Juster, GLY5932

Derivation of the Navier-Stokes equations, and implications for groundwater flow

Note on terminology: This essay is a compilation of material taken from books on physics, fluid mechanics
and hydrogeology. One of the challenges was to produce a consistent terminology from start (properties of
fluids) to finish (Darcys Law and its implications).
In many texts vectors
are indicated by bold letters (v), while in others they are indicated by a small arrow

v
above the symbol ( ). I will always indicate vectors with the little arrow and
scalars
without
one. Thus v

is a vector but vx is a scalar.

The unit vectors in the x-, y-, and z-directions are i , j , and k respectively so

that the velocity vector v can be written as:

v vxi v y j vz k

Fluid mechanics books and articles always refer to the x-, y, and z components of the velocity as u, v, and w;
i.e.,

u vxi ;

v vy j;

w vz k

Groundwater texts do not use these symbols, so I wont either. I will always use the symbols vx, vy, and vz as

the scalar magnitudes of the vector components and the vectors v x , v y , and v z as the vector components
themselves. In addition, it is common in fluid mechanics to refer to the x-, y- and z-directions as x1, x2, and
x3; this is useful, for example, when working with subscripts in tensor notation. In general Ive tried to avoid
tensor notation so I will retain the usual x, y, and z notation for the axes. The only exception is for the
symbol for a 2nd-order tensor itself, which I will indicate with two subscripts i and j; i.e., the stress tensor ij
This symbol should be taken to mean a 3 3 tensor with entries:
xx

ij yx

zx

xy xz

yy yz
zy zz

Finally, for inexplicable reasons it is common in physics and fluid

mechanics to use ij to refer to both the strain tensor (for elastic
solids) and strain-rate tensor (for fluids). This seems to be an
unnecessary source of confusion, and I will always refer to the
strain rate as (using the universal physics symbol for a timerate of change, the dot over the variable) so the strain-rate tensor
becomes ij .
Taylor Series expansion about a point: Frequently during the
analysis that follows we will want to know how a particular
variable changes in the neighborhood of a known value. For
example, we might know the value of P at a certain point in space
(perhaps the surface) but want to know P a small distance away.
Since P, for example, might depend on x, y, z and time we might
even be interested in how it changes in response to small changes
in x, y, z and t.
These changes can be understood as the first term of a Taylor
Series expansion about a point. For example, using the variable

Pressure P occurs x away from the pressure

at a known point, P0. It is shown as the open
dot on the curve of P vs. x, and is
approximated by the first-term of a Taylor
Series as the solid dot.

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Juster, GLY5932
pressure = P, assume that P is known at the point x0; P = P0 at x = x0. The variation in P in the vicinity of x0
is given by a Taylor Series expansion:
P P0 P
P0

P
2 P x 2 3 P x 3
x 2
3
. .
x
x 2
x 6

where x is a small increment of distance away from x0 in the x direction.

Now as x 0 the higher order terms (x 2 and x 3) go to zero faster than the term with x, and the
expansion becomes:
P P0

P
x
x

Geometrically, what we are saying is that as x 0 the

curve of P(x) becomes essentially a straight line without
any curvature, so that the slope is constant and a linear
relationship between P = P P0 and x applies. For a
perfectly straight line the slope is the rise/run, or:
P P ( P P0 )

x x
x

which can be re-arranged to yield:

P P0

P
x
x

(1)

When x is small, or the curve is straight with a

constant slope, pressure P is estimated exactly by the
first term of the Taylor Series.

When x is very small all curves become essentially

straight (all slopes are constant) and we can use the first
term of the Taylor Series expansion to see how P (or vx, or whatever) changes with respect to x (or y, or t, or
whatever). We will use this relationship a lot in this class so it is important to know where it comes from.

Force Balance for a Fluid: Start with Newtons 2nd Law: F

ma

where

is the vector sum of forces on a body;

m = the mass of the body

a is the acceleration of the body

Consider a little element of fluid x y z set into a coordinate system with x

and y horizontal and z directed upward. This means that +z is in the up direction.
There are three types of forces that can act on this fluid element: body forces (its
weight, always directed down); pressure gradient forces (which act on the outside
surfaces) and viscous forces (which also act on the outside surface).

ma Fbody F pressure

gradient

Fviscous

The pressure gradient and viscous forces are written as summations since in general there will be more than
one of them; the body force is just due to gravity, so there is only one and it always acts straight down, in the
z direction.
Usually we divide all terms by the volume, V, to produce an expression for forces per unit volume:
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F
F
Fviscous

ma

pressure gradient
body

V
V
V
V

F pressure gradient Fviscous

Fbody
a

V
V
V

(2)

where we have used the fact that = m/V.

