouldmakeagoodexercisetobetter
understandthismaterial.Therearethusthreedifferentmomentumequationsthattogethercomprisethe
NavierStokesEquations.
MomentumChangeandFlux
Thetimerateofchangeofmomentumwithinthecontrolvolumeis
where / tisthepartialderivativeoperatorwithrespecttotimepresentedabove.Thefluxofmomentumin
thexdirectionintoeachfaceofthecontrolvolumeistheproductofthemassflux(mfxA)andthex
directionvelocity,
whereAisthesurfacearea.Forthesidefacingthereader,themomentumfluxisthus
Themomentumfluxouttheoppositesideis
Themassfluxintothefacewithnormalvectorinthenegativeydirectionisasderivedforthecontinuity
equationabove,orv.Themomentumfluxintothisfaceisthus
Forthefaceopposite,themomentumfluxoutis
Usingasimilaranalysis,itiseasilyshownthatthemomentumfluxintoandoutofthefaceswithnormal
vectorsinthezdirectionare
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Ourfirstexpressionofthemomentumequationcomesfromaddingallofthesetermstogetherasexpressed
inthelawoftheconservationofmomentum
whereFxisthesumoftheexternalforcesonthecontrolvolume.Themomentumfluxesintothecontrol
volumecancelwiththefirstpartofthemomentumfluxesoutofthecontrolvolume.Performingthis
cancellationandmovingthemomentumfluxestothelefthandsideoftheequationgives
Usingtheproductrule,themomentumchangeandfluxescanbeexpandedto
whereitisnotedthatthelastfourtermsinparenthesesarethecontinuityequationtimesu.Sincethismustbe
zero,thatleaves
Inthesamemethodwecancalculatetheforceintheyandzdirections:
DerivationofForces
Wenowturnourattentiontotherighthandsideoftheequation,wheretheforcesonthecontrolvolumeare
represented.Therearetwotypesofforcestobeincluded:bodyforcesandsurfaceforces.Bodyforcesacton
theentirecontrolvolume.Themostcommonbodyforceisthatduetogravity.Electromagneticphenomena
mayalsocreatebodyforces,butthisisaratherspecializedsituation.Thebodyforceduetogravityisthe
component of the acceleration due to gravity in the xdirection (gx) times the mass of the fluid control
volume(densitytimesvolume),or
Surfaceforcesactononlyoneparticularsurfaceofthecontrolvolumeatatime,andariseduetopressureor
viscousstresses.Thestressonasurfaceofthecontrolvolumeactsintheoutwarddirection,andisgiventhe
symbolij,withtwosubscripts.Thefirstsubscriptiindicatesthenormaldirectionofthefaceonwhichthe
stress acts, while the second subscript j indicates the direction of the stress. For example, using the cube
above,thexaxisisthenormaldirectiontothebackyzfaceofthecube,theyaxisisthenormaldirectionto
theleftxzfaceofthecubeandthezaxisisthenormaldirectiontothetopxyfaceofthecube.Also,thex
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axisisthenormaldirectiontothefrontyzfaceofthecube,theyaxisisthenormaldirectiontotherightx
zfaceofthecubeandthezaxisisthenormaldirectiontothebottomxyfaceofthecube.
Theforceduetothestressistheproductofthestressandtheareaoverwhichitacts.Thus,onthefaceswith
normalsinthexdirection(yz),theforcesactinginthexdirectionduetothedirectstressesare
Thesumofthesetwoforcesis
Similarly, on the faces with normals in the ydirection (xz), the forces in the xdirection due to shear
stressessumto
andonthefaceswithnormalsinthezdirection(xy),theforcesinthexdirectionduetoshearstresses
sumto
Thesumofallsurfaceforcesinthexdirectionisthus
The stress xx includes the pressure p (acting inward, and, hence, has a negative sign) and the normal
viscousstressxx.Thestressesyxandzxincludeonlyviscousshearingstressesyxandzx.Thisgivesthe
forceinthexdirectionas:
Newtonian/NonNewtonianFluids
MostfluidsmaybeclassifiedasNewtonianfluids.ANewtonianfluidisoneinwhichtheviscousstressis
linearlyproportionaltotherateofdeformation( du/dy).Theconstantofproportionalityistheviscosity,
.AirwouldbeconsideredalowviscosityNewtonianfluid,whilewaterwouldbeamediumviscosity
Newtonianfluid.MotoroilandMapleSyruparehighviscosityNewtonianfluids.Fluidsthatdonotfollow
theNewtonianbehaviorlawincludetoothpaste,bloodandpaints.ForanincompressibleNewtonianfluid
theviscousstressesare
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Someofthesetermscanbecancelledoutusingthecontinuityequation.Theremainingterms,combined
withthebodyforcetermandputintotheequationfortheforceinthexdirection,give
Thisgives,asthefinalexpressionofthexmomentumequation,
Recallthattherearecorrespondingmomentumequationsintheyandzdirections,namely
and
Thederivationoftheseequationswouldbeagoodexercisefortheviewer.
