Course Code / Title: AEE 242 / FLUID MECHANICS

Instructor: Asst. Prof. M. Mollamahmutoglu

CHAPTER 4 FLUID KINEMATICS

LAGRANGIAN AND EULERIAN DESCRIPTIONS

The subject called kinematics concerns the study of motion. In fluid dynamics, fluid kinematics
is the study of how fluids flow and how to describe fluid motion. From a fundamental point of
view, there are two distinct ways to describe motion.

Lagrangian description
The first method, called the Lagrangian method,
involves following individual fluid particles as they move
about and determining how the fluid properties associated
with these particles change as a function of time. That is,
the fluid particles are “tagged” or identified, and their
properties determined as they move. Lagrangian analysis
is analogous to the (closed) system analysis that you
learned in thermodynamics; namely, we follow a mass of
fixed identity.
 As you can imagine, this method of describing motion is much more difficult for fluids
than for billiard balls! First of all we cannot easily define and identify fluid particles as
they move around. Secondly, a fluid is a continuum (from a macroscopic point of view),
so interactions between fluid particles are not as easy to describe as are interactions
between distinct objects like billiard balls or air hockey pucks. Furthermore, the fluid
particles continually deform as they move in the flow. Nevertheless, there are many
practical applications of the Lagrangian description, such as the tracking of passive
scalars in a flow to model contaminant transport, rarefied gas dynamics calculations
concerning reentry of a spaceship into the earth’s atmosphere, and the development of
flow visualization and measurement systems based on particle tracking.

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Course Code / Title: AEE 242 / FLUID MECHANICS
Instructor: Asst. Prof. M. Mollamahmutoglu

Eulerian description
A more common method of describing fluid flow is the Eulerian description of fluid motion.
In the Eulerian description of fluid flow, a finite volume called a flow domain or control volume
is defined, through which fluid flows in and out. Instead of tracking individual fluid particles,
we define field variables, functions of space and time, within the control volume. The field
variable at a particular location at a particular time is the value of the variable for whichever
fluid particle happens to occupy that location at that time. For example;
Scalar field

Vector field

Vector field
 In the Eulerian description we don’t really care what happens to individual fluid
particles; rather we are concerned with the pressure, velocity, acceleration, etc., of
whichever fluid particle happens to be at the location of interest at the time of interest.
 The Eulerian description is often more convenient for fluid mechanics applications.
However, the equations of motion of fluid flow are not so readily apparent in the
Eulerian description and must be carefully derived. We do this for control volume
(integral) analysis via the Reynolds transport theorem at the end of this chapter. We
derive the differential equations of motion in Chapter 7.

Acceleration Field
The equations of motion for fluid flow (such as Newton’s second law) are written for a fluid
particle, which we also call a material particle. If we were to follow a particular fluid particle
as it moves around in the flow, we would be employing the Lagrangian description, and the
equations of motion would be directly applicable. For example, we would define the particle’s
location in space in terms of a material position vector (xparticle(t), yparticle(t), zparticle(t)).
However, some mathematical manipulation is then
necessary to convert the equations of motion into forms
applicable to the Eulerian description.

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Course Code / Title: AEE 242 / FLUID MECHANICS
Instructor: Asst. Prof. M. Mollamahmutoglu

 At any instant in time t, the velocity of the particle is the same as the local value of the
velocity field at the location (xparticle(t), yparticle(t), zparticle(t)) of the particle, since the fluid
particle moves with the fluid by definition. We must therefore use the chain rule, since
⃗ ) is a function of four independent variables (xparticle, yparticle,
the dependent variable (𝑉
zparticle, and t).
∂: partial derivative
operator
d: total derivative
via chain rule
operator

material position vector (xparticle(t), yparticle(t), zparticle(t)) (Langrangian frame) 𝑎⃑𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒

position vector (x, y, z) (Eulerian frame) 𝑎⃑(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡)

Acceleration in vector form

local acceleration advective (convective) acceleration

where

In Cartesian coordinates then, the components of the acceleration vector are

 The local acceleration is nonzero only for unsteady flows. On the other hand, the
advective acceleration can be nonzero even for steady flows.

