Hartmann flow 2026-10-06
Hartmann flow is a fully developed viscous conducting-fluid flow driven along a planar channel while a uniform magnetic field crosses the walls. Induction and the Lorentz force density couple its velocity and tangential induced field. For no-slip, normal-field walls separated by , the velocity is a hyperbolic cosine profile that approaches plane Poiseuille flow at zero imposed field and develops a uniform core with Hartmann layers at large Hartmann number.
Write for dynamic viscosity and for kinematic viscosity, consistently with the introductory Navier-Stokes equation. The phrase “dynamic viscosity ” in this request mixes these conventions. A fully developed plane Poiseuille flow, , has zero convective acceleration. The Navier-Stokes equation gives and . Applying the no-slip boundary condition at both stationary plates givesThe material coefficients must be effectively constant and positive. The profile is an exact parallel-flow solution for every ; experimental validity additionally requires that the realized flow remain in the laminar flow regime. A sufficient conservative condition isEquivalently , or . This sufficient bound is stronger than necessary; there is no need to discard convective acceleration by an approximation here because it vanishes identically for the assumed profile.
Take along a horizontal gap and perpendicular to its plates, with . Assume a Newtonian fluid, stationary plates, a steady flow, a laminar flow and a fully developed flow away from the entrances and side edges. The no-slip boundary condition holds on both plates. Any transverse gravity is absorbed in the hydrostatic pressure; there is no imposed transverse through-flow. Translational symmetry and the no-penetration boundary condition then give . The Navier-Stokes equation reduces toTwice integrating gives the plane Poiseuille flow:The volumetric flow rate through one gap isThere are internal gaps. Their total cross-sectional area is , because the plate thickness is negligible, so the Darcy velocity isThus the permeability of a porous medium has the dimensions of squared length. If finite plate thickness were included, the Darcy velocity averaged over the whole manifold would also contain its porosity.
Both the local acceleration and the convective acceleration vanish: and . The dominant balance is therefore between the pressure gradient and viscous stress, with no inertia contribution in this fully developed solution. This exact cancellation does not guarantee that arbitrary large-Reynolds number realizations remain laminar flows; entrances, disturbances and turbulence can invalidate the assumptions.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2001 iii Paper 49 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
The constitutive convolution is the response of a linear viscoelastic fluid close to its relaxed state. Deformations and rotations during the material's memory time must be small, so the stress is linear in the deformation history and evaluating that history at a fixed position is consistent with linearization about rest. For an isotropic incompressible flow, the deviatoric stress is proportional to the history of the rate-of-strain tensor; an arbitrary isotropic pressure is separate. Small amplitude permits arbitrary frequency: the approximation does not require in an oscillatory experiment. Large accumulated deformation, substantial advection of memory, and nonlinear normal-stress differences are outside this formula's scope.
If a small step of strain is imposed at time zero and then held, to linear order. The convolution consequently gives for . In simple shear flow, this reads for a shear-strain step . Thus is the remaining shear stress per unit imposed step of shear strain, which explains the name relaxation modulus and directly describes stress relaxation.
Use the convention . Substitution into the convolution defines the complex viscosity:Write . Its real part multiplies the component in phase with the rate-of-strain tensor, causing dissipation; its imaginary part describes the out-of-phase, elastic response. More precisely the complex shear modulus is , so the storage modulus and loss modulus areFor shear-rate amplitude the mean dissipated power per unit volume is . For the exponential Maxwell fluid memory kernel, direct integration givesThe zero-shear viscosity is , and the high-frequency storage modulus tends to .
For the channel, let and interpret as the signed amplitude of , not the positive pressure drop. The Cauchy momentum equation and no-slip boundary conditions giveDefine and , choosing either square-root branch consistently; the flux expression is even in . The symmetric solution isIts integral across the channel gives the oscillatory channel flux of a linear Maxwell fluid:This includes inertia while using the linear constitutive response. The pressure-gradient amplitude must be small enough that the resulting deformation stays in that response regime.
As , . HenceIn particular , the usual plane Poiseuille flow flux with viscosity . The fluid has enough time to relax and behaves as a Newtonian fluid at leading order.
