Questions about deriving the naviers stokes equations

  • Thread starter Thread starter hyper
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    deriving Stokes
Click For Summary
The discussion revolves around clarifying the shear stress components in Newtonian fluids, specifically tau(xx) and tau(xy). The shear stress tau(xx) is questioned regarding its directionality on the yz-plane and the factor of two in its definition, which relates to the symmetry of shear stress tensors. Additionally, the inclusion of the dv/dx term in the tau(xy) component is explored, emphasizing the role of velocity gradients in both x and y directions. The conversation highlights the tensor nature of shear stress and its representation in fluid mechanics, suggesting a need for clarity on notation and definitions in the context of the Navier-Stokes equations. Understanding these concepts is crucial for accurately applying fluid dynamics principles.
hyper
Messages
48
Reaction score
0
Hello, I read some fluidmechanics and there was something I didn't understand.

The shear stress in a Newtonian fluid is tau=viscosity*dV/dy, (no need to be dy, but dx and dz also can do.)

A shear component called tau(xx) came up, I have two questions about this component:

1. Shear is supposed to be parralell on a surface, so how does this shear component work? How can it point in the x-direction, when it is on the x-surface(yz-plane) and also is supposed to be in the yz-plane?

2. It is said that in a Newtonian fluid tau(xx)=2*viscosity*du/dx, where the velocity in the x-direction. Why is it this, why the number 2?, can you explain this if you look at the definition of viscosity in Newtonian fluids I posted first?





Then my question is about the stress component tau(xy). It is said that it is viscositu*(du/dy+dv/dx). I can see out of the definition that it is supposed to be viscosity*du/dy, but why also the dv/dx part?(v is the y-compononent of the velocity).

These questions have been nagging me for ours now, I would appreciate some help.

PS: All the deriviatives are supposed the be partial deriviatives offcourse.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
There's a few questions here, let me try sorting it out:

1) the shear is a tensor quantity, each component is defined as \tau_{ij} = \mu V_{i,j}, where I assumed a linear homogeneous medium (the viscosity is a scalar) and V_i,j means the j'th partial derivative of i'th component of V, for example \tau_{xy} = \mu \frac{\partial V_{x}}{\partial y}

2) I visualize tensors as the surface of a cube; each face has three directions associated with it (1 normal and 2 in-plane). The normal components, tau_ii, correspond to pressure- the action on the cube is to expand or contract the cube. The off-diagonal components are shear, and act to deform the cube into a rhombohedron.

3) Your other questions seem to be matters of notation; factors of '2' and '1/2' sometimes appear since the shear stress is symmetric... or am I missing something?
 
I don't see how tau(xx) can be the preassure, since the preassure is another part in the equations in my book, and it is also another part in the anvier stokes equations.
 
I guess I need to have a better idea of what your book is presenting- can you be more specific?
 
I do not have a good working knowledge of physics yet. I tried to piece this together but after researching this, I couldn’t figure out the correct laws of physics to combine to develop a formula to answer this question. Ex. 1 - A moving object impacts a static object at a constant velocity. Ex. 2 - A moving object impacts a static object at the same velocity but is accelerating at the moment of impact. Assuming the mass of the objects is the same and the velocity at the moment of impact...

Similar threads

  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 18 ·
Replies
18
Views
2K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
Replies
4
Views
3K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
1K
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
3K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
7K
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
3K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
4K
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
10K