Cauchy's stress hypothesis says that traction across a cut depends locally on its point, time and oriented normal, rather than on the global shape of the cut. Here all areas and normals are referential: is a fixed material region in reference coordinates, its mass density per reference volume, the current particle velocity, body force per unit mass, and force per unit reference area. The time derivative on the left is total material momentum rate; the two right terms are contact and body forces.
A shrinking pillbox gives . In a shrinking tetrahedron the volume contributions scale as its linear size cubed, whereas face forces scale as size squared. Their leading balance expresses traction on an arbitrary face as the normal-component-weighted sum of tractions on three coordinate faces. Defining those three tractions as tensor columns gives . Applying the divergence theorem to momentum balance and localizing over arbitrary then yieldsThe referential tensor is the first Piola-Kirchhoff stress and need not be symmetric; it should not be silently identified with the spatial Cauchy stress.
Incompressibility is . For a homogeneous hyperelastic material the referential constitutive relation becomeswhere the undetermined scalar pressure enforces the constraint. Homogeneity removes explicit reference-position dependence from , not the possible spatial variation of that pressure.
For the neo-Hookean energy, . For the positive diagonal ansatz the nominal principal stresses are . Since is constant, equilibrium requires , so is constant. Stress-free endfaces give . The side normals include and , so their prescribed tractions force .
For fixed positive , the scalar function is strictly increasing on . Thus equality of the two nominal stresses implies . Incompressibility gives , and substitution givesThe load function has derivative , tends to minus infinity as and to infinity as . It therefore determines exactly one positive for every specified load, with for outward tensile . The resulting constant stress satisfies equilibrium and every prescribed face traction, proving existence and uniqueness within the requested positive diagonal class. It does not claim uniqueness among all possible nonhomogeneous deformations. This is the equibiaxial dead loading of a neo-Hookean prism.
In the classical smooth setting, a deformation in continuum mechanics is a sufficiently regular, injective map with . Injectivity excludes material interpenetration, and a positive determinant preserves orientation and local volume. We use regularity for these kinematics and additional differentiability where stress-divergence identities are applied.
Cauchy's stress theorem states that the contact force on an oriented surface element at a current point depends on the point and its unit normal, rather than on the shape of the chosen subbody. Thus the contact force on the boundary of a current subbody has the form . Static force balance, for a body force per unit current volume, isfor every subbody. A shrinking pillbox gives ; a shrinking tetrahedron then gives linear dependence on the normal, . Applying the divergence theorem and using arbitrary subbodies givesIf body force is specified per unit mass instead, replace by . Symmetry of follows additionally from conservation of angular momentum in the absence of body couples; it is not a consequence of force balance alone.
The Cauchy momentum equation in static elastic equilibrium, with zero body force, is . The Cauchy stress tensor is symmetric. Material isotropy and the equal tangential principal stretches imply , so its radial equation isAll stresses and spatial derivatives in this equation are measured in the current configuration.
The first equation is the local balance of linear momentum. Use for the dimensions of mass, length, and time, to distinguish dimensional time from the Cauchy stress tensor .
- is the current position of the particle labelled by reference position ; both have dimension . The deformation map specifies the particle's trajectory.
- is its material acceleration, with dimension . The dots follow the particle and are not spatially fixed time derivatives.
- is current mass density, with dimension . For a homogeneous material with incompressibility, mass conservation makes it constant in space and time.
- is body force per unit mass, such as gravitational acceleration, with dimension . Hence is force per unit volume.
- is the Cauchy stress tensor, mapping a unit normal vector to surface traction . Each component has dimension , or force per unit area.
- differentiates in the current configuration, with dimension . In Cartesian coordinates, . Thus , , and all have dimension .
- The superscript denotes the dimension-preserving matrix transpose. The relation expresses angular momentum conservation in a continuum without body couples or couple stresses.
Here has dimension . The hypothesis means that the prescribed spatial body force field is the same for every member of the static family and the resulting motion.
Take two time derivatives at fixed reference position :The constraint ensures that the deformation gradient is invertible, so . Thus the spatial material acceleration is the affine vector fieldIts spatial gradient is , and its curl isPart (b)(iii) therefore requiresEquivalently, multiplying on the left by and on the right by givesThe translation contributes no spatial curl and is unrestricted by this condition. A useful equivalent first integral isthe antisymmetric matrix in parentheses must be constant, and need not vanish. The separate constraint is still required; differentiating it also gives .
The condition is understood in the setting of part (b), where a static family already exists under the prescribed body force. For a homogeneous elastic deformation gradient, the elastic stress is spatially constant. Static balance of linear momentum consequently gives , ensuring that has a scalar potential. If the static-family assumption were dropped and an arbitrary time-independent body force allowed, the general necessary condition would instead be .
