Conservation of Mass Equation - Dierential Form

As seen previously in Ch.V, the equation of conservation of mass can be written

in integral form as:

t
Z
dV +
Z
(
~
V n)dA = 0
If we apply this equation to a rectangular prism with sides x, y, z as shown:
y x
z
x y
z
We can obtain the conservation of mass equation in dierential form. For sim-
plicity we apply our analysis to a 2-D rectangle and then we extend our conclu-
sion to 3-D.
Lets represent the x, y and z components of the velocity by u, v and w,
respectively.
Now, before proceeding any further, lets remember what a Taylor series ex-
pansion is. Assume that we know the value of a function f(x) at x = x
1
, and
additionally f(x) is dierentiable n-times. Then the value of f(x) at x = x
1
+x
is given by:
f(x
1
+ dx) = f(x
1
) +x
d
dx
f(x) +
x
2
2
d
2
dx
f(x) +
x
3
3!
d
3
dx
f(x) +
1
Now that we have revised Taylor series expansion, we can proceed with our
derivation so lets take into consideration the following element:
x
y
m
outy
m
outx
vxz
uyz
As shown in the gure, the mass ow rate entering the left side of the element is
uyz where as the mass ow rate entering through the bottom of the element
is vyz. is the density of the uid, u and v are the x and ycomponents
of the velocity and x, y, z are the dimensions of the sides of the rectangular
prism.
Now, we know how much uid is entering the control volume, but we do not
know how much of it is leaving the control volume. Then we use Taylor series
expansion to nd the amount of uid leaving the c.v.
Then if uyz is entering through the left side of the dierential element, then:
m
outx
=

u +
(u)
x
x +
x
2
2

2
(u)
x
2
+
x
3
3!
x
3
(u)
x
3
+

yz
If we assume that our dierential element is very small, we can neglect the
higher order terms such that:
m
outx
=

u +
(u)
x
x

yz
In a similar way, we have that:
m
outy
=

v +
(v)
y
y

xz
2
Therefore, our element can be shown as:
y
x

u +

y
(u)x

yz

v +

y
(v)y

xz
uyz
vxz
Now, we go back to the equation of conservation of mass:

t
Z
dV +
Z
(
~
V n)dA = 0
Beginning with the rst term, applied to our control volume we have:

t
Z
dV =

t
( xyz)
Now, lets analyze the second term:
Z
(
~
V n)dA = uyz+

u +
(u)
x
x

yzvxz+

v +
(v)
y
y

xz
Simplifying:
Z
(
~
V n) dA =

(u)
x
+
(v)
y

xyz
Substituting these terms into the conservation of mass equation:

t
(xyz) +

(u)
x
+
(v)
y

xyz = 0
or

t
+
(u)
x
+
(v)
y
= 0
3
We can extend our analysis to 3-D:

t
+
(u)
x
+
(v)
y
+
(w)
z
= 0
This is the equation of conservation of mass in dierential form. This equation
is also known as the continuity equation. Quite often you will see this equation
presented as:

t
+ (
~
V ) = 0
Where =

x
+

y
+

z

k
For the case when the uid is incompressible ( = const), the continuity equa-
tion is written as:

~
V = 0
u
x
+
v
y
+
w
z
= 0
If ow is in addition 2-D then:
u
x
+
v
y
= 0
4