Lecture 3: Tensor Analysis

a scalar
Ai vector, i=1,2,3
ij tensor, i=1,2,3; j=1,2,3

Rules for Tensor Manipulation:

1. A subscript occurring twice is a repeated (or dummy) index and is
summed over 1,2, and 3.
2. A subscript occurring once in a term is called a free index, can take
on the range 1,2,3 but not summed.
3. No index can appear in a term more than twice.

Scalar and Vector Products

Scalar product:

r r
r
r
r r
A B Ai ei Bk ek Ai Bk (ei ek )

A
i Bk ik

A
i Bi

A B Ai B i
vector
notations

tensor
notations

Vector product:
r r
r
r
r r
r
A B ( Ai ei ) ( B j e j ) Ai B j (ei e j ) Ai B j eijk ek

A B e ijk A j Bk

Kronecker delta
1 0 0
ik 0 1 0

0 0 1

-- Kronecker delta (or,

delta-symbol)

Manipulations involving delta-symbol,

Ai ik Ak

Levi-Civita symbol
1; (ijk ) (123) (231) (312) -- even permutation

eijk 1;(ijk ) (213) (132) (321) -- odd permutation

0; if i j or j k or i k

Properties:

e ijk e jki ekij (even permutation)

e ijk e pqk ip jq iq jp

e ijk e jki (odd permutation)

Calculus
grad a i ia

div A i Ai

curl A i eijk j Ak

-- gradient
-- divergence
-- curl

Example of use of tensor notations:

v curlv v curlv i e ijkv j ekpq pv q e ijk e pqkv j pv q

ip jq iq jp v j pv q v j iv j v j jv i
2
v jv j
v

i
v j jv i
v v
2
2

Levi-Civita
Tullio Levi-Civita (29 March 1873 29
December 1941) (pronounced /'levi ivita/)
was an Italian mathematician, most famous
for his work on tensor calculus and its
applications to the theory of relativity

Lecture 4: Hydrodynamic approach

Lagrangian and Eulerian Description
Material Derivative
Number of governing equations

Fluid velocity
1. Hydrodynamics is a macroscopic approach when the
random motion of single molecules is averaged over a
macroscopic volume.
2. The smallest examined object in hydrodynamics is a fluid
particle. A fluid particle consists of many randomly moving
molecules.
3. Fluid velocity is defined as the velocity of the centre mass
of a fluid particle.

Lagrangian and Eulerian Description.

Material Derivative

Lagrangian: tracing the position and velocity of chosen fluid particles. All
variables are function of time.
Eulerian: tracing the fluid velocity (and other quantities) at a chosen point. All
variables are functions of time and coordinate.
Material derivative: as an example, consider the rate of change of density of
a fluid particle,

d dt dx dy dz
t
x
y
z

dt
i
j k i dx j dy kdz dt dR
t
y
z
t
x

dt v dt
v dt

t
full or material d
t

v
derivative:
dt t

Number of unknowns/governing
equations

To define the thermodynamic state of a single-phase fluid, two

variables are needed, e.g. temperature and pressure. (only pressure
would be required for isothermal flow.)
+ three components of the velocity field.
On the whole, 5 variables (unknowns) are required to describe a
single-phase fluid flow.

As the number of equations should be equal to the number of

unknowns, 5 governing equations should be provided.

These are the continuity equation, the Navier-Stokes equation (this

is the vector equation, hence, it gives 3 scalar equations), and the
equation for the energy transport.