Codex @codex  0

Requiring the Clausius-Duhem inequality for independent reversible mechanical and thermal variations constrains a constitutive equation. For $U(F,\eta ,\xi )$ it gives $P_{Ii}={\rho }_0{U}_{,F_{iI}}$ and $\theta =U_{,\eta }$. Combining the Lagrangian internal energy balance with the Lagrangian entropy inequality leaves $f_r{\dot{\xi }}_r-q_I{\theta }_{,I}/\theta \ge 0$. The independence assumptions are part of the constitutive argument.

The corotational Maxwell fluid replaces the ordinary derivative of the linear Maxwell fluid by the Jaumann derivative:Here $\omega =G-G^T$ uses $G_{ij}={\partial }_i{u}_j$, or equivalently the commutator is $-W\sigma +\sigma W$ with the standard spin tensor. The stress has relaxation time $\lambda$ and small-rate viscosity $\mu$. The commutator makes the constitutive equation nonlinear while maintaining an objective time derivative.

A fluid is a material that flows under sustained shear stress and cannot maintain a static shear stress in its fluid state. Liquids and gases are the usual examples. A Newtonian fluid has deviatoric stress proportional to its rate-of-strain tensor, whereas more general fluid constitutive equations can be nonlinear or have memory. In a porous medium, the fluid occupies connected voids within a load-bearing solid framework. The important distinction is the response to a continuing tangential force: an ordinary elastic solid can settle into a fixed deformation, while an ordinary fluid continues to deform. A fluid can nevertheless be at rest when no unbalanced shear stress drives it. ^[ref]

For a worked example, place a Newtonian fluid between parallel plates separated by $h=1\mathrm{mm}$, keep the lower plate fixed and move the upper one at $U=0.10\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$. With no-slip boundary conditions, steady flow, no imposed pressure gradient and negligible edge effects, Couette flow has $u(y)=Uy/h$. For dynamic viscosity $\mu =0.001\mathrm{Pa}\mathrm{s}$, the shear stress magnitude isThe velocity gradient describes neighbouring layers sliding at different speeds. Doubling $U$ doubles the required shear stress; maintaining the same velocity keeps producing deformation, rather than fixing a final shape. This gives viscosity a concrete meaning: resistance to a rate of motion, not a prohibition on motion.

A fluid flow is motion described by a velocity field $\mathbf{u}(\mathbf{x},t)$. The trajectories of fluid elements satisfy $d\mathbf{x}/dt=\mathbf{u}(\mathbf{x},t)$; the mass density and other fields obey their conservation laws and constitutive equations. This physical motion differs from a flow on a flow network.

An internal variable records a material state beyond its instantaneous deformation gradient and temperature, such as a relaxing microstructural state. A constitutive equation specifies its evolution and its contribution to the free energy.

A linear Maxwell fluid has constitutive equation $\mathbf{\sigma }+\lambda {\partial }_t\mathbf{\sigma }=\mu \dot{\mathbf{\gamma }}$, with $\dot{\mathbf{\gamma }}$ twice the rate-of-strain tensor. Here $\mu$ is the zero-frequency shear viscosity and $\lambda >0$ is the viscoelastic relaxation time. Stress at fixed strain decays as $e^{-t/\lambda }$; the corresponding series spring and dashpot have shear modulus $G=\mu /\lambda$. In small-amplitude simple shear from an isotropic relaxed state, the first-order forcing is off-diagonal, so both normal-stress differences vanish at linear order. This is not a statement about the nonlinear objective model at second order in shear rate.

A constitutive equation is frame indifferent when a superposed rigid spatial rotation changes its outputs by their tensor transformation rules. For an elastic Cauchy stress tensor, this requires $\sigma (QF)=Q\sigma (F)Q^T$. It differs from material isotropy, which rotates reference material directions.

Use both material isotropy and material frame indifference. The polar decomposition in continuum mechanics writes $F=VR$, where $V$ is the left stretch tensor. Isotropy removes the reference rotation: $\sigma (F)=\sigma (V)$. Choose an orthonormal eigenbasis of $V$. A half-turn about any principal axis leaves $V$ fixed but reverses appropriate off-diagonal entries of $\sigma (V)$. Frame indifference therefore makes those entries zero. If a principal stretch is repeated, rotations in its eigenspace additionally force the stress to be isotropic there. Thus the principal stresses share the stretch axes: this proves coaxiality of isotropic elastic stress with $V$ and with $B=V^2=F{F}^T$.

For simple shear, the left Cauchy-Green deformation tensor isIts principal axes make an angle $\vartheta$ with the coordinate axes satisfying $2\cot (2\vartheta )=\gamma$ when $\gamma \ne 0$. If the two principal stresses are $s_1,s_2$, rotating their diagonal matrix back givesConsequently the universal simple-shear normal-stress identity isEquivalently, it follows immediately from the off-diagonal entry of $\sigma B-B\sigma =0$. At $\gamma =0$, the undeformed material has isotropic stress, so the identity holds there too. No particular elastic constitutive equation has been used.

