Let and be two Stokes flows in the same fluid domain, with equal dynamic viscosity and zero body force. The Lorentz reciprocal theorem for Stokes flow is
To prove it, use the symmetric Newtonian fluid stress tensor and . Incompressibility removes the pressure contraction, while symmetry removes the antisymmetric velocity gradient. Therefore
The divergence theorem proves the boundary identity. It applies to an exterior domain by a limit at infinity; the boundary integral there vanishes for decaying rigid-body Stokes flows.
Use a normal directed outward from the fluid, into the rigid body. Then and are the force and couple exerted by the body on the fluid. If and , inserting the rigid boundary velocity into the Lorentz reciprocal theorem for Stokes flow gives
Arbitrary rigid velocities imply . A separate integration by parts, using the Stokes equation, gives
Equality requires zero rate-of-strain tensor everywhere. Such a velocity is a rigid motion in the connected exterior fluid; decay at infinity forces it to vanish, and the no-slip boundary condition then forces . Hence the resistance matrix is symmetric positive definite. Defining force as fluid-on-body would reverse its sign, so the positive convention matters.
For the rods, choose body axes along , , and their normal. On the first rod, for , and the slender-body force density is
On the second rod, , and
Integrate the force densities and the moments , using , , and . For example, , , and . In the ordering , the full right-angle two-rod resistance matrix is
The planar subsystem is
Inverting this symmetric matrix gives the hydrodynamic mobility matrix
The upper-right entry is positive, as printed in the PDF; the negative sign in the converted TeX would violate both this inversion and reciprocity.
Let laboratory point along the initial and laboratory point upward. At body angle , and . The gravitational load, balanced by body-on-fluid resistance, has body components
The last expression follows by taking moments of the two endpoint weights about . Substitution into the hydrodynamic mobility matrix gives
For , the initial condition persists, and , : vertical descent without rotation. For , throughout , and the zero of at is stable. A simple zero is approached only as , so increases monotonically to . For , it decreases monotonically through and toward the next stable zero: , not .
The laboratory horizontal velocity of is
For , divide by the angular equation to eliminate time:
At both limiting orientations the sine and cosine are equal, so the sedimentation drift of a weighted two-rod body is
For the initial drift is negative. It reaches at , reverses, crosses its starting horizontal position at , and ends to the right. At exactly there is no horizontal displacement; the infinite-time displacement is discontinuous there because the rotation time diverges as .
For two Stokes flows and of the same dynamic viscosity in the same region, with no volume force, the Lorentz reciprocal theorem states
Indeed, the divergence of their cross-work difference is
The pressure terms vanish by incompressible flow, and the derivatives of the Cauchy stress tensors vanish by the Stokes equation. The divergence theorem proves the result.
Use the convention that are the force and torque exerted by the body on the fluid. By Linearity of Stokes flow, . Applying the Lorentz reciprocal theorem to two independent rigid motions gives , so the hydrodynamic resistance matrix is a symmetric matrix. The boundary-power identity gives
This is strictly positive for nonzero rigid motion: equality would imply , hence a rigid motion throughout the connected fluid, which must vanish since the fluid is at rest at infinity. The no-slip boundary condition would then force . Therefore is a positive-definite matrix. Reversing to the fluid-on-body force changes the sign of the force law, not the positive resistance coefficients.
For the two rods, take the torque about and use body axes. On the -rod, , , and its slender-body force density is
On the -rod it is
Integrate and along both rods, using , and . A convenient dimensionally uniform statement of the complete right-angle two-rod resistance matrix is
In physical coordinates this means translation–translation entries scale as , the two translation–rotation blocks as , and rotation–rotation entries as . The planar block has inverse
This verifies the printed hydrodynamic mobility matrix with its third velocity component ; the TeX aid's is an OCR error.
Take laboratory vertical velocity positive upwards. The body axes are and . In quasistatic sedimentation the force and torque exerted on the fluid equal the gravitational resultants on the body:
The out-of-plane block is unforced, so its positive hydrodynamic resistance matrix gives . Substitution in the planar hydrodynamic mobility matrix gives
and
For , this ordinary differential equation has positive right side on , with a stable zero at . Uniqueness prevents crossing that equilibrium in finite time. For the initial angular velocity is negative, and the stable equilibrium reached from zero is . The heavier-end body turns clockwise through ; it does not settle at . More explicitly, with ,
where the continuous branch has . At , remains zero.
Transforming the translational velocity back to laboratory axes gives
For , eliminate time between and the angular velocity:
At either limiting orientation . Thus both cases have the same net horizontal displacement,
For the drift is monotonically rightwards. For it first moves left, reaching at , then reverses. The total horizontal path length in this second case is , whereas its net displacement is rightwards. At it falls vertically without rotation or drift; taking the infinite-time limit before is consequently singular.
For the requested sedimentation drift of a weighted two-rod body sketch, a full parametric trajectory follows by also integrating . Put and set the initial height to zero:
It tends to in either case while tends to . At both rods end pointing upwards from symmetrically; at they end pointing downwards symmetrically. The asymptotic downward speed is .
Figure 1.
Falling two-rod bodies: trajectory of O and successive orientations for lighter and heavier end masses
. Details.
Attach weights at the joint and at each outer endpoint of the right-angle two-rod resistance matrix geometry. With the first rod initially horizontal and the second vertically upwards, quasistatic Stokes flow gives . For the orientation tends to ; for it tends to . Eliminating time gives and the same rightward net displacement in both cases. For the initial drift is leftwards before reversing. At there is no rotation or lateral drift, illustrating noncommuting infinite-time and parameter limits.