This is the general force balance equation that serves as the basis for all further manipulations. It is simply
Newtons 2nd law applied to a small parcel of fluid, and can be applied whether or not the fluid is moving.
Balance of Forces in motionless (static) fluid: If the fluid is stationary we can simplify equation (2)
enormously. First of all since it isnt moving there is no acceleration and there are no viscous forces, since
these are created by friction with the surroundings. Therefore Newtons 2nd Law (per
unit volume) becomes:
0

Fbody
V

pressure gradient

Consider a small element of fluid x y z embedded into a coordinate system

with x and y horizontal and z directed. We will use this visualization a lot!

The Body Force: The body force is m a , where the acceleration is g , the
gravitational acceleration at the surface of the Earth. The acceleration g is directed
down, in the zdirection. Usually we write the gravitational accelerationas the product of a scalar g
(the
magnitude of g at the surface of the Earth, 9.81 m/s2) and a unit vector k in the z-direction. Since k
points up, the gravitational acceleration is:

g gk

The body force per unit volume is thus:

Fbody
V

mgk

gk
V

where we have used the relation

m
.
V

The pressure gradient forces: Consider the tiny box of fluid of dimensions x, y, and z with a pressure
defined at the very center as P0. To determine the pressure gradient in the x-direction we need to determine
the pressures on the left- and right-hand sides of the box. Using the Taylor Series expansion described
above, the pressure on the left-hand side of the box is:
PL P0

x P
2 x

and on the right-hand side of the box:

PR P0

x P
2 x

Having determined the pressures on both sides of the box, we now need to convert these into forces.
Newtons Law is based on the sum of forces, not stresses or pressures. Pressure is force per unit area;
specifically, the force normal to a surface:
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Juster, GLY5932

F
P
A

so that F = PA. The areas of the right- and left-hand faces of the little element of
fluid are yz so that the forces perpendicular (in the direction x) can be written as:
P x

FL PL yz P0
yz
x 2

and
P x

FR PR yz P0
yz
x 2

The force balance is now simply FL FR; the negative sign is because the force on the right-hand side of the
box is directed to the left, in the direction of x. Therefore it is a force in
the x direction.
P x
P x

FL FR P0
yz P0
yz
x 2
x 2

xyz
x
P

V
x

This force acts in the x-direction, and is the x-component of the total force due to pressure gradients. It can
be expressed in unit vector notation as:

x , pressure gradient

P
Vi
x

The exact same steps can be performed in the y- and z-directions to get expressions for the pressure gradient
forces in these directions as well. Putting it all together:

pressure gradient

P
P
P
Vi
Vj
Vk
x
y
z
P P P
V
i
j
k
y
z
x

The quantity in the parentheses above is called the gradient of the pressure, and is written as P and
pronounced del-P or gradient of P. It is the 3-dimensional equivalent of the derivative dP/dx. Notice
that the gradient operates on a scalar field (i.e., values of a scalar for all x, y, and z) and produces a vector.
The gradient can be thought of as the direction and magnitude of steepest increase in P.
We can write the gradient of any scalar function; i.e., the gradient of temperature:
T T T
i
j
k
x
y
z

This would be interpreted as the direction and magnitude of steepest change in temperature.
Going back to the pressure gradient force, we can divide by V and use the gradient symbol to express the
pressure gradient force per unit volume:

pressure gradient

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Equation of hydrostatics: Now that weve developed expressions for the body force and the pressure
gradient forces, we can use them in the expression for Newtons 2nd law under conditions of static (nonmoving):
0

Fbody

pressure gradient

0 gk P

This last equation can be re-arranged to yield the equation of hydrostatics, which describes how pressure
varies when water isnt moving:

P gk

Notice
that this is a vector equation, since the gradient of a scalar is always a vector. The fact that the i and

j components arent found on the right-hand side is significantits because the x- and y-components of the
gradient are zero! To show this we can write out the equation of hydrostatics in terms of its vector
components:
P

