Faculty of Engineering – Cairo University

Mechanical Design and Production Engineering

Two Semesters System – 3rd Year
Engineering Elasticity and Plasticity – MDP 302

Orthogonal Curvilinear Coordinates

(Principal and Applications)

Submitted To
Prof. Mostafa Abo Hemda

Prepared by

Name E-mail Code B.N

Ayman Hisham Mahmoud ayman.hishamb@gmail.com 14710020130367 10
Mahmoud Ahmed El-Sayed Kassab mahmoued.kassab98@eng-st.cu.edu.eg 14710020170321 24

June 1, 2020
Table of Contents

Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................. I

List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. II
Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... III
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1
1. Curvilinear Coordinates .......................................................................................................... 2
1.1 Transformation of Coordinates ........................................................................................ 2
1.2 Orthogonal Curvilinear Coordinates ................................................................................ 2
1.3 Unit Vector in Curvilinear Systems ................................................................................. 2
1.4 Arc Length........................................................................................................................ 4
1.5 Volume Element ............................................................................................................... 4
1.6 Gradient, Divergence and Curl in Curvilinear coordinates .............................................. 4
2. Special Orthogonal Coordinate Systems ................................................................................ 5
2.1 Cylindrical Coordinates (𝝆, ∅, 𝒛) ..................................................................................... 5
2.2 Spherical Coordinates (𝒓, 𝜽, ∅) ........................................................................................ 5
3. Applications ............................................................................................................................ 6
3.1 The Global Positioning System (GPS) ............................................................................. 6
3.1.1 Introduction to GPS .................................................................................................. 6
3.1.2 Trilateration............................................................................................................... 6
3.1.3 GPS and Relativity.................................................................................................... 7
3.1.4 Curvilinear Coordinate System and GPS .................................................................. 7
3.2 Finite-Difference Method for Incompressible Navier–Stokes Equations in arbitrary
orthogonal curvilinear coordinates ............................................................................................. 7
3.2.1 Introduction to NSE Approach for Incompressible Flow ......................................... 7
3.2.2 Governing Equations for Incompressible Flow in Curvilinear Orthogonal
Coordinates ............................................................................................................................. 8
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 10
References ..................................................................................................................................... 11

I
List of Figures

Figure 1: Coordinate Curves ........................................................................................................... 2

Figure 2: Rectangular Coordinates ................................................................................................. 3
Figure 3: Arc Length Corresponding Coordinates.......................................................................... 4
Figure 4: Cylindrical Coordinates ................................................................................................... 5
Figure 5: Spherical Coordinates...................................................................................................... 5
Figure 6: Determination of Point in 2-D ......................................................................................... 6
Figure 7: Determination of Point in 3-D ......................................................................................... 6

II
Abstract

In geometry, curvilinear coordinates are a coordinate system for Euclidean space in which
the coordinate lines may be curved. These coordinates maybe derived from a set of Cartesian
coordinates by using a transformation that is locally invertible (a one-to-one map) at each point.
This means that one can convert a point given in a Cartesian coordinate system to its curvilinear
coordinates and back. The name curvilinear coordinates, coined by the French mathematician
Lamé, derives from the fact that the coordinate surfaces of the curvilinear systems are curved.
Curvilinear coordinates are often used to define the location or distribution of physical quantities
which may be, for example, scalars, vectors, or tensors. Mathematical expressions involving these
quantities in vector calculus and tensor analysis (such as the gradient, divergence, curl, and
Laplacian) can be transformed from one coordinate system to another, according to transformation
rules for scalars, vectors, and tensors. Such expressions then become valid for any curvilinear
coordinate system.
Looking at this wide coverage of curvilinear coordinates, it is expected to be used in many physical
applications, even being a core principal of this application or such a helpful tool for solving the
application’s problems.

