Where Does Viscous Pressure Enter the Pressure Balance?

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the role of viscous pressure in the pressure balance of an incompressible, viscous sessile drop under a time-dependent pressure field. Participants explore the mathematical formulation of the pressure balance, particularly focusing on the inclusion and implications of the viscous pressure term in relation to the stress tensor for a Newtonian fluid.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Mathematical reasoning

Main Points Raised

  • One participant presents a pressure balance equation involving viscous pressure and questions its formulation, particularly the absence of a transpose velocity component.
  • Several participants agree with the analysis from a referenced MIT source, highlighting the missing transpose term in the stress tensor equation.
  • Another participant suggests that the expression involving the tensor and its transpose may be equivalent, proposing that a factor of 2 might be missing in the original formulation.
  • Discussions arise regarding the equality of the gradient of velocity tensor and its transpose, with some participants asserting that the equality does not hold in general.
  • Participants explore the implications of averaging the tensor expressions and whether certain notations are equivalent, leading to further clarification requests and responses.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally express disagreement regarding the completeness of the original pressure balance formulation and the treatment of the velocity gradient tensor. Multiple competing views remain on the implications of the tensor properties and the correctness of the mathematical expressions involved.

Contextual Notes

Limitations in access to referenced papers are noted, which may affect the depth of analysis. The discussion also reflects varying levels of familiarity with tensor notation and mathematical formulations.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those studying fluid dynamics, particularly in the context of viscous flows and pressure balances in complex fluid systems.

member 428835
Suppose we have an incompressible, viscous sessile drop subject to a time-dependent pressure field ##p## on a substrate. Let ##\mu## be dynamic viscosity, ##u## be the fluid velocity field, ##\kappa_{1/2}## curvatures of the fluid surface, ##\sigma## surface tension, ##\hat n## normals to the equilibrium surface, and ##\eta## the disturbed interface.

Disturbances to the equilibrium surface generate pressure gradients, and thereby flows. A pressure balance at the interfacial surface yields $$p-\mu \hat n \cdot(\nabla \otimes u) \cdot \hat n = - \sigma( \Delta_\Gamma \eta + (\kappa_1^2+\kappa_2^2)\eta)$$

The RHS is flow from the capillary pressure (Young-Laplace equation). The LHS is inertial pressure (first term) and viscous pressure (second term). I do not understand where the viscous pressure entered the pressure balance.

After googling I found this site: http://web.mit.edu/1.63/www/Lec-notes/Surfacetension/Lecture2.pdf

where equation (3) looks like the LHS, and if we look at their definition of ##T## we see there is a transpose velocity component (not shown in the pressure balance above, and the implication ##\hat n \cdot -p I \cdot \hat n = -p##)? Can someone help me understand this? Thanks!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Engineering news on Phys.org
I agree with the MIT analysis. What happened to the ##(\nabla \otimes u)^T## term in your equation for the stress tensor for a Newtonian fluid? Why is it missing?
 
Chestermiller said:
I agree with the MIT analysis. What happened to the ##(\nabla \otimes u)^T## term in your equation for the stress tensor for a Newtonian fluid? Why is it missing?
It's from this paper, equation (4): https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2016/sm/c6sm01928e

Author does not mention it. Do you have an idea?
 
Chestermiller said:
Sorry. I don't have access to that article...retired and all.
Attached is the Mathematical formulation. Everything before this is introduction, so not useful for my question.
 

Attachments

  • Screen Shot 2019-04-12 at 3.32.30 PM.png
    Screen Shot 2019-04-12 at 3.32.30 PM.png
    45.9 KB · Views: 437
Isn't n dot (a tensor) dot n the same as n dot (the transpose of the tensor) dot n? If so, then all they are missing is a factor of 2.
 
Chestermiller said:
Isn't n dot (a tensor) dot n the same as n dot (the transpose of the tensor) dot n? If so, then all they are missing is a factor of 2.
So you think what they wrote is in fact wrong?
 
Chestermiller said:
Isn't n dot (a tensor) dot n the same as n dot (the transpose of the tensor) dot n? If so, then all they are missing is a factor of 2.
Also, what would be a good way to know if ##\hat n \cdot \nabla u \cdot \hat n = \hat n \cdot (\nabla u)^T \cdot \hat n##? Like, where did your intuition come from?
 
joshmccraney said:
Also, what would be a good way to know if ##\hat n \cdot \nabla u \cdot \hat n = \hat n \cdot (\nabla u)^T \cdot \hat n##? Like, where did your intuition come from?
Just evaluate it in Cartesian Coordinates and see whether it is correct.
 
