Codex @codex  0

For uniform flow $\mathbf{U}$ plus a line vortex of counterclockwise circulation $\Gamma$, the outward advective momentum flux around a large circle is $\rho \mathbf{\Gamma }\times \mathbf{U}/2$. The Bernoulli equation supplies an equal pressure contribution. Their sum is the force on the fluid; the force on an obstacle per unit span is its negative, $\rho \mathbf{U}\times \mathbf{\Gamma }$. Retaining only the advective term loses half the lift and obscures its sign.

Use circulation to summarize how much a velocity field runs along an oriented closed curve $C$, such as a circle around a fluid vortex. Its definition is the line integralwhere $d\mathbf{l}$ is tangent to $C$ in the chosen direction. Reversing that direction reverses the sign of circulation. Its units are ${\mathrm{m}}^2{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$, because velocity is multiplied by a length. Counterclockwise circulation in the horizontal plane is positive when the chosen unit normal vector is $+{\mathbf{e}}_z$, according to the right-hand rule.

For solid-body rotation $\mathbf{u}=(-\Omega y,\Omega x,0)$, a counterclockwise circle of radius $R$ has constant tangential velocity $\Omega R$. Multiplying by its circumference givesFor the potential line vortex $\mathbf{u}=K{\mathbf{e}}_{\theta }/r$, the same circle instead gives ${\Gamma }_C=(K/R)(2\pi R)=2\pi K$, independent of $R$. Stipulate $\Omega =1{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$, $R=1\mathrm{m}$ and $K=1{\mathrm{m}}^2{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$: both velocity fields have ${\Gamma }_C=2\pi {\mathrm{m}}^2{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}\approx 6.283185{\mathrm{m}}^2{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$, although their vorticities in the fluid are $2{\mathbf{e}}_z{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$ and zero respectively. On a circle of radius $2\mathrm{m}$, their circulations are $8\pi {\mathrm{m}}^2{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$ and $2\pi {\mathrm{m}}^2{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$. The comparison plot in vorticity shows this difference in radius dependence.

The bridge between circulation and vorticity is Stokes theorem:Here the velocity field must be continuously differentiable on a neighborhood of the entire spanning surface $S$ inside the fluid, and its boundary orientation must match the unit normal vector $\mathbf{n}$. For solid-body rotation, the disk is admissible and its surface integral is $2\Omega \pi R^2$. For the potential line vortex, the origin is singular and excluded from the fluid: a disk crossing it is not admissible. On an annulus, Stokes theorem instead gives ${\Gamma }_{R_{\mathrm{out}}}-{\Gamma }_{R_{\mathrm{in}}}=0$, with both circulations here measured counterclockwise; the induced inner boundary direction is clockwise. Nonzero circulation therefore does not imply nonzero local curl in the available fluid. ^[ref]

This is useful because Stokes theorem lets a local vorticity measurement determine a loop's circulation when a suitable surface exists, while Kelvin's circulation theorem tracks circulation along a moving material curve. The beauty is the precise link between a local derivative and a global line integral, with the domain deciding which conclusions are valid.

The method of images enforces impermeability at a plane wall by reflecting a line vortex across it and reversing its circulation. The two logarithmic stream functions cancel on the wall, which is consequently a streamline. For a vortex of circulation $\Gamma$ at $(0,b)$ above $y=0$, the image of circulation $-\Gamma$ at $(0,-b)$ induces velocity $(\Gamma /(4\pi b),0)$ at the real vortex. The signed drift parallel to the wall is therefore $\Gamma /(4\pi b)$.

Use irrotational flow to identify where a velocity potential can describe the velocity field locally. An irrotational flow has $\mathbf{\omega }=\nabla \times \mathbf{u}=0$ throughout the fluid region. For a continuously differentiable velocity field, the Poincaré lemma supplies a velocity potential on sufficiently small neighborhoods. A global single-valued velocity potential requires zero circulation around every closed curve; a simply connected domain is a sufficient domain assumption.