III
Introduction

Enormous simplifications are achieved in solving a partial differential equation if all

boundaries in the problem correspond to coordinate surfaces, which are surfaces generated by
holding one coordinate constant and varying the other two. Accordingly, many special coordinate
systems have been devised to solve problems geometries. The most useful of these systems are
orthogonal; that is, at any point in space the vectors aligned with the three coordinate directions
are mutually perpendicular. In general, the variation of a single coordinate will generate a curve in
space, rather than a straight line, hence the term curvilinear. In this section a general discussion of
orthogonal curvilinear systems is given first, and then the relationships for cylindrical and
spherical coordinates are derived as special cases.
Well-known examples of curvilinear coordinate systems in three-dimensional Euclidean space
(𝑅 3 ) are Cartesian, cylindrical and spherical polar coordinates. A Cartesian coordinate surface in
this space is a plane; for example, z = 0 defines the x-y plane. In the same space, the coordinate
surface = 1 in spherical polar coordinates is the surface of a unit sphere, which is curved. The
formalism of curvilinear coordinates provides a unified and general description of the standard
coordinate systems.
Depending on the application, a curvilinear coordinate system may be simpler to use than the
Cartesian coordinate system. For instance, a physical problem with spherical symmetry defined in
(𝑅 3 ) (for example, motion of particles under the influence of central forces) is usually easier to
solve in spherical polar coordinates than in Cartesian coordinates. Equations with boundary
conditions that follow coordinate surfaces for a curvilinear coordinate system may be easier to
solve in that system. One would for instance describe the motion of a particle in a rectangular box
in Cartesian coordinates, whereas one would prefer spherical coordinates for a particle in a sphere.
Spherical coordinates are one of the most used curvilinear coordinate systems in such fields as
Earth sciences, cartography, and physics (quantum mechanics, relativity), and engineering. [1]

Page | 1
1. Curvilinear Coordinates

1.1 Transformation of Coordinates

Let the rectangular coordinate (x, y, z) of any point be expressed as functions of (𝑢1 , 𝑢2 , 𝑢3 ) so
that,
(a) 𝑥 = 𝑥(𝑢1 , 𝑢2 , 𝑢3 ) , 𝑦 = 𝑦(𝑢1 , 𝑢2 , 𝑢3 ) , 𝑧 = 𝑧(𝑢1 , 𝑢2 , 𝑢3 )
Supposed that (a) can be solved for (𝑢1 , 𝑢2 , 𝑢3 ) in terms of x, y, z , that is,
(𝑏) 𝑢1 = 𝑢1 (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧‐ 𝑢2 = 𝑢2 (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) , 𝑢3 = 𝑢3 (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧)
The functions in (a) and (b) are assumed to be single-valued and to have continuous derivatives so
that the correspondence between (x, y, z) and (𝑢1 , 𝑢2 , 𝑢3 ) is unique.

Given a point P with rectangular coordinates (x, y, z) we can, from (b) associate an unique set of
coordinates (𝑢1 , 𝑢2 , 𝑢3 ) called the curvilinear coordinates of P. The sets of equations (a) and (b)
defined a transformation of coordinates.

1.2 Orthogonal Curvilinear Coordinates

The surfaces 𝑢1 = 𝑐1 , 𝑢2 = 𝑐2 , 𝑢3 = 𝑐3 where 𝑐1 , 𝑐2 , 𝑐3
are constants are called coordinate surfaces and each pair
of these surfaces intersect in curves called coordinate
curves or lines.
If the coordinate surfaces intersect at right angles the
curvilinear coordinate system is called orthogonal.
The u1 , u2 and u3 coordinate curves for a curvilinear
system are analogous to the x, y and z coordinate axes of
a rectangular system.

Figure 1: Coordinate Curves

1.3 Unit Vector in Curvilinear Systems
Let 𝑟 = 𝑥𝑖 + 𝑦𝑗 + 𝑧𝑘 be the position vector of a point P. Then (a) can be written 𝑟 = 𝑟(𝑢1 , 𝑢2 , 𝑢3 )
𝜕𝑟
A tangent vector to the 𝑢1 curve at 𝑃 (for which 𝑢2 and 𝑢3 are constant) is 𝜕𝑢
1

𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑟
Let 𝑒1 be a unit tangent vector in this direction. Thus, 𝑒1 = |𝜕𝑢 |⁄|𝜕𝑢 |
1 1

