Cauchy momentum equation

The Cauchy momentum equation balances material acceleration against stress divergence and body force:For an inertialess flow, the left-hand side is neglected.

For an inviscid material volume element, neglecting body forces, Newton's second law gives $D(\rho \mathbf{u}\delta V)/Dt=-\nabla p\delta V$. Since mass conservation keeps $\rho \delta V$ constant, the result is $\rho D\mathbf{u}/Dt=-\nabla p$. Cancelling $\delta V$ before differentiating would incorrectly omit its changing volume. A fixed control volume instead requires the advected momentum flux, yielding ${\partial }_t(\rho \mathbf{u})+\nabla \cdot (\rho \mathbf{u}\otimes \mathbf{u})=-\nabla p$.