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Course Code / Title: AEE 242 / FLUID MECHANICS
Instructor: Asst. Prof. M. Mollamahmutoglu

 Note that while a flow is steady from the point of view of a fixed observer in the Eulerian
reference frame, it does not have to be steady from the Lagrangian reference frame
moving with a fluid particle.
Alternative notation

Material (substantial) derivative

Material acceleration

 We can also use material derivative for other fluid

properties. For example,

FLOW PATTERNS AND FLOW VISUALIZATION

While quantitative study of fluid dynamics requires advanced mathematics, much can be
learned from flow visualization—the visual examination of flow field features. Flow
visualization is useful not only in physical experiments, but in numerical solutions as well
(CFD). In fact, the very first thing an engineer using CFD does after obtaining a numerical
solution is simulate some form of flow visualization, so that he or she can see the “whole
picture” rather than merely a list of numbers and quantitative data.

Streamlines and Streamtubes

A streamline is a curve that is everywhere tangent to the instantaneous local velocity vector.
Thus, they are useful as indicators of the instantaneous direction of fluid motion throughout the
flow field.

Consider an infinitesimal arc length

And the local velocity vector

 For a known velocity field, we integrate the equation to draw the streamlines.

 For a 2D case,

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Course Code / Title: AEE 242 / FLUID MECHANICS
Instructor: Asst. Prof. M. Mollamahmutoglu

A streamtube consists of a bundle of

streamlines. Since streamlines are everywhere
parallel to the local velocity, fluid cannot cross a
streamline by definition. By extension, fluid
within a streamtube must remain there and
cannot cross the boundary of the streamtube.

 Both streamlines and streamtubes are instantaneous quantities, defined at a particular

instant in time according to the velocity field at that instant. In an unsteady flow, the
streamline pattern may change significantly with time. Nevertheless, at any instant in
time, the mass flow rate passing through any cross-sectional slice of a given streamtube
must remain the same.

Pathlines
A pathline is the actual path traveled by an
individual fluid particle over some time period.
Pathlines are the easiest of the flow patterns to
understand. A pathline is a Lagrangian concept
in that we simply follow the path of an
individual fluid particle as it moves around in
the flow field.
Thus, a pathline is the same as the fluid particle’s material position vector (xparticle(t), yparticle(t),
zparticle(t)) traced out over some finite time interval. In a physical experiment, you can imagine
a tracer fluid particle that is marked somehow—either by color or brightness—such that it is
easily distinguishable from surrounding fluid particles. Pathlines can also be calculated
numerically for a known velocity field. Specifically, the location of the tracer particle is
integrated over time from some starting location 𝑥𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡 and starting time 𝑡𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡 to some later
time t.

 If the velocity field is steady, individual fluid particles follow streamlines. Thus, for
steady flow, pathlines are identical to streamlines.
 A modern experimental technique called particle image velocimetry (PIV) utilizes short
segments of particle pathlines to measure the velocity field over an entire plane in a flow
(Adrian, 1991). (Recent advances also extend the technique to three dimensions.)

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Course Code / Title: AEE 242 / FLUID MECHANICS
Instructor: Asst. Prof. M. Mollamahmutoglu

Streaklines
A streakline is the locus of fluid particles that have
passed sequentially through a prescribed point in
the flow. The streakline is formed by connecting all
the circles into a smooth curve. In physical
experiments in a wind or water tunnel, the smoke
or dye is injected continuously, not as individual
particles, and the resulting flow pattern is by
definition a streakline.

 Streaklines are often confused with streamlines or pathlines. While the three flow
patterns are identical in steady flow, they can be quite different in unsteady flow. The
main difference is that a streamline represents an instantaneous flow pattern at a given
instant in time, while a streakline and a pathline are flow patterns that have some age
and thus a time history associated with them. A streakline is an instantaneous snapshot
of a time-integrated flow pattern. A pathline, on the other hand, is the time-exposed flow
path of an individual particle over some time period.
Consider the Kármán vortex street pattern due to the vortex shedding from a cylinder. The
authors used a smoke wire for flow visualization in a wind tunnel.

From the figure (a) alone, you may think that the shed vortices continue to exist to several
hundred diameters downstream of the cylinder. However, the streakline pattern of this figure is
misleading! In the figure (b), the smoke wire is placed 150 diameters downstream of the
cylinder. The resulting streaklines are straight, indicating that the shed vortices have in reality
disappeared by this downstream distance. The flow is steady and parallel at this location, and
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Course Code / Title: AEE 242 / FLUID MECHANICS
Instructor: Asst. Prof. M. Mollamahmutoglu

there are no more vortices. The patterns in (a), near x/D = 150 are merely remnants of the vortex
street that existed upstream. The streaklines in (b), however, show the correct features of the
flow at that location. The streaklines generated at x/D = 150 are identical to streamlines or
pathlines in that region of the flow—straight, nearly horizontal lines—since the flow is steady
there.