P P P
i
j
k 0i 0 j gk
x
y
z

or, in terms of the three scalar equations for these vector components:
P
0;
x
P
0;
y
P
g
z

Stated in words, under hydrostatic conditions there is no change in the pressure in either horizontal direction,
but the pressure increases with depth (-z) at the rate g. The increase in pressure with depth produces an
upward-directed pressure gradient force that is just sufficient to balance the downward-directed body force,
the weight of the fluid.
Incompressibility Condition: When fluids are allowed to move velocities enter into the equation of motion,
and the equations get very messy. However when the fluid density is constant there is an important
constraint on the velocities that are permissible for a fluid to have. This constraint is called the
incompressibility condition.
In detail, the density need not be entirely constantjust constant in response to stress. In other words the
incompressibility condition assumes the fluid cannot be compressed by surface stresses, so the volume of a
parcel of fluid remains constant throughout the flow. However this does not mean that the density cant
change as a result of changes in composition (salinity) or temperature.
Once again consider a small element of fluid x y z embedded into a
coordinate system with x and y horizontal and z directed upward, and consider
the flow of mass into and out of this little parcel of fluid. The mass flux dm/dt
can be written as the sum of the mass fluxes in the x, y, and z directions; i.e.,
dm dm

dt dt

dm

dt

dm

dt

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Consider the mass flux in the x-direction. Mass can be expressed as the product of V so that we can write:
dm

dt

d ( V )
dV

dt
dt

since is constant. Now all the fluid traveling in the x-direction passes
through the face given by area A = yz so the change in volume in this
channel can be written as dV = d(Ax) = yz dx. In other words,
dm

dt

dV

dt

d (yzx )
dx
yz
yzv x
dt
dt

(The expression dV dt Av is used very commonly in hydrogeology.)

Now the velocity vx is known at the center of the small fluid element but
may change throughout the space so its value must be calculated at the
right- and left-faces of the fluid element. These values are computed as:
v L v0

x v x
2 x

v R v0

and

Shaded volume is yz, the area

of the face, times the length width
x. Since the area doesnt change,

x v x
2 x

Knowing the velocities at both sides of the little element we can now compute the mass flows in and out:
dm
dt
dm
dt

yz v0 x
x

yz v 0 x
x

2
x

and the total mass accumulated in the fluid element in the x-direction is:
dm

dt

dm
dt

dm
dt

v x
v x

yz v0 x
yz v0 x

x 2
x 2

v
x xyz
x
v
x m
x

Similar arguments show that the mass accumulations in the y- and z-direction are:
dm

dt
dm

dt

v y
y

v z
m
z

Finally, the total mass accumulation in the tiny element of fluid is

v x v y v z
dm
m

dt
y
z
x

The fractional mass withdrawal is

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1 dm v x v y v z

m dt
x
y
z

We call this a withdrawal because of the negative sign: it is the negative accumulation. This expression
can be written as the divergence of the velocity, and has the interpretation of the fractional withdrawal of
mass from a tiny volume in space. The divergence is expressed with the symbol
on a vector to yield a scalar:

and always operates

f
f y f z
f x

x
y
z

By the law of conservation of mass, no mass can be either created or destroyed within the tiny volume of
fluid so the divergencewhich expresses the net withdrawal of mass from the tiny volumemust be zero.
Thus the incompressibility condition can be stated as:
v y v z
v
v x

