Past exam of the viscous flow course of the University of Oxford / 2023 / 1 / a

Let $V(t)$ have a boundary moving with velocity ${\mathbf{v}}_b$, and let $\mathbf{n}$ be its outward unit normal vector. For a smooth scalar field $q$, the Reynolds transport theorem isIn the last expression, extend ${\mathbf{v}}_b$ smoothly into $V(t)$ and use the divergence theorem. For a material volume, its boundary moves with the fluid velocity $\mathbf{u}$, so ${\mathbf{v}}_b=\mathbf{u}$. Equivalently, the Reynolds transport theorem for a material volume readswhere $D/Dt$ is the material derivative.

For an arbitrary moving region, mass conservation includes the relative mass flow rate across its boundary:Substitution of the Reynolds transport theorem and the divergence theorem givesSince the region is arbitrary, a continuous integrand must vanish: if it had a positive or negative value at a point, a sufficiently small surrounding region would have an integral of the same sign. This gives the continuity equation. With constant positive mass density $\rho$, it reduces toThus the flow is incompressible. For a material volume, the same argument starts directly from conservation of its total mass, with zero relative boundary flux.

At an oriented internal surface with unit normal vector $\mathbf{n}$, the traction $\mathbf{t}(\mathbf{x},t;\mathbf{n})$ is the limiting contact force per unit surface area exerted by the material on the positive-$\mathbf{n}$ side on the material on the negative-$\mathbf{n}$ side:For a boundary of a chosen material volume, this convention gives the external traction when $\mathbf{n}$ is outward. The Cauchy stress tensor has componentsso the second index specifies the surface orientation and the first specifies the force component. The vectors ${\mathbf{e}}_i$ form the standard Cartesian coordinate system basis of unit vectors.

Cauchy's stress theorem states that the dependence of traction on the normal vector is linear:Repeated indices are summed according to Einstein notation. In particular, reversing the normal vector reverses the traction, and knowing the tractions on three mutually perpendicular coordinate planes determines the traction on every plane. Symmetry of the Cauchy stress tensor, for an ordinary fluid without body couples, follows separately from angular momentum conservation.

For an arbitrary material volume $V(t)$, Newton's second law equates the rate of change of linear momentum to the resultant contact force, since there is no body force:Use the Reynolds transport theorem on the left. Expanding the product and using the continuity equation leavesOn the right, the divergence theorem applied to each row of the Cauchy stress tensor givesConsequently the volume integral of $\rho D{u}_i/Dt-{\partial }_j{\sigma }_{ij}$ vanishes on every material volume. Localizing as in part (i) gives the Cauchy momentum equation:The left side is mass density times material acceleration; the right side is the divergence of the Cauchy stress tensor.

For an isotropic Newtonian fluid in incompressible flow, the constitutive equation isHere $p$ is pressure, ${\delta }_{ij}$ is the Kronecker delta, $\mu$ is the constant dynamic viscosity, and $E$ is the strain-rate tensor. The more general compressible constitutive equation can include a term proportional to $(\nabla \cdot \mathbf{u}){\delta }_{ij}$; that term vanishes here.

Differentiate the Cauchy stress tensor, retaining the constant dynamic viscosity outside the derivatives:The last equality uses incompressibility. Substitution into the Cauchy momentum equation gives the Navier-Stokes equationThe pressure gradient and the Laplacian of the velocity field therefore give the two contact force densities in this model.