Mathematically, the location of a tracer particle is integrated over time from the time of its
𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 to the present time 𝑡𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡 becomes

In a complex unsteady flow, the time integration must be performed numerically as the velocity
field changes with time. When the locus of tracer particle locations at 𝑡 = 𝑡𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡 is connected
by a smooth curve, the result is the desired streakline.

Timelines
A timeline is a set of adjacent fluid particles that were
marked at the same (earlier) instant in time. Timelines
are particularly useful in situations where the uniformity
of a flow (or lack thereof) is to be examined. One very
practical application of timelines is that a velocity vector
plot can be generated directly from a timeline.

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Course Code / Title: AEE 242 / FLUID MECHANICS
Instructor: Asst. Prof. M. Mollamahmutoglu

 Timelines can be generated experimentally in a water channel through use of a hydrogen

bubble wire.

Refractive Flow Visualization Techniques

 These techniques are based on the refractive property of light waves. Two primary
flow visualization techniques are the shadowgraph technique and the schlieren
technique.
 Unlike flow visualizations involving streaklines, pathlines, and timelines, the
shadowgraph and schlieren methods do not require injection of a visible tracer (smoke
or dye).
Surface Flow Visualization Techniques
 The direction of fluid flow immediately above a solid surface can be visualized with
tufts—short, flexible strings glued to the surface at one end that point in the flow
direction. Tufts are especially useful for locating regions of flow separation, where
the flow direction reverses.
 A technique called surface oil visualization can be used for the same purpose—oil
placed on the surface forms streaks called friction lines that indicate the direction of
flow.
 There are pressure-sensitive and temperature-sensitive paints that enable researchers
to observe the pressure or temperature distribution along solid surfaces.

PLOTS OF FLUID FLOW DATA

You are already familiar with time plots, which are especially useful in turbulent flows (e.g., a
velocity component plotted as a function of time), and xy-plots (e.g., pressure as a function of
radius). In this section, we discuss three additional types of plots that are useful in fluid
mechanics.

Profile Plots: A profile plot indicates how the value of a scalar property varies along some
desired direction in the flow field.

Vector Plots: A vector plot is an array of arrows indicating the magnitude and direction of a
vector property at an instant in time.

Contour Plots: A contour plot shows curves of constant values of a scalar property (or
magnitude of a vector property) at an instant in time.

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Course Code / Title: AEE 242 / FLUID MECHANICS
Instructor: Asst. Prof. M. Mollamahmutoglu

Profile plots of the horizontal component of velocity as a function of vertical distance; flow
in the boundary layer growing along a horizontal flat plate: (a) standard profile plot and
(b) profile plot with arrows.

Results of CFD calculations of flow

impinging on a block

(a) streamlines, (b) velocity vector plot of the

upper half of the flow

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Course Code / Title: AEE 242 / FLUID MECHANICS
Instructor: Asst. Prof. M. Mollamahmutoglu

OTHER KINEMATIC DESCRIPTIONS

Types of Motion or Deformation of Fluid Elements
In fluid mechanics, as in solid mechanics, an element may undergo four fundamental types of
motion or deformation. Because fluid elements may be in constant motion, it is preferable in
fluid dynamics to describe the motion and deformation of fluid elements in terms of rates.

Fundamental types of fluid element motion or deformation Rates

velocity
translation
(rate of translation)

angular velocity
rotation
(rate of rotation)

linear strain linear strain rate

(extensional strain) (rate of linear strain)

shear strain rate

shear strain
(rate of shear strain)

Rate of translation vector (velocity vector)

in Cartesian coordinates

Rate of rotation of fluid element about point P

Rate of rotation vector

(angular velocity
vector) in Cartesian
coordinates

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Course Code / Title: AEE 242 / FLUID MECHANICS
Instructor: Asst. Prof. M. Mollamahmutoglu

Linear strain rate in Cartesian coordinates

Volumetric strain rate (bulk strain

rate or rate of volumetric dilatation)
in Cartesian coordinates

Shear strain rate, initially perpendicular lines in the

x- and y-directions

Shear strain rate

in Cartesian
coordinates

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Course Code / Title: AEE 242 / FLUID MECHANICS
Instructor: Asst. Prof. M. Mollamahmutoglu

Strain rate tensor in Cartesian coordinates (linear strain rate + shear strain rate)

 If the flow is incompressible, the net volume of the fluid element must remain constant;
thus if the element stretches in one direction, it must shrink by an appropriate amount
in other direction(s) to compensate. The volume of a compressible fluid element,
however, may increase or decrease as its density decreases or increases, respectively.
 The strain rate tensor obeys all the laws of mathematical tensors, such as tensor
invariants, transformation laws, and principal axes. We use the notation 𝜀𝑖𝑗 for the strain
rate tensor to emphasize its nine components; this is also standard notation when using
Cartesian tensor notation. Note that some authors use a double over-arrow instead,

namely, ε This emphasizes that ε is a second-order tensor with 32 = 9 components, one

⃗ which is a first-order tensor with 31 = 3
mathematical step higher than a vector like 𝑉
components.