  • #10
Chestermiller said:
Just evaluate it in Cartesian Coordinates and see whether it is correct.
Thinking about it and reviewing notes, perhaps we don't need to show it's true for cartesian. We know $$ \nabla u = D + \Omega : \\
D \equiv \frac{1}{2} (\nabla u + \nabla u ^T),
\Omega \equiv \frac{1}{2} (\nabla u - \nabla u ^T)$$
and we know ##D=D^T## and ##\Omega = -\Omega^T##. Then

$$n \cdot \nabla u \cdot n = n \cdot (D + \Omega) \cdot n$$

where we note $$n\cdot\Omega\cdot n = n_i \Omega_{ij} n_j = -n_i \Omega_{ji} n_j$$ so then ##-\Omega = \Omega \implies \Omega = 0.## Also we can show since ##D = D^T## that ##\nabla u ^T = \nabla u##. I think this proves what we seek to show, right?
 
  • #11
The transpose of the velocity gradient tensor is not equal to the velocity gradient tensor itself.
 
  • #12
Chestermiller said:
The transpose of the velocity gradient tensor is not equal to the velocity gradient tensor itself.
Can you elaborate please? I thought ##n \cdot \nabla u \cdot n = n \cdot ( \nabla u)^T \cdot n##.
 
  • #13
joshmccraney said:
Can you elaborate please? I thought ##n \cdot \nabla u \cdot n = n \cdot ( \nabla u)^T \cdot n##.
That is correct, but it doesn’t guarantee that the gradient of the velocity and its transpose are equal.
 
  • #14
Chestermiller said:
That is correct, but it doesn’t guarantee that the gradient of the velocity and its transpose are equal.
I must be missing something. Isn't it enough to show that ##(n \cdot \nabla u \cdot n + n \cdot (\nabla u)^T \cdot n)/2 = n \cdot \nabla u \cdot n ##?
 
  • #15
You seem to be trying to prove that ##\nabla u=(\nabla u)^T##. Just because ##(n \cdot \nabla u \cdot n + n \cdot (\nabla u)^T \cdot n)/2 = n \cdot \nabla u \cdot n ## is true doesn't necessarily mean that ##\nabla u=(\nabla u)^T##. As a matter of fact, the latter is not generally correct.
 
  • #16
Chestermiller said:
You seem to be trying to prove that ##\nabla u=(\nabla u)^T##. Just because ##(n \cdot \nabla u \cdot n + n \cdot (\nabla u)^T \cdot n)/2 = n \cdot \nabla u \cdot n ## is true doesn't necessarily mean that ##\nabla u=(\nabla u)^T##. As a matter of fact, the latter is not generally correct.
Gotcha. But it is true that ##(n \cdot \nabla u \cdot n + n \cdot (\nabla u)^T \cdot n)/2 = n \cdot \nabla u \cdot n ##, right?

Also, when I take the inner product $$M_{ij} = \int (n \cdot \nabla \nabla \phi_i \cdot n) \phi_j : u = \nabla \phi$$ it turns out ##M_{ij} \neq M_{ji}##. I have reason to think ##M## should be symmetric. What do you think?
 
  • #17
joshmccraney said:
Gotcha. But it is true that ##(n \cdot \nabla u \cdot n + n \cdot (\nabla u)^T \cdot n)/2 = n \cdot \nabla u \cdot n ##, right?
Yes. You can show this using Cartesian coordinates.
Also, when I take the inner product $$M_{ij} = \int (n \cdot \nabla \nabla \phi_i \cdot n) \phi_j : u = \nabla \phi$$ it turns out ##M_{ij} \neq M_{ji}##. I have reason to think ##M## should be symmetric. What do you think?
I think I don't understand this notation.
 
  • #18
Chestermiller said:
Yes. You can show this using Cartesian coordinates.
Yes, I did this for the problem I'm working on and it's true.

Chestermiller said:
I think I don't understand this notation.
Sorry, let me ask the question in a better way: is it true that the notation here are always equivalent ##\nabla \otimes \vec u = \nabla \vec u##?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #19
joshmccraney said:
Yes, I did this for the problem I'm working on and it's true.Sorry, let me ask the question in a better way: is it true that the notation here are always equivalent ##\nabla \otimes \vec u = \nabla \vec u##?
That's my understanding
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: member 428835
  • #20
Thanks!
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 51 ·
2
Replies
51
Views
9K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
1K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
3K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
8K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
3K
  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
3K