Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-theoretical-mechanics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2007/a/1/solution
Past exam of the theoretical mechanics course of the University of Oxford 2007 A 1 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
Let denote traction: the force per unit area exerted across an oriented internal surface with unit normal . Define as component of the traction on a coordinate plane whose normal is . Balance of linear momentum on a shrinking tetrahedron makes the surface-force terms, of order area, dominate its inertia and body forces, of order volume. Resolving its oblique face into the three coordinate projected areas gives Cauchy's traction formulaOpposite faces have opposite tractions, as follows independently from a shrinking pillbox. This fixes both the index and normal conventions.
For a material volume , the Reynolds transport theorem says . Apply it componentwise to and use mass conservation. With no body force in this calculation, balance of linear momentum and the divergence theorem giveArbitrariness of the material volume yields , with .
In fully developed steady pipe flow , the convective acceleration vanishes. The transverse equations give and the axial equation gives . One side depends only on and the other only on , so both equal a constant. HenceIf is outward from the fluid cross-section, the wall-on-fluid axial shear per length is . The fluid-on-pipe force is its negative:For forward pressure-driven flow , this force points along the flow. Its value depends on cross-sectional area and pressure drop, even though the detailed velocity profile depends on the shape.
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