A fluid element illustrating translation, rotation, linear

strain, shear strain, and volumetric strain.

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Course Code / Title: AEE 242 / FLUID MECHANICS
Instructor: Asst. Prof. M. Mollamahmutoglu

VORTICITY AND ROTATIONALITY

Vorticity vector
Thus, vorticity is equal to twice the angular velocity of
a fluid particle.
Vorticity vector in Cartesian coordinates
3D 2D

Vorticity vector in cylindrical coordinates

3D 2D

 Physically, you can tell the direction of the vorticity vector by using the right-hand rule
for cross product.
 If the vorticity at a point in a flow field is nonzero, the fluid particle that happens to
occupy that point in space is rotating; the flow in that region is called rotational.
Likewise, if the vorticity in a region of the flow is zero (or negligibly small), fluid
particles there are not rotating; the flow in that region is called irrotational.
 For example, fluid particles within the viscous boundary layer near a solid wall are
rotational (and thus have nonzero vorticity), while fluid particles outside the boundary
layer are irrotational (and their vorticity is zero).

 Rotation of fluid elements is associated with wakes, boundary layers, flow through
turbomachinery (fans, turbines, compressors, etc.), and flow with heat transfer. The
vorticity of a fluid element cannot change except through the action of viscosity,

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Course Code / Title: AEE 242 / FLUID MECHANICS
Instructor: Asst. Prof. M. Mollamahmutoglu

nonuniform heating (temperature gradients), or other nonuniform phenomena. Thus if a

flow originates in an irrotational region, it remains irrotational until some nonuniform
process alters it.

Comparison of Two Circular Flows

Not all flows with circular streamlines are rotational.

Flow A—solid-body rotation Flow B—line vortex

 Flow A is rotational. Physically, this means that individual fluid particles rotate as they
revolve around the origin. By contrast, the vorticity of the line vortex is zero everywhere
(except right at the origin, which is a mathematical singularity). Flow B is irrotational.
Physically, fluid particles do not rotate as they revolve in circles about the origin.

THE REYNOLDS TRANSPORT THEOREM

A fluid’s behavior is governed by fundamental physical laws that are modeled by an appropriate
set of equations. The application of laws such as the conservation of mass, Newton’s laws of
motion, and the laws of thermodynamics forms the foundation of fluid mechanics analyses.
There are various ways that these governing laws can be applied to a fluid, including the system
approach and the control volume approach. By definition, a system is a collection of matter
of fixed identity (always the same atoms or fluid particles), which may move, flow, and interact
with its surroundings. A control volume, on the other hand, is a volume in space (a geometric
entity, independent of mass) through which fluid may flow.

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Course Code / Title: AEE 242 / FLUID MECHANICS
Instructor: Asst. Prof. M. Mollamahmutoglu

The figure illustrates both a system and a control

volume for the case of deodorant being sprayed from
a spray can. When analyzing the spraying process, a
natural choice for our analysis is either the moving,
deforming fluid (a system) or the volume bounded by
the inner surfaces of the can (a control volume). These
two choices are identical before the deodorant is
sprayed.

When some contents of the can are discharged, the system approach considers the discharged
mass as part of the system and tracks it (a difficult job indeed); thus the mass of the system
remains constant. The control volume approach, however, is not concerned at all with the
deodorant that has escaped the can (other than its properties at the exit), and thus the mass of
the control volume decreases during this process while its volume remains constant. Therefore,
the system approach treats the spraying process as an expansion of the system’s volume,
whereas the control volume approach considers it as a fluid discharge through the control
surface of the fixed control volume. In general, the control volume can be a moving volume,
although for most situations considered in this course we will use only fixed, nondeformable
control volumes. The matter within a control volume may change with time as the fluid flows
through it. Similarly, the amount of mass within the volume may change with time. The control
volume itself is a specific geometric entity, independent of the flowing fluid.

Most principles of fluid mechanics are adopted from solid mechanics, where the physical laws
dealing with the time rates of change of extensive properties are expressed for systems. In fluid
mechanics, it is usually more convenient to work with control volumes, and thus there is a need
to relate the changes in a control volume to the changes in a system.