DerivationoftheEnergyEquation
In situations where the fluid may be treated as incompressible and temperature differences are small, the
continuity and momentum equations are sufficient to specify the velocities and pressure (that is, four
equations[continuity+3momentum]andfourunknownquantities[u,v,wandp]).Iftheflowiscompressible
( is not constant), or if heat flux occurs (temperature not constant), at least one additional equation is
required.Insomeoftheseinstances,theenergyequationmaybeused.Inthederivation,weusethefactthat
workisthedotproductofvelocityandforceandthefactthatworkandenergyarerelatedtoeachother.
The energy equation is, of course, a scalar equation, meaning that it has no particular direction associated
withit.Theprocedureforderivingtheenergyequationissimilartothosepresentedforthecontinuityand
momentumequations.Inthiscase,thechangeinenergyofthefluidwithinthecontrolvolumeisequalto
thenetthermalenergytransferredintothecontrolvolumeplustherateofworkdonebyexternalforces.The
energyofthefluidisexpressedinthiscaseasthesumoftheabsolutethermodynamicinternalenergyper
unitmass,e,andthekineticenergyperunitmass,1/2V2,(Visthemagnitudeofthevelocityvector).The
changeintotalenergyperunitvolumeofthefluidinthecontrolvolumeis
Aswasfoundaboveforthemomentumtransferintoandoutofthecontrolvolume,thenettransferofenergy
perunitvolumethroughthecontrolvolumeis
This equation is obtained by replacing the momentum term (density times velocity) by the energy term
(density times the sum of the internal and kinetic energies). The net thermal energy transferred into the
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controlvolumeisdeterminedbytheheatfluxqi,positiveforheatgoingfromwithinthecontrolvolumeto
the surroundings in the ithdirection (that is, the x,y or zdirection). The total heat per unit volume
transferredintothecontrolvolumeis
Therateofworkperunitvolumebeingdonebythesurfaceforcesisfoundbymultiplyingthestress,ij,by
the velocity in the jdirection for each i face. Similar to the procedure above for the stresses in the
momentumequation,thenetrateofworkbeingdonefromallsidesis
Lastly,therateofworkperunitvolumedonebythegravityforcevector(g=gxi+gyj+gzk),is
Puttingallofthesetermstogether,wehave
Fourier'sHeatConduction
WewillnowuseFourier'sLawofHeatConductionthatrelatestheheatflowintheithdirection,qi,tothe
rateofchangeoftemperatureintheithdirection,namely,
qi=kiA T/ xii=1,2,3representsthex,y,zdirections
wherekiistheheatconductioncoefficientintheithdirection,Arepresentsthesurfaceareaperpendicularto
theithdirection,andTrepresentsthetemperatureoftheflow.FromtheZerothLawofThermodynamics,
heatflowsfromalocationofhighertemperaturetothatofalowertemperature.If,forexample,thisisinthe
xdirection,then T/ xisnegative.Butsinceheatflowisconsideredpositivewhenflowingfromthecontrol
volumetothesurroundings(meaning,inthiscase,inthepositivexdirection),thenforqxtobepositive,we
needtheminussignasindicated.Thustheheatflowrateperunitvolumeterms
become
which,inthecaseofconstantheatconductioncoefficient(kx=ky=kz=k),become
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Therateofworkperunitvolumebeingdonebythesurfaceforcesisfoundbymultiplyingthestressijby
thevelocityinthejdirectionforeachiface.Similartotheprocedureaboveforthestressesinthemomentum
equation,thenetrateofworkperunitvolumebeingdonefromallsidesis
UsingtherelationshipbetweensurfacestressesandvelocitygradientsforincompressibleNewtonianfluids,
thisbecomes
Lastly,therateofworkdoneperunitvolumebygravityis
Puttingallofthesetermstogether,wehave
Thisequationdemonstratesthat,perunitvolume,thechangeinenergyofthefluidmovingthroughacontrol
volumeisequaltotherateofheattransferredintothecontrolvolumeplustherateofworkdonebysurface
forces plus the rate of work done by gravity. This expression of the energy equation is valid for most
applications. However, some specialized situations may require additional terms representing the
contributionsofothersources(electromagneticforces,etc.).
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