𝜕𝑟
𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑢1 𝜕𝑟
Also, let ℎ1 = |𝜕𝑢 | giving 𝑒1 = or 𝑒1 ℎ1 = 𝜕𝑢
1 ℎ1 1

Similarly, if 𝑒2 and 𝑒3 are unit tangent vector to the 𝑢2 and 𝑢3 curves also at 𝑃 respectively, then:

Page | 2
𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑟
= 𝑒2 ℎ2 𝑎𝑛𝑑 = 𝑒3 ℎ3 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 ℎ2 = | | and ℎ3 = | |
𝜕𝑢2 𝜕𝑢3 𝜕𝑢2 𝜕𝑢3
The quantities ℎ1 , ℎ2 , ℎ3 are called scale factors and the unit vectors 𝑒1 , 𝑒2 , 𝑒3 are in the directions
of increasing 𝑢1 , 𝑢2 , 𝑢3 respectively.
Moreover, recall that ∇𝑢1 is a vector at 𝑃 normal to the surface 𝑢1 = 𝑐1 .

A unit vector in this direction is given by 𝐸1 = ∇𝑢1 ⁄|∇𝑢1 |. Similarly, the unit vectors 𝐸2 =
∇𝑢2 ⁄|∇𝑢2 | and 𝐸3 = ∇𝑢3 ⁄|∇𝑢3 | 𝑎𝑡 𝑃 are normal to the
surface 𝑢2 = 𝑐2 and 𝑢3 = 𝑐3 respectively.
The foregoing shows that at each point P of a curvilinear
system there exists, in general, two sets of unit vectors:
1. 𝑒1 , 𝑒2 , 𝑒3 tangent to the coordinate curves and,
2. 𝐸1 , 𝐸2 , 𝐸3 normal to the coordinate surface.
The sets become identical if and only if the curvilinear
coordinate system is orthogonal. Both 𝑒1 , 𝑒2 , 𝑒3 and
𝐸1 , 𝐸2 , 𝐸3 are analogous to the 𝑖, 𝑗, 𝑘 unit vectors in
rectangular coordinates. However, the two sets
can change directions from point to point.
Figure 2: Rectangular Coordinates

This means that a vector A can be represented in terms of the unit base vectors 𝑒1 , 𝑒2 , 𝑒3 or
𝐸1 , 𝐸2 , 𝐸3 in the forms:
❖ 𝐴 = 𝐴1 𝑒1 + 𝐴2 𝑒2 + 𝐴3 𝑒3
❖ 𝐴 = 𝑎1 𝐸1 + 𝑎2 𝐸2 + 𝑎3 𝐸3
Where: 𝐴1 , 𝐴2 , 𝐴3 and 𝑎1 , 𝑎2 , 𝑎3 are the respective components of A in each system.
𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑟
The sets 𝜕𝑢 , 𝜕𝑢 , 𝜕𝑢 and ∇𝑢3 , ∇𝑢2 , ∇𝑢3 constitute reciprocal system of vectors. “A” can also be
1 2 3
represented in terms of these base vectors which are called unitary base vectors but are not unit
vectors in general. In this case :
𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑟
❖ 𝐴 = 𝐶1 𝜕𝑢 + 𝐶2 𝜕𝑢 𝐶3 𝜕𝑢 = 𝐶1 𝛼1 + 𝐶2 𝛼2 + 𝐶3 𝛼3 𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝛼𝑝 = 𝜕𝑢 , 𝑝 = 1,2,3
1 2 3 𝑝

❖ 𝐴 = 𝐶1 ∇𝑢1 + 𝐶2 ∇𝑢2 + 𝐶3 ∇𝑢3 = 𝐶1 𝛽1 + 𝐶2 𝛽2 + 𝐶3 𝛽3 𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝛽𝑝 = ∇𝑢𝑝 , 𝑝 = 1,2,3

Where 𝐶1 , 𝐶2 , 𝐶3 are called the contra variant components of A, and 𝑐1 , 𝑐2 , 𝑐3 are called the
covariant components of A.

