From 71b9e1aa3050dd492761973ad4be73c6d65e7eb1 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Prefetch Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2021 19:58:09 +0200 Subject: Expand knowledge base --- content/know/concept/vorticity/index.pdc | 165 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 165 insertions(+) create mode 100644 content/know/concept/vorticity/index.pdc (limited to 'content/know/concept/vorticity') diff --git a/content/know/concept/vorticity/index.pdc b/content/know/concept/vorticity/index.pdc new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5aec049 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/know/concept/vorticity/index.pdc @@ -0,0 +1,165 @@ +--- +title: "Vorticity" +firstLetter: "V" +publishDate: 2021-04-03 +categories: +- Physics +- Fluid mechanics +- Fluid dynamics + +date: 2021-04-03T09:24:42+02:00 +draft: false +markup: pandoc +--- + +# Vorticity + +In fluid mechanics, the **vorticity** $\va{\omega}$ +is a measure of the local circulation in a fluid. +It is defined as the curl of the flow velocity field $\va{v}$: + +$$\begin{aligned} + \boxed{ + \va{\omega} + \equiv \nabla \cross \va{v} + } +\end{aligned}$$ + +Just as curves tangent to $\va{v}$ are called *streamlines*, +curves tangent to $\va{\omega}$ are **vortex lines**, +which are to be interpreted as the "axes" that $\va{v}$ is circulating around. + +The vorticity is a local quantity, +and the corresponding global quantity is the **circulation** $\Gamma$, +which is defined as the projection of $\va{v}$ onto a close curve $C$. +Then, by Stokes' theorem: + +$$\begin{aligned} + \boxed{ + \Gamma(C, t) + \equiv \oint_C \va{v} \cdot \dd{\va{l}} + = \int_S \va{\omega} \cdot \dd{\va{S}} + } +\end{aligned}$$ + + +## Ideal fluids + +For an inviscid, incompressible fluid, +consider the *Bernoulli field* $H$, which is defined as: + +$$\begin{aligned} + H + \equiv \frac{1}{2} \va{v}^2 + \Phi + \frac{p}{\rho} +\end{aligned}$$ + +Where $\Phi$ is the gravitational potential, +$p$ is the pressure, and $\rho$ is the (constant) density. +We then take the gradient of this scalar field: + +$$\begin{aligned} + \nabla H + &= \frac{1}{2} \nabla \va{v}^2 + \nabla \Phi + \frac{\nabla p}{\rho} + \\ + &= \va{v} \cdot (\nabla \va{v}) - \Big( \!-\! \nabla \Phi - \frac{\nabla p}{\rho} \Big) +\end{aligned}$$ + +Since $-\nabla \Phi = \va{g}$, +the rightmost term is the right-hand side of +the [Euler equation](/know/concept/euler-equations/). +We substitute the other side of said equation, yielding: + +$$\begin{aligned} + \nabla H + &= \va{v} \cdot (\nabla \va{v}) - \frac{\mathrm{D} \va{v}}{\mathrm{D} t} + = \va{v} \cdot (\nabla \va{v}) - \pdv{\va{v}}{t} - (\va{v} \cdot \nabla) \va{v} +\end{aligned}$$ + +We isolate this equation for $\pdv*{\va{v}}{t}$, +and apply a vector identity to reduce it to the following: + +$$\begin{aligned} + \pdv{\va{v}}{t} + = \va{v} \cdot (\nabla \va{v}) - (\va{v} \cdot \nabla) \va{v} - \nabla H + = \va{v} \cross (\nabla \cross \va{v}) - \nabla H +\end{aligned}$$ + +Here, the definition of the vorticity $\va{\omega}$ is clear to see, +leading us to an equation of motion for $\va{v}$: + +$$\begin{aligned} + \boxed{ + \pdv{\va{v}}{t} + = \va{v} \cross \va{\omega} - \nabla H + } +\end{aligned}$$ + +More about this later. +Now, we take the curl of both sides of this equation, giving us: + +$$\begin{aligned} + \nabla \cross \pdv{\va{v}}{t} + = \nabla \cross (\va{v} \cross \va{\omega}) - \nabla \cross (\nabla H) +\end{aligned}$$ + +On the left, we swap $\nabla$ with $\pdv*{t}$, +and on the right, the curl of a gradient is always zero. +We are thus left with the equation of motion of the vorticity $\va{\omega}$: + +$$\begin{aligned} + \boxed{ + \pdv{\va{\omega}}{t} + = \nabla \cross (\va{v} \cross \va{\omega}) + } +\end{aligned}$$ + +Let us now return to the equation of motion for $\va{v}$. +For *steady* flows where $\pdv*{\va{v}}{t} = 0$, in which case +[Bernoulli's theorem](/know/concept/bernoullis-theorem/) applies, +it reduces to: + +$$\begin{aligned} + \nabla H + = \va{v} \cross \va{\omega} +\end{aligned}$$ + +If a fluid has $\va{\omega} = 0$ in some regions, it is known as **irrotational**. +From this equation, we see that, in that case, $\nabla H = 0$, +meaning that $H$ is a constant in those regions, +a fact sometimes referred to as **Bernoulli's stronger theorem**. + +Furthermore, irrotationality $\va{\omega} = 0$ +implies that $\va{v}$ is the gradient of a potential $\Psi$: + +$$\begin{aligned} + \va{v} + = \nabla \Psi +\end{aligned}$$ + +This fact allows us to rewrite the Euler equations in a particularly simple way. +Firstly, the condition of incompressibility becomes the well-known Laplace equation: + +$$\begin{aligned} + 0 + = \nabla \cdot \va{v} + = \nabla^2 \Psi +\end{aligned}$$ + +And second, the main equation of motion for $\va{v}$ states +that the quantity $H + \pdv*{\Psi}{t}$ is spatially constant +in the irrotational region: + +$$\begin{aligned} + \pdv{\va{v}}{t} + = \nabla \pdv{\Psi}{t} + = - \nabla H + \quad \implies \quad + \nabla \Big( H + \pdv{\Psi}{t} \Big) + = 0 +\end{aligned}$$ + + +## References +1. B. Lautrup, + *Physics of continuous matter: exotic and everyday phenomena in the macroscopic world*, 2nd edition, + CRC Press. -- cgit v1.2.3