For fixed positive , let . At large frequency the square root with positive real part satisfiesIts real part tends to a positive constant, so remains bounded although it oscillates. Thus andThe leading volume-integrated response is an inertial balance and is in quadrature with the driving force . It is not necessary for the local profile to be a nearly uniform plug: the Maxwell fluid is elastic at these frequencies, and shear waves with speed can cross the gap. The oscillatory part of largely cancels on integration. Small attenuation allows resonance-like enhancements at finite frequencies; the leading flux limit still holds for fixed nonzero relaxation and gap parameters. A Newtonian thin viscous-layer argument would not justify the Maxwell profile here.
Finally take the different ordering but . Now is small, so the small- expansion remains appropriate even at a large Deborah number. The result isHere inertia is negligible throughout the narrow gap. Dividing the velocity by gives the displacement amplitude, whose parabolic profile is determined by an elastic shear balance with modulus . The velocity therefore grows like frequency for a fixed displacement response. This is not the fixed-gap high-frequency limit just obtained: with fixed, the condition eventually fails.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 iii Paper 81 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Use the pressure scale , and denote the scaled transverse velocity by . The steady incompressible flow equations under the prescribed coordinate scaling areThe no-slip boundary condition is at and at the lower wall , taking upstream. Far upstream, , , and . These are the dimensional Navier-Stokes equations divided by the streamwise and transverse inertial scales, respectively; the transverse equation's is essential.
A consistent nonlinear wall-layer regime can be chosen asNear a wall the oncoming plane Poiseuille flow is linear in distance, so a layer of thickness has and . Its inertia is ; its transverse viscous term is , explaining the distinguished balance. The resulting pressure perturbation is . In the core the induced transverse pressure variation is , negligible compared with that pressure perturbation when , equivalently . Also makes both the indentation and the viscous boundary layer thin. Streamwise viscous derivatives are smaller still. Thus the core perturbation is inviscid at first order and pressure is common to the two wall layers at their leading order.
Write and . The core pressure gradient only enters at order , so first-order continuity equation and streamwise momentum giveEliminating shows . Let that ratio be ; integration in , with the unperturbed upstream condition, then givesThis displacement form automatically has zero first-order change in total core flux, because .
For the lower boundary layer, usewhere is the smaller upstream pressure gradient. The extra term in removes the velocity induced by the moving coordinate surface. The chain rule gives and ; the wall-slope terms cancel from both continuity equation and convection. At leading order the Prandtl boundary-layer equation isMatching to the core near the lower wall gives , so .
For the upper boundary layer, set , , . The same equations, wall data and common result, but the core matching gives , so . The two pressure-driven wall-layer problems have the same upstream shear, wall conditions and pressure forcing. Under the question's uniqueness assumption their solutions coincide, and their displacement limits must coincide. Thus the symmetric viscous interaction in an indented Poiseuille channel gives
For , one has and . Matching in a similarity solution requires . Equating the powers in convection , viscosity and pressure gradient gives . HenceUse the stream function , with . ThenDirect differentiation gives , whereas . The one-third-power similarity of an indented channel boundary layer is therefore governed byThe original PDF has in this equation; the converted TeX loses the derivative and gives . Existence remains conditional on a value of for which this boundary value problem has a solution, as stipulated in the question. The similarity describes the stated thin-indentation regime on .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 ii Paper 1 36A a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
The signed tangential stress component is . ThusWhen , these approach and , the usual symmetric plane Poiseuille flow stresses. When , they approach and . The upper fluid's velocity tends to zero, but its viscosity times velocity gradient has a finite limit. These are tensor components; traction on a chosen wall normal includes that normal's sign.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 318 1 ii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Integrating the resistive induction equation once introduces a constant :Because , integrating this relation again over the channel gives , where is the volumetric flow rate per unit span. Put and , taking without loss of generality. Reversing the imposed field reverses but leaves and unchanged. Eliminating from the magnetohydrodynamic momentum equation givesIts two zero wall values remove the odd homogeneous solution. Write . Integrating the first relation with the two magnetic wall values yieldsTherefore . Substitution and integration produce the velocity and induced field:Here is the Hartmann number. The hyperbolic cosine makes even, while the hyperbolic sine makes odd. Direct differentiation verifies both coupled equations and all four wall values.
Integrating the velocity gives the fluxThe apparent singularity at is removable. The small-field limit is plane Poiseuille flow:The cubic coefficient of is its first-order response in ; itself vanishes at zero imposed field. For a fixed positive , the flux decreases monotonically as increases. One exact way to see the sketch's monotonicity is the partial-fraction expansion of the hyperbolic cotangent:whose derivative is strictly negative for . The flux has a horizontal tangent at and approaches zero asThe flux is even if signed is used.