Page | 3
 1.4 Arc Length
𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑟
From 𝑟 = (𝑢1 , 𝑢2 , 𝑢3 ) , we have 𝑑𝑟 = 𝜕𝑢 𝑑𝑢1 + 𝜕𝑢 𝑑𝑢2 + 𝜕𝑢 𝑑𝑢3
1 2 3

𝑑𝑟 = ℎ1 𝑑𝑢1 𝑒1 + ℎ2 𝑑𝑢2 𝑒2 + ℎ3 𝑑𝑢3 𝑒3

The differential arc length 𝑑𝑠 can be determined from 𝑑𝑠 2 = 𝑑𝑟. 𝑑𝑟
𝑑𝑠 2 = (ℎ1 𝑑𝑢1 𝑒1 + ℎ2 𝑑𝑢2 𝑒2 + ℎ3 𝑑𝑢3 𝑒3 ). (ℎ1 𝑑𝑢1 𝑒1 + ℎ2 𝑑𝑢2 𝑒2
+ ℎ3 𝑑𝑢3 𝑒3 )
𝑑𝑠 2 = (ℎ1 𝑑𝑢1 )2 𝑒1 . 𝑒1 + (ℎ2 𝑑𝑢2 )2 𝑒2 . 𝑒2 + (ℎ3 𝑑𝑢3 )2 𝑒3 . 𝑒3
Since 𝑒1 , 𝑒2 , 𝑒3 are unit vectors, 𝑒1 . 𝑒1 = 𝑒2 . 𝑒2 = 𝑒3 . 𝑒3 = 1 Figure 3: Arc Length Corresponding Coordinates

𝑑𝑠 2 = ℎ12 𝑑𝑢12 + ℎ22 𝑑𝑢22 + ℎ32 𝑑𝑢32

Note: In orthogonal systems, 𝑒1 . 𝑒2 = 𝑒2 . 𝑒3 = 𝑒3 . 𝑒1 = 0
❖ Along a 𝑢1 curve, 𝑢2 and 𝑢3 are constants so that 𝑑𝑟 = ℎ1 𝑑𝑢1 𝑒1 Then 𝑑𝑠12 = ℎ12 𝑑𝑢12 or 𝑑𝑠1 =
ℎ1 𝑑𝑢1 at point 𝑃.
❖ Along a 𝑢2 curve, 𝑢1 and 𝑢3 are constants so that 𝑑𝑟 = ℎ2 𝑑𝑢2 𝑒2 Then 𝑑𝑠22 = ℎ22 𝑑𝑢22 or 𝑑𝑠2 =
ℎ2 𝑑𝑢2 at point 𝑃.
❖ Along a 𝑢3 curve, 𝑢1 and 𝑢2 are constants so that 𝑑𝑟 = ℎ3 𝑑𝑢3 𝑒3 Then 𝑑𝑠32 = ℎ32 𝑑𝑢32 or 𝑑𝑠3 =
ℎ3 𝑑𝑢3 at point 𝑃.

1.5 Volume Element

For an orthogonal curvilinear coordinate system recall volume, 𝑉 = 𝐴. (𝐵𝑥𝐶) = 𝐵. (𝐶𝑥𝐴) =
𝐶. (𝐴𝑥𝐵).
𝑑𝑉 = |(ℎ1 𝑑𝑢1 𝑒1 )(ℎ2 𝑑𝑢2 𝑒2 )𝑥(ℎ3 𝑑𝑢3 𝑒3 )| , 𝑑𝑉 = ℎ1 ℎ2 ℎ3 𝑑𝑢1 𝑑𝑢2 𝑑𝑢3

1.6 Gradient, Divergence and Curl in Curvilinear coordinates

If is a ∅ 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑟 function and 𝐴 = 𝐴1 𝑒1 + 𝐴2 𝑒2 + 𝐴3 𝑒3 a vector function of orthogonal
curvilinear coordinates 𝑢1 , 𝑢2 , 𝑢3 then the following results are valid:
1 𝜕∅ 1 𝜕∅ 1 𝜕∅
❖ ∇∅ =grad ∅ = ℎ 𝑒 +ℎ 𝑒 +ℎ 𝑒
1 𝜕𝑢1 1 2 𝜕𝑢2 2 3 𝜕𝑢3 3