0
x
y
z

The acceleration: You are familiar with the concept of acceleration, a = dv/dt. This acceleration is easy to
understand as long as an object is moving in a straight line, but as soon as it begins to waver from a straight
line the acceleration isnt as straightforward. Consider a car moving smoothly around a circular track at a
constant rate 60 m.p.h.. Is it accelerating? The velocity vector at each point is tangential to the curve, so as
the car moves the velocity must change direction (but not magnitude). Since the velocity vector is changing
there must be acceleration! From the point of view of the car there is no accelerationthe speedometer is
pegged at 60 m.p.h.but from the point of view of the spectators the car is surely accelerating as it rounds
the corners.
In fluids there are two important vantage points from which to analyze flow problems. The Eulerian
framework is what were used to: examining changes in velocity or acceleration at a constant point in space.
We can write this as: v(x,y,z,t); the velocity depends on the location and time at which it is observed. In
general fluid parcels will move through this spot in space, and thus the identity of the fluid parcel will
change with time. Suppose, for example, that one injected a drop of red dye into the flow. Discounting
diffusion and dispersion, this red-dye-tagged parcel of water would pass through the observation spot. One
could compute its velocity (or acceleration) only at the exact time it is located at the spot, not before or after.
The Eulerian point of view is that of the spectators watching the car round the track.
The Lagrangian framework is useful when we want to follow along with the particles of fluid. In this case
we analyze the velocity as a function of time for individual parcels of fluid, identified by their starting
position (x0, y0, z0). Thus we determine x(x0, y0, z0, t); i.e, we determine the locations of the fluid parcels as
they flow through the system. The Lagrangian point of view is that of the race car driver, or that of the reddyed parcel of fluid as it flows through the system.
In the Eulerian framework the race car described above is accelerating. In the Lagranian system it is not.
The problem is, how do we express the acceleration of an object in the Eulerian framework?
Its easier to understand if we start with a scalar function such as temperature. Suppose we want to find the
change in temperature with time when T(x,y,z,t). For example, suppose a hot blob of lava is shot into the
atmosphere. Its temperature will change as it cools, but will also change as it rises (since the atmosphere
cools with elevation).
Since T depends on x, y, z and t we can write the total change in temperature as the change caused by each
dependent variable individually:
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T Tt Tx T y Tz

T is the total change in temperature observed over some time. It is expressed as the temperature change
caused by time + the temperature change caused by change in position, with each direction considered
separately.
For Tt we can write:
Tt t

T
t

and similarly for the other variables:

T x x

T
;
x

T y y

T
;
y

T z z

T
z

Similar arguments hold for the variation of T with x, y, and z. We can now write the total change in
temperature T as:
T t

T
T
T
T
x
y
z
t
x
y
z

Divide by the time increment t and take the limit as t 0:

lim T
t T x T y T z T

t 0 t
t t
t x t y t z

so that:
DT
T
T
T
T

vx
vy
vz
Dt
t
x
y
z

The expression

DT
is called the substantial, material, or particle derivative, and it expresses the total
Dt

change of a variable in the Eulerian framework. It consists of two parts: the local change and the convective
change. The local change is given by the term
T
t

and is the change that would occur in the absence of any motion. In the case of cooling, it represents the
cooling the lava blob would experience if it was just sitting on the surface of the Earth. The convective
change consists of the other three terms:
vx

T
T
T
vy
vz
x
y
z

and is the change in temperature that results from movement into other regions of temperature that would
occur even if the blob wasnt hot.
The substantial derivative of the velocity is the acceleration vector in the Eulerian framework,

Dv
a
Dt

In this case we need to take the substantial derivative of a vector. To do this we take the substantial
derivative of each component of the velocity vector; i.e.,
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Juster, GLY5932
Dv x
ax ;
Dt

Dv y
Dt

ay ;

Dv z
az
Dt

so that:

Dv Dv x Dv y Dv z
a

i
j
k
Dt
Dt
Dt
Dt

This is long but can be written as:

v
v
v
Dv v x
a

vx x v y x vz x
Dt t
x
y
z
v y
v y
v y
v y
vx
vy
vz

x
y
z
t

v z
v z
v z
v z
t v x x v y y v z z k

The viscous forces: When fluid is in motion internal friction will set up viscous stresses which in general
oppose the motion of the fluid. These produce surface forces.
Unlike pressure forces, we cannot assume that the viscous surface stresses are perpendicular to every surface.
Instead, the stress on any surface may be directed at an arbitrary angle, and can be resolved into three
components: one perpendicular to the surface, and two others parallel and in the direction of the coordinate
axes. Each viscous stress component thus must specify two variables: the surface on which it acts, and the
direction in which it acts.
For example, consider the viscous stress acting on the top surface of the tiny fluid parcel in the diagram
below. This stress can be partitioned into three components: one perpendicular to the surface (parallel to the
z coordinate direction) and two within the surface and parallel to x and y. We call the three stress
components acting on this surface as zz, zx, and zy. The first subscript indicates
the direction normal to the surface (and thus identifies the surface) while the
second subscript indicates the direction in which the stress is directed.
If we imagine the tiny parcel of fluid shrinking down to a volume of zero we can
see that the stresses on the exact opposite surface must be identical. There are
thus 3 sets of 2 opposite faces in which viscous stresses can act, and these
produce 9 total viscous stress components. These comprise the viscous stress
tensor:
xx