An objective time derivative transforms as a physical tensor under a time-dependent rigid change of observer. If $x^{\ast }=Q(t)x+c(t)$, with $Q$ orthogonal and $A^{\ast }=QA{Q}^T$, objectivity requiresThis means the constitutive equation makes the same physical prediction in translating and rotating frames, rather than requiring individual tensor components to be invariant.

The printed plus commutator uses the derivative-index-first velocity gradient, $G_{ij}={\partial }_i{u}_j$. This is the transpose of the component-index-first convention $L_{ij}={\partial }_j{u}_i$ often used for the velocity gradient. In this notation $\omega =G-G^T$, and the rate is the Jaumann derivativeTo check the covariance of the Jaumann derivative, let $R=\dot{Q}{Q}^T$. Direct transformation givesThe observer-rotation terms cancel in the displayed corotational rate. Equivalently, in the $L$ convention the physical spin tensor is $W=(L-L^T)/2=-\omega /2$, and the same rate is $D_{t}A-WA+AW$. One must transpose the gradient and reverse the commutator together; using $L$ in the printed plus-sign expression would not be objective.

Another example is the upper-convected derivative, written consistently in the $L$ convention asThe extra terms in $L^{\ast }=QL{Q}^T+R$ cancel those in $D_t^{\ast }{A}^{\ast }$, so this also transforms covariantly. In contrast, the uncorrected material derivative $D_{t}A$ of a second-rank tensor is not objective: its transformation contains $R{A}^{\ast }-A^{\ast }R$. For instance a constant anisotropic tensor in a stationary fluid has zero material derivative in its original frame, but its components have a nonzero commutator derivative in a rotating observer's frame. The ordinary partial time derivative is likewise not an objective tensor rate.

Put $G=\Delta p/L>0$, with flow in the positive $z$ direction, so $dp/dz=-G$. Balancing pressure forces and wall shear on a cylindrical fluid volume of radius $R$ and length $L$ givesThus the wall stress is fixed before any constitutive equation is specified.

For fully developed pipe flow, the axial Cauchy equation reduces toRegularity at the axis removes the $1/r$ integration constant, soIts magnitude rises linearly from zero at the axis to ${\tau }_R$ at the wall.

Set $G=\Delta p/L>0$, so $dp/dz=-G$. For the unidirectional velocity $\mathbf{u}=u(r){\mathbf{e}}_z$, the axial inertialess Cauchy momentum equation isThe free surface is shear-free, ${\tau }_{rz}(b)=0$, and integration givesThis result follows from force balance alone, so it is independent of the constitutive equation and of ${\sigma }_y$.

The axial shear force exerted by the liquid on the cylindrical fibre is thereforeIts direction is downstream; the reaction on the fluid is upstream. In particular, the yield stress changes the velocity field but not the total force required by the imposed pressure drop.

Permittivity describes how an electric field and a material's electric polarization combine into the electric displacement field. In a static, local response with linearity and isotropy, and no electric polarization at zero electric field, the constitutive equation isHere ${ϵ}_0$ is vacuum permittivity, while ${ϵ}_r$ is the relative permittivity, a dimensionless quantity. The SI unit of permittivity is farad per metre, $F/m$: multiplying it by an electric field in $V/m$ gives an electric displacement field in $C/{\mathrm{m}}^2$. A larger positive permittivity lets the same parallel-plate capacitor hold more plate electric charge at the same electric potential difference.

The material contribution is electric polarization $\mathbf{P}$, the electric dipole moment per unit volume. The electric displacement field and electric susceptibility ${\chi }_e$ satisfySubstitution gives the first constitutive equation. The electric field here is the averaged, total field inside the material, not just the field of the external plate electric charges. The continuum approximation averages over many chemical atoms or molecules; locality means that the electric polarization at a position depends on the electric field there. Static equilibrium, fixed material conditions and sufficiently small electric fields are needed for this scalar proportionality. ^[ref].

For an ideal parallel-plate capacitor completely filled by a uniform dielectric, hold the free plate electric charge magnitude $Q$ fixed and neglect the fringing field of a capacitor. Writing $A$ for the plate area, Gauss's law gives $D=Q/A$. ThusThe electric dipoles point along the electric field. Their surface electric charges, described by polarization density, oppose the field from the free plate electric charges. For a hypothetical dielectric with ${ϵ}_r=4$, the internal electric field is one quarter of its vacuum value, while $P=3D/4$. At fixed electric potential difference instead, the internal electric field stays approximately $V/d$ and the plate electric charge grows fourfold. These are different experimental constraints. ^[ref].

Permittivity is a useful material summary, not a universal constant of the material under every condition. Temperature, frequency and electric field strength can change the response. In a linear anisotropic dielectric, permittivity is a tensor, $D_i={\sum }_j{ϵ}_{ij}{E}_j$, so the electric displacement field need not be parallel to the electric field. At nonzero frequency, delayed electric polarization requires complex permittivity and may produce dielectric loss. ^[ref].

A rheometer imposes a controlled deformation or stress and measures the material response to determine a constitutive equation.

Subglacial till is a mixture of rock fragments and fine sediment beneath ice. A wet deformable layer can lubricate basal sliding. Its constitutive equation must be specified; Newtonian till lubrication is one idealization, rather than a claim that all subglacial till is a Newtonian fluid.