Past exam of the theoretical mechanics course of the University of Oxford 2007 A 1 Solution 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.
Past exam of the theoretical mechanics course of the University of Oxford 2007 B 5 Solution 2026-10-31
For a material volume, mass conservation is . The transport theorem and arbitrariness of that volume give . Balance of linear momentum includes the pressure traction and body force:Apply transport, the divergence theorem and the mass equation to obtainFor small perturbations of the uniform resting barotropic state, write , . Linearized mass and momentum areTaking the curl shows that initially vanishing vorticity remains zero, so the acoustic velocity has a potential . Integrating momentum, using the additive freedom of a velocity potential to remove the spatially constant integration term, gives . Continuity now yields .
For spherical symmetry, set and . The radial equation is , or . HenceRigid boundaries require radial velocity at both radii. A form automatically satisfying the condition at isAt , the condition becomesTherefore the nonzero oscillatory eigenfrequencies obeyThe undivided sine-cosine form avoids artificial issues from dividing by a cosine. The formal root is the spatially constant zero-frequency potential additive freedom of a velocity potential, not a propagating acoustic oscillation. This is the radial acoustic spectrum between rigid concentric spheres.
Past exam of the theoretical mechanics course of the University of Oxford 2009 A 1 a Solution 2026-10-31
For a material volume moving with velocity , the Reynolds transport theorem isIt applies componentwise to vector quantities. Cauchy's stress theorem represents traction on a surface with outward unit normal as . Conservation of mass gives and hence . Constant density reduces this to .
With no body force, conservation of momentum and the divergence theorem giveApplying transport and then mass conservation cancels the terms proportional to , leaving . For the stated Newtonian stress, constant viscosity gives . The last term vanishes. Since the material volume was arbitrary,A body force, if present, would have to be added to the momentum balance; it is absent from the specified model.
Past exam of the theoretical mechanics course of the University of Oxford 2011 A 1 a i Solution 2026-10-31
For a material volume moving with the fluid, the Reynolds transport theorem gives, componentwise,For a scalar this is also . Apply the component formula to momentum density . Constant density and incompressibility make the integrand .
The traction is the force per unit area exerted by the material outside a surface on the material inside, with outward unit normal . Reversing the normal exchanges the two sides of the same internal surface. Thus expresses equal and opposite internal contact forces, the local form of Newton's third law.
With no body force, Newton's second law equates the rate of change of the material volume's total momentum to its surface force. Combining this balance with the transport theorem givesThis is a vector identity, since the component argument applies to each direction.
Past exam of the theoretical mechanics course of the University of Oxford 2011 B 4 a Solution 2026-10-31
Let rotate vectors from the rotating frame to the inertial frame. For any rotating-frame vector , differentiating adds to . Thus an inertial particle velocity is , and, for constant angular velocity, its acceleration isInsert this into the inertial Euler equations and express forces in the rotating coordinates. This givesThe additional terms are the Coriolis acceleration and the centripetal term associated with frame rotation. There is no angular-acceleration term because is constant.
Past exam of the topics in fluid mechanics course of the University of Oxford 2023 3 a i Solution 2026-10-25
For a constant-mass density incompressible flow with no imposed body force, the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equation isA conservative body force, if retained, may be incorporated into a modified pressure. Using scales and givesHere is the molecular kinematic viscosity. At high Reynolds number, inertia and the pressure gradient dominate on the outer length scale, while molecular viscous diffusion is small there. Thin boundary layers, narrow shear flows and fine turbulent scales can still have sufficiently large velocity gradients for viscous effects to matter. High Reynolds number permits instability and turbulence, but does not alone prove that every flow is turbulent. Molecular viscous dissipation remains essential at the small end of the turbulent cascade.
For an arbitrary material volume , Newton's second law equates the rate of change of linear momentum to the resultant contact force, since there is no body force:Use the Reynolds transport theorem on the left. Expanding the product and using the continuity equation leavesOn the right, the divergence theorem applied to each row of the Cauchy stress tensor givesConsequently the volume integral of vanishes on every material volume. Localizing as in part (i) gives the Cauchy momentum equation:The left side is mass density times material acceleration; the right side is the divergence of the Cauchy stress tensor.
Point-moment elastodynamic displacement 2026-10-14
Integrating the equivalent dipole body force against the elastodynamic Green tensor by parts gives the displayed time convolution. For a fixed seismic moment tensor shape , its terms are . Derivatives of the angular projectors and the retarded near-field integral additionally produce and coefficients, yielding the final static field after the source stops.
Radial elastic compatibility Created 2026-10-25 Updated 2026-10-31
In a homogeneous isotropic solid without body force, a radial displacement field satisfies . For nonzero , its volumetric strain is constant. Since Hooke's law gives , its stress tensor has constant trace. After plasticity in continuum mechanics has occurred, this conclusion applies to purely elastic increments during elastic unloading, and need not apply to the total residual stress.