ij yx

zx

xy xz

yy yz
zy zz

A tensor is a specialized matrix in which the components obey certain transformation rules. The symbol ij is
a form of tensor notation which is short-hand for a 3 3 tensor (so we dont have to write all those
components!).
We can determine the viscous force balance with an analysis similar to what was done with pressure. Again,
consider a tiny box of fluid of dimensions x, y, and z, and consider the balance of forces in the xdirection. Stresses in the x-direction will be of three types: xx, yx, and zx. Consider
first the forces associated with stresses acting on the z plane (horizontal, with normal
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Juster, GLY5932
= z). The shear stress zx is defined at the very center as 0 and we need to determine its value at the top and
bottom surfaces. Using the Taylor Series expansion we get:
T 0

z
2 z

at the top and

B 0

z
2 z

at the bottom. (Note Ive not used the subscripts on because its too confusing; in every case refers to zx.)
The force is simply A, where A = area = x y; i.e.,
z

FT T xy 0
xy
z 2

and
z

FB B xy 0
xy
z 2

The force balance is now simply FT FB; the negative sign is because the force on the bottom is directed to
the left, which is in the x direction.
z
z

FT FB 0
xy 0
xy
z 2
x 2

xyz
z

V
z

This force acts in the x-direction, and is one of the x-components of the viscous stresses. The other two
components are from stresses xx and yx. The derivation of the forces due to these stresses is identical to that
above, so the total forces in the x-direction can be written as:

x , viscous stresses

yx
xx
zx
V
V
V
x
y
z
xx yx zx

y
z
x

and the force per unit area in the x-direction is:

x , viscous stresses

xx yx zx

x
y
z

The same logic holds for the y and z directions, so the total force vector due to viscous stresses is:

viscous stresses

xx yx zx

y
z
x

xy yy zy
i

y
z

xz yz zz
j

y
z

Because this expression is so cumbersome we use a short-hand notation to express it. The short-hand
employs the concept of the divergence operator,

, which again is defined as:

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Juster, GLY5932
f
f y f z
f x

x
y
z

The divergence acts on a vector and produces a scalar, and it can be thought to operate on the three columns
of the viscous stress tensor. We can thus write the viscous forces as the product of the divergence operation
and the viscous stress tensor. This isnt really a vector product because the divergence operator doesnt
multiply the entries in the tensor; it merely acts on them. The expression is:

xx

yx
x
zx

xy
yy
zy

xz

yz
zz

Using the rules for dot-products of a vector and a matrix (look it up in any basic linear algebra book) this
expression can be expanded as:

xx xy xz

yx yy yz
x

zx zy zz

xx yx zx

y
z
x

xy yy zy

y
z
x

xy yy zy

y
z
x

which are the three components of the viscous force vector. Thus we can simplify the expression for the
viscous forces as:

viscous stresses

ij

Cauchys Equation of Motion: Inserting the expressions derived for the acceleration, the body forces, the
pressure gradient forces, and the viscous forces into the expression for Newtons 2nd Law we arrive at
Cauchys Equation of Motion, which describes the motion of any material, fluid or otherwise:

Dv
gk P ij
Dt

Note that this is an incredibly succinct equation, and is much more complicated than it at first appears. The
full expanded version can be written for each component, x, y, and z as:
v x
v
v
v
P xx yx zx
vx x v y x vz x

x
y
z
x
x
y
z
t
v y
v y
v y
v y
P xy yy zy

vx
vy
vz

x
y
z
y
x
y
z
t

P xy yy zy
v z
v
v
v

v x z v y z v z z gk

x
y
z
z
x
y
z
t

Things to notice about these equations: (a) only the z component equation has a body force, because gravity
only works in the z direction; (b) the x- and y-component equations are identical except for subscripts; (c) the
equations cannot be solved in their present form because the stresses have not yet been recast in terms of
velocities.
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Juster, GLY5932
In order to solve this equation for a specific substance, like a fluid, we need to substitute expressions
involving velocity for the viscous stress gradients.
Constitutive Relationship for Viscous Fluids: The mechanical behavior of every substance can be described
in terms of stress and strain, and the relationship between these variables is called a constitutive relationship.
In general constitutive relationships must be determined experimentally, and differ for every type of
substance (i.e., rock, plastic, fluid, gas, etc.).
Mathematically, the constitutive relationship is between the stress tensor ij and the strain tensor ij (for rigid
solids) or strain-rate tensor ij (for fluids). Note that I have distinguished between the two by placing a
small dot above the symbol for strain to indicate a strain rate. This is a common convention in physics to