1 𝜕 𝜕 𝜕
❖ ∇, 𝐴 = 𝑑𝑖𝑣𝐴 = ℎ [ (ℎ2 ℎ3 𝐴1 ) + 𝜕𝑢 (ℎ3 ℎ1 𝐴2 ) + 𝜕𝑢 (ℎ1 ℎ2 𝐴3 )]
1 ℎ2 ℎ3 𝜕𝑢1 2 3

Page | 4
 ℎ1 𝑒1 ℎ2 𝑒2 ℎ3 𝑒3
1 𝜕 𝜕 𝜕
❖ ∇𝑥𝐴 =curl A= ℎ | 𝜕𝑢1 𝜕𝑢2 𝜕𝑢3
|
1 ℎ2 ℎ3
ℎ1 𝐴1 ℎ2 𝐴2 ℎ3 𝐴3

1 𝜕 ℎ2 ℎ3 𝜕∅ 𝜕 ℎ3 ℎ1 𝜕∅ 𝜕 ℎ1 ℎ2 𝜕∅
❖ ∇2 ∅ = Laplacian of ∅ = ℎ [𝜕𝑢 ( ) + 𝜕𝑢 ( ) + 𝜕𝑢 ( )]
1 ℎ2 ℎ3 1 ℎ1 𝜕𝑢1 2 ℎ2 𝜕𝑢2 3 ℎ3 𝜕𝑢3

Notice that If ℎ1 = ℎ2 = ℎ3 = 1 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒1 , 𝑒2 , 𝑒3 are replaced 𝑏𝑦 𝑖, 𝑗, 𝑘, these reduce to the usual

expression 𝑛 rectangular coordinates where (𝑢1 , 𝑢2 , 𝑢3 ) is replaced by (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧). [2]

2. Special Orthogonal Coordinate Systems

2.1 Cylindrical Coordinates (𝝆, ∅, 𝒛)

𝑥 = 𝜌𝑐𝑜𝑠∅, 𝑦 = 𝜌𝑠𝑖𝑛∅, 𝑧=𝑧
Where: 𝜌 ≥ 0, 0 ≤ ∅ < 2𝜋, −∞<𝑧 <∞

ℎ𝑝 = 1, ℎ∅ = 𝜌, ℎ𝑧 = 1

Figure 4: Cylindrical Coordinates

2.2 Spherical Coordinates (𝒓, 𝜽, ∅)

𝑥 = 𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝑐𝑜𝑠∅, 𝑦 = 𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝑠𝑖𝑛∅, 𝑧 = 𝑟𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
Where: 𝑟 ≥ 0, 0 ≤ ∅ < 2𝜋, 0 ≤ 𝜃 ≤ 𝜋

ℎ𝑟 = 1, ℎ𝜃 = 𝑟, ℎ∅ = 𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃

Figure 5: Spherical Coordinates

Page | 5
3. Applications

3.1 The Global Positioning System (GPS)

3.1.1 Introduction to GPS
The Global Positioning System is a network of about 29 satellites orbiting the Earth at an
altitude of 20,000 km.
The system was originally developed by the US government in 1970s for military navigation but
now anyone with a GPS device like a SatNav, mobile phone or handheld GPS unit, can receive
the radio signals that the satellites broadcast.
It takes 24 satellites to get a full coverage leaving 5 satellites as spare, wherever you are on the
planet, at least four GPS satellites are ‘visible’ at any time each one transmits information about
its position and the current time at regular intervals. These signals travelling at the speed of light,
are intercepted by your GPS receiver, which calculates how far away each satellite is based on
how long it took for the messages to arrive.
Once it has information on how far away at least three satellites are, your GPS receiver can pinpoint
your location using a process called trilateration. [3]