For , put . Away from the walls,The velocity has a nearly uniform core, with thin Hartmann layers of thickness enforcing the no-slip boundary condition. Near the upper wall, with fixed, and ; the lower wall follows by even/odd symmetry. Thus is negative for , positive for , and returns rapidly to zero at both walls. The required sketches show a decreasing flux, a flat velocity core, and an odd induced field with magnetic wall layers.
Hartmann-flow flux versus magnetic field strength, and velocity and induced-field profiles at Hartmann number 20
. Details. Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ib Paper 2 6C Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
Let the upper plate in flow A move at speed , with the lower plate fixed. The Couette flow profile isso its mid-plane speed is and its total viscous dissipation per unit plate area is
Write for the constant pressure-gradient magnitude in flow B. The plane Poiseuille flow profile isEquality of the mid-plane speeds givesSince ,Hence
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2026 iii Paper 334 1 a ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge 2015 Paper 1 Section C 13 Solution 2026-10-20
For a Newtonian fluid with velocity , is the component of traction on a plane whose normal points along . The opposite face has the opposite traction. The coefficient is dynamic viscosity, with units . Faster layers transfer positive momentum toward slower neighbours; the internal shear stress resists relative sliding.
Shear-traction convention, Couette-Poiseuille profiles, and oscillatory viscous penetration
. Details. Take a thin fluid element with horizontal area and thickness . The difference between its upper and lower viscous tractions is . The pressure gradient supplies . Incompressibility is satisfied because has no dependence, and the convective acceleration vanishes: . Equating net force to mass times acceleration therefore gives the relevant component of the Navier-Stokes equation:For steady flow, integrate twice and impose the no-slip boundary condition at each plate, and . The Couette-Poiseuille flow profile isThe linear term is Couette flow and the parabolic term is plane Poiseuille flow. A negative drives flow in . Integrating the profile across the gap gives the volumetric flow per unit width,It has units ; multiplying by the plate width gives the actual volume per time.
With zero pressure gradient, substituting gives . Select the root that decays into fluid occupying :The other sign applies to decay in the opposite half-space. With a real wall velocity amplitude , the established periodic solution of Stokes' second problem isThe oscillation's amplitude decays exponentially and its phase lags with distance from the plate. This is diffusion of tangential momentum, not a freely propagating undamped elastic wave. Initial transients must have decayed before this purely periodic expression applies.
The fluid-displacement amplitude and the wall-displacement amplitude have the same ratio as their velocity amplitudes, since both are divided by the common . Thus for the specified amplitudes,Using the standard approximate water density , explicitly an approximation rather than another value printed on the paper, gives and from either face of a sufficiently large plate. The viscous penetration depth varies as if a more precise water density is used. The ideal parallel-flow solution ignores finite plate edges and tank walls.
Subtract the particular plane Poiseuille flow profile from the full rectangular duct flow. The remainder is a harmonic function:The data are even in and . The boundary value problem is unique: if two solutions differed by , Green's first identity and the zero Dirichlet boundary condition would giveThus is constant, and its zero boundary values force . Reflection of a solution in either coordinate axis therefore gives the same solution. We may seek even separated eigenfunctions.
Use separation of variables withEach summand solves the Laplace equation, vanishes at , and has the required evenness. The hyperbolic cosine ratio equals one at either side wall. The functions have orthogonality relationThey are the even Dirichlet eigenfunctions on , so their Fourier series represents the even boundary data. Projecting that data onto the th eigenfunction yields the Fourier coefficientFor completeness, two integrations by parts give the quadratic arch expansion in half-integer cosine modes: the displayed integral is , agreeing with the identity supplied in the paper.
Adding the particular solution givesThe coefficients are absolutely summable and the hyperbolic cosine ratio is at most one throughout the closed rectangle, giving uniform convergence and the prescribed boundary values. On compact subsets of the interior, the hyperbolic cosine ratio supplies exponential decay in , justifying differentiation of the series and the Laplace equation. The side-wall correction slows the plane Poiseuille flow enough to satisfy all four no-slip boundary conditions.
For a profile depending only on , the Poisson equation becomes . Integrating twice givesThe no-slip boundary conditions imply and . ThusThis is plane Poiseuille flow between the two horizontal walls. It is positive in the interior for , so the velocity points down the pressure gradient. It does not satisfy the side-wall no-slip boundary conditions, which is precisely what the correction in part (iii) repairs.