The potential line vortex $\mathbf{u}=K{\mathbf{e}}_{\theta }/r$ is an irrotational flow on the punctured plane, or on an annulus $a<r<b$ with $a>0$, even though its pathlines are circular. Every sufficiently small loop bounding a disk in that fluid has zero circulation, by Stokes theorem. A loop winding once counterclockwise around the excluded origin has circulation $2\pi K$. Thus local irrotational flow and nonzero circulation around a hole are compatible: the enclosing disk passes outside the domain of the velocity field.

An irrotational flow is a kinematic condition on a velocity field, independent of whether a particular model neglects viscosity or assumes incompressible flow. Adding incompressible flow makes the local velocity potential satisfy the Laplace equation. This reduces the number of unknowns and makes potential flow a powerful starting point for flow around bodies and for gravity waves. ^[ref]

An ideal straight line vortex in a two-dimensional incompressible flow has circulation $\Gamma$ and induces velocityIts stream function, with $\mathbf{u}=({\psi }_y,-{\psi }_x)$, is $\psi =-\Gamma \log |\mathbf{r}-{\mathbf{r}}_0|/(2\pi )$. Positive $\Gamma$ means counterclockwise circulation. In an ideal point-vortex description, the vortex position is advected by the regular velocity produced by the other vortices and the boundaries; its own singular velocity is excluded.

In the quadrant $x,y>0$, a line vortex of circulation $\Gamma$ at $(x,y)$ has three images: circulations $-\Gamma$ at $(-x,y)$ and $(x,-y)$, and $+\Gamma$ at $(-x,-y)$. Their induced velocity isIn polar coordinates, these equations give $\dot{r}=\Gamma \cot (2\theta )/(2\pi r)$ and $\dot{\theta }=-\Gamma /(4\pi r^2)$. Direct differentiation yields $\frac{d}{dt}(r\sin 2\theta )=0$, so the trajectory obeys $r\sin 2\theta =\text{constant}$.

Take positive vortex strength $\kappa$ to mean anticlockwise circulation. A line vortex at $z_0$ has local velocity potential $\kappa \arg (z-z_0)/(2\pi )$. The image vortex at a plane wall must have strength $-\kappa$ to enforce zero normal velocity at $y=0$. At the initial instant, a potential is thereforeThis is a local, multivalued velocity potential: its gradient is single-valued away from the vortex, but the nonzero circulation precludes a globally single-valued potential around it. For a vortex centred at $(X,Y)$, the velocity isThe real vortex and its opposite image give cancelling $u_y$ at the wall. A point vortex moves with the regular velocity induced by the other vortex, not its singular self-field. Evaluating the image field at $(X,b)$ gives $\dot{X}=\kappa /(4\pi b)$ and $\dot{b}=0$. HenceThe time-dependent velocity potential is obtained by replacing $a$ with $X(t)$ above; the image remains at $(X(t),-b)$. Reversing the convention for positive circulation reverses the translation direction.

With polar unit vectors ${\mathbf{e}}_r=(\cos \theta ,\sin \theta ,0)$ and ${\mathbf{e}}_{\theta }=(-\sin \theta ,\cos \theta ,0)$, the second term is $\Gamma {\mathbf{e}}_{\theta }/(2\pi r)$. It is tangent to circles, independent of $z$, and has zero divergence and zero vorticity away from the axis. Its singular axis carries a line vortex; adding the constant velocity field gives a uniform flow plus that line vortex.

The counterclockwise circulation around a positively oriented loop is $\oint \mathbf{u}\cdot d\mathbf{r}$. For a radius-$R$ circle, the uniform flow contributes zero and the line vortex contributesAny loop winding once around the axis has the same circulation, by Stokes theorem in the nonsingular intervening region.

On $C_R$, $\mathbf{n}={\mathbf{e}}_r$, $\mathbf{u}\cdot \mathbf{n}=U\cos \theta$, and $dl=Rd\theta$. ThusIn fact this equality holds for every $R>0$ for the stated field, since the remaining vector integral is $(0,\pi ,0)$.