Seismic moment tensor 2026-10-14
A localized zero-resultant seismic moment tensor represents the leading force-dipole part of an elastic wave source through the displayed equivalent body force. For a prescribed displacement jump across a surface with normal , its moment density is , where is the elastic stiffness tensor. Spatial integration gives the point-source moment when the source is small compared with the wavelengths.
For a no-slip sphere in a smooth ambient Stokes flow whose body forces lie outside the sphere and are unchanged by insertion, use the translating sphere as a reciprocal auxiliary field. Its uniform surface traction selects the ambient surface average and annihilates a rigid rotation term. The ambient stress has zero net surface force because its divergence vanishes inside the ball. Thus the sphere's hydrodynamic force is ; mechanical balance gives the displayed formula. The surface-average-only expression requires a force-free inertialess sphere. The spherical mean of a biharmonic function makes this average exactly .
Static elastic equilibrium 2026-10-14
A symmetric stress tensor is in static elastic equilibrium when its divergence balances the prescribed body force. Its boundary traction is . With zero body force, integration by parts gives . This is the weak principle of virtual work for a static elastic body.
Stokes equation Created 2026-09-28 Updated 2026-10-14
For a steady incompressible flow of a Newtonian fluid with constant density and constant dynamic viscosity , neglecting inertia in the Navier-Stokes equation givesThe first equation is local force balance; the second is mass conservation. The term is the divergence of the viscous part of the Newtonian fluid stress tensor. The body force has units of force per unit volume, , and equals for uniform gravity. Appropriate boundary data for velocity or traction, together with suitable distant conditions for an exterior flow, complete the problem; a rigid surface normally imposes the no-slip boundary condition.
With uniform gravity, write where the hydrostatic pressure satisfies . Then the disturbance equation is . This removes gravity from the fluid disturbance equation, while the hydrostatic pressure still supplies buoyancy on an immersed body. Omitting it from the total force balance would give the wrong Stokes settling velocity.
Stokes flow Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Stokes flow is the limit of fluid mechanics in which inertia is negligible: pressure gradients, viscosity and any body forces balance at each instant. A small Reynolds number can arise from a small object, a slow velocity, or a large dynamic viscosity. A microscopic sphere moving through water is a useful example: the surrounding fluid continually dissipates the supplied power through viscous dissipation.
The picture is a meridional slice of the three-dimensional axisymmetric flow around a sphere, with the sphere held fixed and the distant fluid moving rightward at speed . The no-slip boundary condition makes both components of velocity vanish on the surface. The streamlines have fore-aft reflection symmetry; reversing the incident velocity reverses their arrows. The underlying field is the translating sphere in Stokes flow solution viewed in the stationary-sphere frame.
For an incompressible flow of a Newtonian fluid with constant dynamic viscosity , the steady Stokes equation isHere is pressure, is velocity, and is body force per unit volume. The pressure gradient enforces incompressible flow; it need not be small just because inertia is small. At speed and length , the motion-induced pressure gradient has typical scale , corresponding to a disturbance pressure difference of order . See Shreyas Mandre's fluid dynamics notes, sections 9.1.1–9.1.2.
The controlling Reynolds number iswhere is density and is kinematic viscosity. The condition suppresses advection of momentum on the length . Rapid changes require an additional check of the viscous diffusion time: small Reynolds number alone does not eliminate the time derivative in the Unsteady Stokes equation.
Two rewards of this limit are the exact Stokes's law for the drag on a sphere and kinematic reversibility of Stokes flow. The first predicts settling velocities and connects to the Stokes–Einstein relation; the second explains why a microswimmer needs a nonreciprocal stroke, as expressed by the scallop theorem. Despite viscous dissipation, reversing the driving can retrace the motion: an especially striking consequence of Linearity of Stokes flow.
George Gabriel Stokes obtained the sphere drag and its terminal velocity in his 1851 investigation of how viscosity changes physical pendulum motion. He also used the slow fall of small water droplets to discuss clouds. The paper was read on 9 December 1850; 1851 is its publication date. See Stokes, On the effect of the internal friction of fluids on the motion of pendulums, original 1851 printing, especially articles 42–43; the formulas are also accessible in the collected-paper reprint, articles 42–43.
Thermal stress 2026-10-31
Thermal stress is stress generated when thermal expansion or contraction is constrained or incompatible. A uniformly heated isotropic body whose entire boundary is fixed has and . For a nonuniform temperature field, interior displacement generally remains nonzero even with a fixed outer boundary; equilibrium and compatibility must be solved together. Cancelling the divergence of a thermal stress term with a body force is not the same as making that stress vanish.
