Energy dissipation identity for Model H 2026-10-06
For constant positive order-parameter mobility , dynamic viscosity and mass density , deterministic Model H dynamics dissipates the sum of composition free energy and kinetic energy:Assume smooth fields and periodic or closed, no-work boundaries. Using the chemical potential of a composition field, integration by parts and incompressible flow gives . Dotting the momentum equation with velocity gives . Pressure and convective work vanish under the boundary assumptions; the two capillary transfer terms cancel. This proves both the sign of the Korteweg force and its reversible exchange of energy with the composition field.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 344 2 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The field is a compositional order parameter in a binary fluid mixture. Its spatial integral is conserved in a closed sample, so advection and diffusion enter a continuity equation; the material derivative follows the incompressible fluid. The diffusive current , with positive order-parameter mobility , moves material down the chemical potential gradient. The chemical potential of a composition field is the functional derivative of the symmetric quartic Landau free energyso . Positive stabilize large amplitudes and penalize sharp interfaces; permits phase separation.
The momentum equation is the Navier-Stokes equation with dynamic viscosity , constant mass density , and the Korteweg force arising from composition stresses. The pressure enforces incompressible flow, , and can absorb pure gradient contributions to that thermodynamic force. For example, gives an equivalent force after redefining the pressure. These equations constitute deterministic Model H dynamics.
Their dissipative signs can be checked by the energy dissipation identity for Model H. Under periodic or no-flux, no-work boundary conditions, composition advection and capillary work cancel between and the kinetic energy, givingThus diffusion and viscosity dissipate energy, while the reversible advective coupling transfers it between composition and motion. Thermal noises are omitted at this deterministic hydrodynamic level.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 iii Paper 344 1 a Solution 2026-09-28
Because is a conserved composition density, an infinitesimal material displacement changes it at fixed position byThe second term is essential when the deformation is compressible. By the definition of the chemical potential, and taking to vanish on the boundary,The same free-energy change written in terms of the stress tensor isSince is arbitrary,This is the Korteweg force density of a diffuse-interface mixture.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 344 2 a Solution 2026-09-28
The thermodynamic order parameter is the conserved scalar composition difference of the binary fluid mixture. The momentum density is an additional conserved hydrodynamic mode; it is not a symmetry-breaking order parameter, but it must be retained because momentum relaxes only through spatial transport.
Composition conservation gives a continuity equation,The current is the leading isotropic, dissipative constitutive law: it drives material down gradients of the chemical potential. For the Landau-Ginzburg theorythe functional derivative isThese statements give the advective Cahn--Hilliard equation.
Constant mass density and incompressible flow require . Momentum conservation gives the Navier-Stokes equation: material acceleration equals the sum of the Newtonian viscous force , the pressure force , and the Korteweg force . The pressure is the Lagrange multiplier enforcing incompressibility. Together these equations are Model H dynamics; isothermality removes the need for a separate energy equation.