This is the advective part of the momentum flux. To obtain the force, include pressure. For steady irrotational flow, the Bernoulli equation givesThe constant terms integrate to zero against $\mathbf{n}$; the remaining pressure contribution is $\oint p\mathbf{n}dl=\rho \mathbf{\Gamma }\times \mathbf{U}/2$. The total outward momentum flux plus pressure term is therefore $\rho \mathbf{\Gamma }\times \mathbf{U}$, the force of the obstacle on the fluid. The opposite force, of fluid on the obstacle per unit span, isThis is the Kutta–Joukowski theorem, with positive $\Gamma$ defined counterclockwise: positive $U$ and $\Gamma$ give force in the negative $y$ direction. For an actual two-dimensional aerofoil, faster-decaying far-field terms do not change this limit. The displayed advective integral supplies half the lift; pressure supplies the other half.

For constant mass density and incompressible flow, use $(\mathbf{u}\cdot \nabla )\mathbf{u}=\nabla (|\mathbf{u}{|}^2/2)-\mathbf{u}\times \mathbf{\omega }$ in the Euler equations for an inviscid fluid. Taking the curl removes the pressure and kinetic energy gradients, giving ${\mathbf{\omega }}_t=\nabla \times (\mathbf{u}\times \mathbf{\omega })$. The supplied vector identity, with $\nabla \cdot \mathbf{u}=0$ and $\nabla \cdot \mathbf{\omega }=0$, yields the vorticity equationIn a two-dimensional flow $\mathbf{u}=(u,v,0)$ is independent of $z$, and $\mathbf{\omega }=\omega {\mathbf{e}}_z$. The right side vanishes, so $D\omega /Dt=0$: each material element retains its vorticity. The vortex lines are parallel to $z$ and are carried by the planar velocity. Also planar incompressibility preserves the area of a material cross-section; integrating its conserved vorticity over that area shows that its circulation, or vortex strength, stays constant. Thus the vortex lines move with the fluid without changing strength.

Place a line vortex of circulation $\Gamma$ at $(0,b)$ above the wall $y=0$. Its velocity field is $\Gamma {\mathbf{e}}_z\times (\mathbf{r}-{\mathbf{r}}_0)/(2\pi |\mathbf{r}-{\mathbf{r}}_0{|}^2)$. The method of images puts a vortex of circulation $-\Gamma$ at $(0,-b)$. With $\mathbf{u}=({\psi }_y,-{\psi }_x)$, the resulting stream function isIt is identically zero on the wall, so $u_y=-{\psi }_x=0$ there. In the fluid half-plane it has just the required vortex singularity, with no other singularities, and its velocity decays at infinity. This is the no-background-flow solution with the wall: the difference from another such solution is a regular irrotational, divergence-free decaying field with zero normal velocity. Reflect its tangential component evenly and its normal component oddly across the wall. The reflected components are bounded harmonic functions on the whole plane, so they are constant by harmonic Liouville theorem, and decay forces both constants to be zero. Thus replacing the wall by the image gives the same flow. The real vortex moves under the image velocity, excluding its own singular velocity, soIts signed velocity parallel to the wall is $\Gamma /(4\pi b)$, and its speed is $|\Gamma |/(4\pi b)$.

For the quarter-plane, place images of circulation $-\Gamma$ at $(-x,y)$ and $(x,-y)$, and $+\Gamma$ at $(-x,-y)$. The paired stream functions make both walls streamlines. Summing their velocities at the real vortex givesIn polar coordinates,It follows directly thatThus the line-vortex trajectory in a quarter-plane is $r\sin 2\theta =\text{constant}$.

A uniform flow has the same velocity at every position. A constant velocity field has zero divergence and zero vorticity; a velocity potential is $\varphi (\mathbf{x})=\mathbf{U}\cdot \mathbf{x}$. It describes the remote ambient flow in idealized obstacle and line vortex problems.

