Past exam of the theoretical mechanics course of the University of Oxford 2011 A 1 b ii Solution 2026-10-31
For equilateral triangular pipe flow, the polynomial vanishes on all three walls, so it satisfies no-slip boundary conditions. Direct differentiation givesThusFor , and the velocity is positive in the triangular interior.
At the wall , the outward normal of the fluid is . The axial traction exerted by the wall on the fluid is , so the fluid exerts the opposite axial traction on the wall. Since , the force per unit axial length isIt points with the flow for a negative axial pressure gradient. As a check, the triangular area is , so the total pressure driving force per unit length is ; each of the three equivalent walls receives one third.