3.1.2 Trilateration
Imagine you are standing somewhere on Earth with three
satellites in the sky above you. If you know how far away you are
from satellite A, then you know you must be located somewhere on
the red circle. If you do the same for satellites B and C, you can work
out your location by seeing where the three circles intersect.
The same concept works in three-dimensional space but instead of
circles you need to think in terms of spheres, if you know your
distance from satellite a you could be anywhere on a huge imaginary
Figure 6: Determination of Point in 2-D
sphere at that radius if you know your distance from satellite B you
can overlap the first sphere with the second sphere and they intersect
in a perfect circle so if you know the distance to a third satellite you
get a third sphere which intersects with the circle at two points and the
earth acts as the fourth sphere so you can eliminate the point in space
because you're on earth so do you only need three satellites to get an
approximate position but to improve accuracy and get precise altitude
information four or more are better.

Figure 7: Determination of Point in 3-D

Page | 6
 3.1.3 GPS and Relativity
GPS satellites have atomic clocks on board to keep accurate time. General and Special
Relativity however predict that differences will appear between these clocks and an identical clock
on Earth.
General Relativity predicts that time will appear to run slower under stronger gravitational pull the
clocks on board the satellites will therefore seem to run faster than a clock on earth, furthermore,
Special Relativity predicts that because the satellites’ clocks are moving relative to a clock on earth
they will appear to run slower.

3.1.4 Curvilinear Coordinate System and GPS

Those four distances form a curvilinear coordinate system, based on the location of the
satellites any point in space can be uniquely identified by those four distances.
It is very common to convert those coordinates into a more common coordinate system like a
spherical system centered on the earth so you get latitude, longitude, and altitude which itself is
curvilinear, as lines of constant latitude or longitude are not straight in space.

3.2 Finite-Difference Method for Incompressible Navier–Stokes Equations

in arbitrary orthogonal curvilinear coordinates
3.2.1 Introduction to NSE Approach for Incompressible Flow
A finite-difference method for solving three-dimensional time-dependent incompressible
Navier–Stokes equations in arbitrary curvilinear orthogonal coordinates is presented. The method
is oriented on turbulent flow simulations and consists of a second-order central difference
approximation in space .
The corresponding discrete equations retain several important local and integral properties of the
NSE. In particular, the energy conservation property, which means that the nonlinear and pressure-
gradient terms do not produce kinetic energy of the motion but only redistribute it among different
flow regions, is held identically by the discretized equations. [4]

Page | 7
 3.2.2 Governing Equations for Incompressible Flow in Curvilinear Orthogonal
Coordinates
Consider a flow of viscous incompressible fluid governed by the Navier Stokes and continuity
equations:
𝜕𝑢
= 𝑢 × 𝜔 − v curl 𝜔 −grad p, (1)
𝜕𝑡

div u = 0. (2)
Here, 𝑢(𝑡, 𝑥) is the velocity, 𝑝(𝑡, 𝑥) is the full kinematic pressure (i.e., sum of the pressure and the
velocity head 𝜌|𝑢|2 /2, divided by the fluid density 𝜌), v is the fluid viscosity, and 𝜔(𝑡, 𝑥) is the
vorticity
𝜔 =curl u. (3)
Eq. (1) is derived from the more conventional form of the NSE using the vector identities
−(𝑢 ⋅ 𝛻)𝑢 ≡ 𝑢 ×curl u −grad |𝑢|2 /2. 𝛻 2 𝑢 ≡grad div u – curl curl u
and with (2) and (3) considered.
We assume that the flow domain is 𝐷 with the boundary 𝛤, and the boundary conditions are given
in the form
𝑢(𝑡, 𝑥) = 𝑢𝑏 (𝑡, 𝑥) at 𝑥 ∈ 𝛤. (4)
Several other kinds of boundary conditions, as well as the conditions at the coordinate singularity
points will be considered below in the test examples. Concerning the boundary velocity 𝑢𝑏 , to be
consistent with the incompressibility the following condition must be satisfied:
.
∫𝛤 𝑢𝑏 ⋅ 𝑛𝑑𝛤 = 0, (5)

where 𝑛 is the normal vector.