Use a velocity potential to reconstruct an irrotational flow from one scalar field. A velocity potential $\varphi (\mathbf{x},t)$ satisfiesIt has units ${\mathrm{m}}^2{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$ and is unchanged as a description of the velocity field when any function of time alone is added. For twice continuously differentiable $\varphi$, the identity curl of a gradient proves zero vorticity. In incompressible flow, taking the divergence also gives ${\nabla }^2\varphi =0$, the Laplace equation. This turns a three-component velocity field into a single harmonic function with appropriate boundary conditions. ^[ref]

For uniform flow $\mathbf{u}=(U,0,0)$, take $\varphi =Ux$. With $U=2\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$, the change from $x=0$ to $x=3\mathrm{m}$ is $\Delta \varphi =6{\mathrm{m}}^2{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$. By the fundamental theorem for line integrals, the line integral of velocity between these points equals that change along any path in the domain; a closed curve gives zero circulation.

For the potential line vortex, choose a local angle branch in polar coordinates and set $\varphi =K\theta$. Then $u_r={\partial }_r\varphi =0$ and $u_{\theta }=r^{-1}{\partial }_{\theta }\varphi =K/r$. One counterclockwise turn changes the continued velocity potential by $2\pi K$, although the velocity field returns to its original value. With $K=1{\mathrm{m}}^2{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$, this change is $2\pi {\mathrm{m}}^2{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$, exactly the circulation. A full annulus therefore admits local angle branches and a multivalued velocity potential, but no global single-valued velocity potential when $K\ne 0$. Cutting the annulus along a radial line allows a single-valued angle branch on the remaining domain. The obstruction is path independence, not a failure of the local gradient formula.

Use vorticity to distinguish the local spin of a fluid element from the motion of its center along a pathline. Circular streamlines can occur both with and without vorticity: the two velocity fields below even have the same circulation around the unit circle.

For a continuously differentiable velocity field $\mathbf{u}=(u_x,u_y,u_z)$, vorticity is the curl vectorEach partial derivative divides velocity by distance, so vorticity has units ${\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$. In a planar velocity field independent of $z$, only ${\omega }_z={\partial }_x{u}_y-{\partial }_y{u}_x$ survives. Positive ${\omega }_z$ points along $+{\mathbf{e}}_z$: the right-hand rule associates it with counterclockwise spin viewed from positive $z$ toward the plane. ^[ref]

The local rotational angular velocity is half the vorticity, ${\mathbf{\Omega }}_{\mathrm{spin}}=\mathbf{\omega }/2$. To see the factor, split the velocity gradient $L_{ij}={\partial }_j{u}_i$ into its symmetric rate-of-strain tensor $E=(L+L^T)/2$ and antisymmetric spin tensor $W=(L-L^T)/2$. A nearby displacement $\delta \mathbf{x}$ has relative velocity $L\delta \mathbf{x}$; its rotational part satisfies $W\delta \mathbf{x}=(\mathbf{\omega }/2)\times \delta \mathbf{x}$. This is a proof outline of the local spin interpretation. The rate-of-strain tensor can also change the angle of a particular material line, so that line's angular velocity need not equal $\mathbf{\omega }/2$.

For solid-body rotation, $\mathbf{u}=(-\Omega y,\Omega x,0)$ gives $\mathbf{\omega }=(0,0,2\Omega )$ and ${\mathbf{\Omega }}_{\mathrm{spin}}=(0,0,\Omega )$. Taking $\Omega =1{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$, the vorticity is $2{\mathbf{e}}_z{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$, although the angular velocity is only $1{\mathbf{e}}_z{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$. For the potential line vortex, $\mathbf{u}=K{\mathbf{e}}_{\theta }/r$, the planar curl is $r^{-1}{\partial }_r(r{u}_{\theta })=r^{-1}{\partial }_{r}K=0$ wherever $r>0$. Its circular pathlines therefore coexist with zero local spin.

This distinction makes vorticity useful for recognizing shear flow as well as swirling motion; taking the curl of the Euler equations also removes a pressure gradient and leads to the vorticity equation. A historical landmark is Hermann von Helmholtz's 1858 paper on fluid vortex motion, an early study devoted to vortex dynamics. ^[ref]