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Course Code / Title: AEE 242 / FLUID MECHANICS
Instructor: Asst. Prof. M. Mollamahmutoglu

The relationship between the time rates of change of an

extensive property for a system and for a control
volume is expressed by the Reynolds transport
theorem (RTT), which provides the link between the
system and control volume approaches.

Let B represent any extensive property (such as

mass, energy, or momentum), and let b = B/m
represent the corresponding intensive property.
Then, the extensive property B of the system at times
t and t + Δt is expressed as

Subtracting the first equation from the second one

and dividing by Δt gives

Taking the limit as Δt → 0, and using the definition

of derivative, we get

or

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Course Code / Title: AEE 242 / FLUID MECHANICS
Instructor: Asst. Prof. M. Mollamahmutoglu

 This relation states that the time rate of change of the property B of the system is equal
to the time rate of change of B of the control volume plus the net flux of B out of the
control volume by mass crossing the control surface. This is the desired relation since it
relates the change of a property of a system to the change of that property for a control
volume. Please notice that there is only one inlet and one outlet, and the velocities are
approximately normal to the surfaces at sections (1) and (2). In general, however, we
may have several inlet and outlet ports, and the velocity may not be normal to the control
surface at the point of entry. Also, the velocity may not be uniform.

RTT, fixed CV
(System-to-control-volume
transformation for a fixed control
volume)

Alternate RTT, fixed CV

RTT, nonfixed CV

Relative velocity

Alternate RTT, nonfixed CV

RTT, steady flow

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Course Code / Title: AEE 242 / FLUID MECHANICS
Instructor: Asst. Prof. M. Mollamahmutoglu

For a finite number of well-defined inlets and outlets, we may write

where

The approximation in this equation is exact when

property b is uniform over cross-sectional area A.

We may wish to rewrite this equation in terms of volume (rather than mass) flow rate.

The approximation in this equation is exact when property ρ is uniform over

cross-sectional area A.

Approximate RTT for

well-defined inlets and
outlets
 Note that these approximations simplify the analysis greatly but may not always be
accurate, especially in cases where the velocity distribution across the inlet or outlet is
not very uniform. In particular, the control surface integral becomes nonlinear when
property b contains a velocity, and the approximation of volumetric flow leads to errors.
Fortunately, we can eliminate the errors by including correction factors, as discussed in
Chaps. 5 and 6.

*Alternate Derivation of the Reynolds Transport Theorem

A more elegant mathematical derivation of the Reynolds
transport theorem is possible through use of the Leibniz
(sometimes Leibnitz) theorem.

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Course Code / Title: AEE 242 / FLUID MECHANICS
Instructor: Asst. Prof. M. Mollamahmutoglu

In three dimensions, the Leibniz theorem for a volume integral is

If we set integrand G to 𝜌b for application to fluid flow,

If we apply the Leibniz theorem to the special case of a

material volume (a system of fixed identity moving with
⃗𝐴 = 𝑉
the fluid flow), then 𝑉 ⃗ everywhere on the material
surface since it moves with the fluid.

We define our control volume such that at this time t, the control volume and the system occupy
the same space; in other words, they are coincident.
At some later time t + Δt, the system has moved and
deformed with the flow, but the control volume may have
moved and deformed differently. The key, however, is that
at time t, the system (material volume) and control volume
are one and the same. Thus, the volume integral on the right-
hand side of this equation can be evaluated over the control
volume at time t, and the surface integral can be evaluated
over the control surface at time t.

General RTT, nonfixed CV

Relationship between Material Derivative and RTT

You may have noticed a similarity or analogy between
the material derivative and the Reynolds transport
theorem. In fact, both analyses represent methods to
transform from fundamentally Lagrangian concepts to
Eulerian interpretations of those concepts.

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Course Code / Title: AEE 242 / FLUID MECHANICS
Instructor: Asst. Prof. M. Mollamahmutoglu

 While the Reynolds transport theorem deals with finite-size control volumes and the
material derivative deals with infinitesimal fluid particles, the same fundamental
physical interpretation applies to both. In fact, the Reynolds transport theorem can be
thought of as the integral counterpart of the material derivative.
 Just as the material derivative can be applied to any fluid property, scalar or vector, the
Reynolds transport theorem can be applied to any scalar or vector property as well. In
Chaps. 5 and 6, we apply the Reynolds transport theorem to conservation of mass,
energy, momentum, and angular momentum by choosing parameter B to be mass,
energy, momentum, and angular momentum, respectively.

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