The volumetric flow rate is the integral of axial velocity over the cross-section:The plane Poiseuille flow contribution isFor each correction eigenfunction,Uniform convergence permits termwise integration. Multiplying these two integrals by givesConsequentlyEvery summand in the subtracted quantity is positive. Thus the side walls reduce the flux below the infinite-width plane Poiseuille flow prediction. Its dimensions are volume per unit time, as required for a volumetric flow rate.
Write and below, so the subscript in this shorthand denotes differentiation with respect to . The vertical pressure gradient is zero, and integrating twice with the wall boundary conditions gives the local Couette-Poiseuille flowThe first two terms are Couette flow due to the moving plate; the last is plane Poiseuille flow due to the local pressure gradient. Its dimensionless volume flux per unit width isUse the Leibniz integral rule and incompressibility to differentiate this integral:Thus the flux is independent of position, andThe normal velocity can then be recovered from incompressibility:It is zero on the lower wall by construction and zero on the upper wall by the constant-volume flux relation. This supplies the remaining component of the leading velocity field.
The endpoint pressure conditions are matching conditions, not an assertion that the lubrication approximation remains valid at arbitrarily large dimensional . On an outer length scale , a viscous pressure variation is of size , whose ratio to the inner scale isEven an outer inertial pressure scale has ratioConsequently the gap pressure is much larger than either outer variation. Matching to fluid with a common ambient pressure at both ends, and taking that value as zero gauge pressure, givesThere is an overlap region before the wall slope becomes order one. The infinite endpoints represent matching through that region. An externally imposed pressure difference comparable with would change these conditions and the resulting volume flux; equal outer pressure is the physical assumption being used here.
Let the constant in the integrated Reynolds equation be :Both endpoint pressures are zero, so the integral of on the real line vanishes. DefineThe substitution givesThe second value follows by integrating the supplied identity for ; the nonconstant cosine terms have zero integral over this interval. Hence , givingThe pressure gradient is nowDirect differentiation showsThe candidate tends to zero at both ends, so the additive constant is zero andTogether with the local Couette-Poiseuille flow profile, this solves the sliding-plate flow through a parabolic gap.
To restore dimensions, integrate across . The signed dimensional volume flux per unit width, positive in the direction, isThus the magnitude drawn in the direction of the moving plate is . For a plate width large enough to neglect side-wall effects, the total volumetric flow rate is ; without a specified width the answer is per unit width.
The Couette flow and plane Poiseuille flow contributions to the dimensional volume flux per unit width are respectivelyThey point in the same direction precisely when , givingAt the endpoints the plane Poiseuille flow contribution is zero. Outside that interval it opposes the Couette flow contribution, while their sum remains the constant negative volume flux per unit width . Thus pressure assists the moving plate near the narrowest gap and drives a compensating return contribution farther away.
Rectangular duct flow 2026-10-25
Rectangular duct flow is steady flow of a Newtonian fluid down a straight rectangular pipe under a constant axial pressure gradient . For stationary walls and unidirectional flow, incompressibility eliminates axial dependence and the Navier-Stokes equation becomes a two-dimensional Poisson equation with zero Dirichlet boundary conditions. Subtracting a plane Poiseuille flow profile leaves a harmonic function that repairs the side-wall values using separation of variables. Uniqueness follows from Green's first identity: the difference of two solutions has zero boundary values and zero integral of the squared gradient, and hence vanishes.
Sliding-plate flow through a parabolic gap 2026-10-25
A stationary upper wall and a flat lower wall moving at velocity generate a Couette-Poiseuille flow in the lubrication approximation. Write , , and . Equal endpoint gauge pressures givewhere is the signed volume flux per unit width. To determine its constant value, the Reynolds equation gives . Integrating over the real line gives , where and the substitution evaluates the ratio. The plane Poiseuille flow and Couette flow contributions both point towards negative exactly for . This is a full-film model with matched equal outer pressures.
Two viscous layers occupy and , with viscosities and . A uniform driving pressure gradient , a stationary flat interface and no-slip outer walls give the displayed plane Poiseuille flow, where and . These constants follow from continuity of velocity and shear stress at the interface and zero wall velocities. The upper-to-lower volume-flux ratio is , with . As , the interface becomes effectively stationary, the upper flux vanishes, and the lower layer approaches flow between two stationary plates a distance apart. The upper wall stress remains finite despite its vanishing velocity gradient.

