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Next: Viscosity Up: Mathematical Models of Fluid Previous: Stress Tensor in a
Stress Tensor in a Moving Fluid
We have seen that in a static fluid the stress tensor takes the form
(15)
where is the static pressure: i.e., minus the normal stress acting in any direction. Now, the
normal stress at a given point in a moving fluid generally varies with direction: i.e., the principal stresses
are not equal to one another. However, we can still define the mean principal stress as
. Moreover, given that the principal stresses are actually normal stresses (in
a coordinate frame aligned with the principal axes), we can also regard as the mean normal stress.
It is convenient to define pressure in a moving fluid as minus the mean normal stress: i.e.,
(16)
Thus, we can write the stress tensor in a moving fluid as the sum of an isotropic part, , which has
the same form as the stress tensor in a static fluid, and a remaining nonisotropic part, , which includes
any shear stresses, and also has diagonal components whose sum is zero. In other words,
(17)
where
(18)
(19)
It is clear that the socalled deviatoric stress tensor, , is a consequence of fluid motion, since it is zero
in a static fluid. Suppose, however, that we were to view a static fluid both in its rest frame and in a
frame of reference moving at some constant velocity relative to the rest frame. Now, we would expect
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the force distribution within the fluid to be the same in both frames of reference, since the fluid does not
accelerate in either. However, in the first frame, the fluid appears stationary and the deviatoric stress
tensor is therefore zero, whilst in the second it has a spatially uniform velocity field and the deviatoric
stress tensor is also zero (because it is the same as in the rest frame). We, thus, conclude that the
deviatoric stress tensor is zero both in a stationary fluid and in a moving fluid possessing no spatial
velocity gradients. This suggests that the deviatoric stress tensor is driven by velocity gradients within
the fluid. Moreover, the tensor must vanish as these gradients vanish.
(20)
Now, in an isotropic fluidthat is, a fluid in which there is no preferred directionwe would expect the
fourthorder tensor to be isotropicthat is, to have a form in which all physical distinction between
different directions is absent. As demonstrated in Section B.5, the most general expression for an
isotropic fourthorder tensor is
(21)
(22)
(23)
where
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11/10/2015 Stress Tensor in a Moving Fluid
(24)
is called the rate of strain tensor. Finally, according to Equation (18), is a traceless tensor, which
yields , and
(25)
where . We, thus, conclude that the most general expression for the stress tensor in an isotropic
Newtonian fluid is
(26)
Next: Viscosity Up: Mathematical Models of Fluid Previous: Stress Tensor in a
Richard Fitzpatrick 20120427
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