plate. Assume that the flow is fully developed.

Because of the symmetry, we can consider only one

half the portion. The governing differential equation
for this problem is
22dddduPyxμ= (5.26)
where u is the velocity, μ is the viscosity and P is the
pressure. If at a particular cross-section, the pressure
gradient dP/dx is specified, we can find out the
velocity distribution along the radial direction.
The boundary conditions are:
No-slip condition: At the plate surface, u = 0 (5.27)
Symmetry condition: dduyμ= 0 (5.28)
Symmetry condition comes because of the fact that at
the line of symmetry there cannot be any shear force.
The formulation of this problem is similar to the heat
conduction or rod loaded with axial loads problems.
You may solve this problem and compare it with the
exact solution. The exact solution is quadratic in y.
Therefore, if you take 3-noded element, you will get
the perfect matching with the exact solution with one
element only. If you take 2-noded element, you will
never get zero error. Ofcourse, with more number of
elements, the error will be very small.
What is the point in solving this equation by using
FEM? We already know the exact solution. The
importance of FEM will come when the viscosity will
vary as a function of y. In that case, it may be difficult
to find out the exact solution. However, FEM can
provide approximate solution easily.
5.5 CONCLUSION
 In this chapter, we have studied the problems of heat
conduction, solid mechanics and fluid flow problems.
The problems from three different areas have been
chosen to emphasize the applicability of FEM as a
general tool. By now you might have got the feeling
that although FEM was started as a tool of structural
mechanics, it has the potential of application in other
areas too.
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