Teaching session

on

Fluid
Kinematics
By - Ravi Kant
(Under supervision of Prof. Vinod Narayanan)
Mechanical Engineering, IIT Gandhinagar
 Overview
1. What is fluid kinematics ? Why do we study?
2. Lagrangian description
3. Eulerian description
4. Flow visualization –
a) Streamlines
b) Pathlines
c) Streaklines

5. Example problem to better understand the concepts of streamline, pathline and

streakline
6. Show plots & animations which were simulated in MATLAB
 What is fluid kinematics
Fluid mechanics

Kinematics Kinetics/Dynamics

How ? Why ?

Fluid kinematics deals with description of the motion of fluids without considering the forces and
moments that cause the motion.
 What is the need to study
1. Flow visualization
2. Tracking of particles in a flow.
3. Particle image velocimetry (PIV)
– uses pathline
4. Laminar to turbulent through
transition – Reynolds uses dye to see
the streaklines

Fig - Reynolds experiment (1883)

 Few terminologies
1. Fluid particle\element\parcel – Collection of fluid molecules whose length scale > 𝜆(order of 50 nm)
but < L

2. Continuum – Characterized by Knudsen number 𝐾𝑛 = 𝜆𝐿

3. Flow field – Any quantity continuous function of space and time
4. Lagrangian description
5. Eulerian description

Fig – Lagrangian vs Eulerian approach of measurement

Why do we need two descriptions for the flow field

1. Newton’s law is valid on system of particles. 𝐹Ԧ = 𝑚𝑎Ԧ𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒

2. But If we go by Lagrangian approach - We have to keep a track of infinitely many fluid

particles – (impossible !!)

3. We describe the flow field by Eulerian approach and then connect it with the Lagrangian
description. (Onset of the Reynold’s Transport Theorem - RTT)

𝐷𝑉 𝜕𝑉 𝜕𝑉 𝜕𝑉 𝜕𝑉
𝑎Ԧ 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒 = = +𝑢 +𝑣 +𝑤
𝐷𝑡 𝜕𝑡 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧

Eulerian way to write acceleration of the particle

Streamline
A streamline is a curve that is everywhere tangent to the instantaneous local velocity vector.

𝑉 × 𝑑 𝑟Ԧ = 0

𝑑𝑦 𝑣
=
𝑑𝑥 along streamline 𝑢

Fig – Velocity vector is always parallel to the streamline

 Example problem
Unsteady 2D velocity field -
𝑉 = 0.5 + 0.8𝑥 𝑖Ƹ + (1.5 + 2.5 sin 𝜔𝑡 − 0.8𝑦)𝑗Ƹ

To evaluate streamlines, solve for

𝑑𝑦 𝑣 (1.5 + 2.5 sin 𝜔𝑡 − 0.8𝑦)

= =
𝑑𝑥 𝑢 0.5 + 0.8𝑥

𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑥
‫( ׬‬1.5+2.5 sin 𝜔𝑡 −0.8𝑦) =‫׬‬
0.5+0.8𝑥

𝐶
𝑦= − 1.5 − 2.5 sin 𝜔𝑡
−0.8(0.5 + 0.8𝑥)
Animation – Streamlines for unsteady velocity field
Pathline
A pathline is the actual path travelled by an individual fluid particle over some time period.

𝑑𝑥𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒
= 𝑢(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑡)
𝑑𝑡

𝑑𝑦𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒
= 𝑣(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑡)
𝑑𝑡

With initial condition 𝑥0 , 𝑦0 , 𝑡0 , simultaneous

solution gives the path of particle in parametric
form
𝑥𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑡 = 𝑥(𝑡, 𝑥0 , 𝑦0 , 𝑡0 )
𝑦𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑡 = 𝑦(𝑡, 𝑥0 , 𝑦0 , 𝑡0 ) Fig – Oscillating garden hose
 𝑉 = 0.5 + 0.8𝑥 𝑖Ƹ + (1.5 + 2.5 sin 𝜔𝑡 − 0.8𝑦)𝑗Ƹ Pathline

𝑑𝑥
= 𝑢 = 0.5 + 0.8𝑥
𝑑𝑡
𝑥 𝑑𝑥 𝑡
‫𝑥׬‬ = ‫𝑡𝑑 𝑓 𝑡׬‬
0 0.5+0.8𝑥 0

It is marched in time from t = 0 s to t = 2 s, tracing the

path of fluid particles released at three locations:
(𝑥0 , 𝑦0 ) = ( 0.5, 0.5), (0.5, 2.5), and (0.5, 4.5)

𝑑𝑦
𝑑𝑡
= 𝑣 = (1.5 + 2.5 sin 𝜔𝑡 − 0.8𝑦)
𝑦 𝑑𝑦 𝑡
‫𝑦׬‬ = ‫𝑡𝑑 𝑓 𝑡׬‬
0 (1.5+2.5 sin 𝜔𝑡 −0.8𝑦) 0

Animation – Pathline traced by 3 particles

for unsteady velocity field
Streakline
A streakline is the locus of fluid particles
that have passed sequentially through a
prescribed point in the flow.
𝑑𝑥𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒
= 𝑢(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑡)
𝑑𝑡 Same as pathline
𝑑𝑦𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒 calculations
= 𝑣(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑡)
𝑑𝑡

𝑥𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑡0 = 𝑥(𝑡, 𝑥0 , 𝑦0 , 𝑡0 )
𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑡0 = 𝑦(𝑡, 𝑥0 , 𝑦0 , 𝑡0 )

Then 𝑡0 is varied from 0 to 𝑡 to get the locus of all the Fig – Streakline for 3 particles that have passed
points. specified location
Other Kinematic Descriptions
1. Translation
𝜕𝑢
2. Linear strain 𝜖𝑥𝑥 =
𝜕𝑥
𝜕𝑣 𝜕𝑢
3. Rotation 𝜔𝑧 = −
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦
𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑣
4. Shear strain 𝛾𝑥𝑦 = +
𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥
Fig – Linear strain in fluid particle

Fig – Rotation and shear strain

in a fluid particle
 References
1. Cengel, Yunus A. Fluid mechanics. Tata McGraw-Hill Education, 2010.
2. Fox, Robert W., and Alan T. McDonald. "Introduction to Fluid Mechanics, John
Wiley&Sons." Inc., New York (1994).
3. Kundu, Pijush K., Ira M. Cohen, and D. W. Dowling. "Fluid Mechanics 4th." (2008): 1-277.
Thank you