we consider the case when 𝐷 is a rectangular domain in some orthogonal curvilinear coordinates
(𝑥1 , 𝑥2 , 𝑥3 ) connected with the Cartesian coordinates (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) by the relations
𝑥 = 𝑥(𝑥1 , 𝑥2 , 𝑥3 ) , 𝑦 = 𝑦(𝑥1 , 𝑥2 , 𝑥3 ) , 𝑧 = 𝑧(𝑥1 , 𝑥2 , 𝑥3 ) (6)
Vector operators in curvilinear orthogonal coordinates: gradient of a scalar field 𝜑, divergence and
curl of a vector field 𝑎 = (𝑎1 , 𝑎2 , 𝑎3 ) are defined as follows:
1 𝜕𝜑 1 𝜕𝜑 1 𝜕𝜑
grad 𝜑 = (ℎ . . ), (7)
1 𝜕𝑥1 ℎ2 𝜕𝑥2 ℎ3 𝜕𝑥3

1 𝜕 ℎ𝑎 𝜕 ℎ𝑎 𝜕 ℎ𝑎
diva = ℎ [𝜕𝑥 ( ℎ 1 ) + 𝜕𝑥 ( ℎ 2 ) + 𝜕𝑥 ( ℎ 3 )], (8)
1 1 2 2 3 3

ℎ 𝜕ℎ3 𝑎3 𝜕ℎ2 𝑎2 ℎ2 𝜕ℎ1 𝑎1 𝜕ℎ3 𝑎3 ℎ3 𝜕ℎ2 𝑎2 𝜕ℎ1 𝑎1

curl a = ( ℎ1 [ − ], [ − ], [ − ]) . (9)
𝜕𝑥2 𝜕𝑥3 ℎ 𝜕𝑥3 𝜕𝑥1 ℎ 𝜕𝑥1 𝜕𝑥2

Page | 8
 Here, ℎ1 , ℎ2 , ℎ3 are the metric stretching factors

𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧
ℎ𝑘 = √(𝜕𝑥 )2 + (𝜕𝑥 )2 + (𝜕𝑥 )2 , 𝑘 = 1,2,3 (10)
𝑘 𝑘 𝑘

and ℎ = ℎ1 ℎ2 ℎ3 .
Finally, considering that by definition of vector product
𝑢 × 𝜔 = (𝑢2 𝜔3 − 𝑢3 𝜔2 , 𝑢3 𝜔1 − 𝑢1 𝜔3 , 𝑢1 𝜔2 − 𝑢2 𝜔1 ) ,
the vector equations (1) , (3) may be written in a scalar form.

*NSE: Navier–Stokes equations

*grad: differentiation of scalers

*curl: differentiation of vector

Page | 9
Conclusion

We have covered orthogonal coordinate systems in this report, we have also identify some
special coordinates system that are orthogonal, taking into consideration, if one coordinate is held
constant, we can determine successively three surfaces passing a point of space, these surfaces
intersecting in the coordinate curves.
When we chose a new coordinate in such a way that the coordinate curves are mutually
perpendicular at each point in, we call such coordinates Orthogonal Curvilinear coordinates. We
have also considered various types of these Orthogonal systems particularly those for practical
applications like Navier–Stokes. The orthogonal coordinate systems are used in a lot of
applications as method of calculation and integrating elements specially in finite element analysis.

Page | 10
References

[1] P. C. Matthews, “Curvilinear Coordinates,” vol. 3, pp. 99–113, 1998.

[2] D. A. Danielson, “Vectors and Tensors in Engineering and Physics,” Vectors Tensors Eng.
Phys., 2018.
[3] Federal Aviation Administration, “Satellite Navigation - GPS - How It Works,” Faa.Gov.
2015, Accessed: May 24, 2020. [Online]. Available:
https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/techops/navs
ervices/gnss/gps/howitworks/.
[4] N. Nikitin, “Finite-difference method for incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in
arbitrary orthogonal curvilinear coordinates,” J. Comput. Phys., vol. 217, no. 2, pp. 759–
781, 2006.

Page | 11