show the time-derivative of a variable, and is less cumbersome than writing

, especially in the 3 3
t

tensors that follow. The strain-rate tensor has 9 components just like the stress tensor:
xx

ij yx

zx

xy
yy
zy

xz

yz
zz

and the diagonal entries xx , yy , and zz represent normal strain rates (elongation, contraction) and the
off-diagonal strains represent shear strains rates. Remember strain is a measure of distortion.
The strain rates in the strain-rate tensor can be described in terms of velocity gradients. Rather than prove
this for all the terms in the strain-rate tensor we will see how it works with a very simple case of normal
strain along the x-axis. The same logic will lead to the expressions for elongation in the y- and z-directions.
Then we will present the rest of the results, the shear strain rates, without proof.
Consider a small elongate element of fluid moving in the x-direction with a
non-constant velocity. The element is stretching as it is moving, resulting in a
normal strain-rate in the x-direction. The element has a length of x and
undergoes strain which stretches it to x + x in the time t. The terminology
is a bit confusing, since both x and x are small differential quantities that
will eventually shrink to zero. However x is the small elongation of x and is
always smaller than x. The strain xx is:
xx

x
x

I have written xx because the strain is computed at the limit where x and x 0.
There are three ways to determine the relationship between strain and velocity gradients. The first is entirely
intuitive, the second relies on an intuitive final step, and the third is rigorous. We will do all three.
The purely intuitive way to see the solution is to notice that unless the velocity is changing there will be no
strain. If the velocity is constant then the left- and right-sides of the initial box move at the same rate and the
box is unchanged after a time t. The only way the box can deform (i.e., stretch; i.e., strain) is if the rightv x
hand side moves faster than the left-hand slide, which happens when
>0. In fact, the rate of strain will
x
v x
equal
because this is the amount by which the right-hand side is moving faster than the left-hand side.
x
So we can intuit the answer as:
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Juster, GLY5932
v
x

xx

This is indeed the correct answer!

A slightly more rigorous way to demonstrate the relationship between strain and velocity is to take the
expression for strain and divide by the time increment, t:
x
x
xx
x
1 x

t
xt x t

xx

Here we use another intuitive leap: the term in parentheses is the rate at which the increment x grows with
time. This can be understood as the differential velocity, or difference in velocity between the left- and righthand sides of the original box.
v
v
x

v R v L v L x x v L x x
t
x
x

Here we have used the Taylor Series expansion to express vR as a function of vL and
substitute this expression into the equation for the strain rate to get the final answer:
e xx

v x
. Now we simply
x

xx
v
v
1 x
1

x x x

t
x t
x
x
x

Finally, we can rigorously demonstrate the answer by calculating the actual positions of the boundaries of x
and plugging into the definition of strain. Let L and R represent the positions of the left- and right-edges of
x before displacement and and represent the left- and right-edges x after displacement in time t. We
can write the positions of and as:
R v Lt
R v R t

where vL and vR and are the velocities at the left- and right-edges of x. We can
again use a Taylor Series expansion to express vR in terms of vL :
v R v L x

v x
x

Substituting this expression in for above we get

v

R v L x x t
x

The length of x is just , or:

v

R vL x x t R vLt
x

v
x xt
x

We plug this into the expression for the differential strain-rate,

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Juster, GLY5932

xx

xx
v
1 x
1 v x

xt x
t
x t xt x
x

which is the same answer. Similar arguments show that the normal strain rates yy and zz , the other
diagonal elements in the strain-rate tensor, are:
yy

v y
y

v z
z

zz

This is an example how just one of the 9 components of the strain-rate tensor is related to the gradients of
velocity in the x, y, and z directions. I wont show you how the shear strain rates are expressed in terms of
velocity gradients but they can be developed using the same kinds of geometric logic.
The full strain-rate tensor can be expressed in terms of velocity gradients as follows:

xx xy xz

1
ij yx yy yz

2

zy
zz
zx
1
2

v x
x
v x v y

y x
v x v z

z x

1 v x v y

2 y x
v y
y
1 v y v z

2 z y

2
1

v x v z

z x
v y v z

z y

v z

Notice that this is a symmetric tensor; i.e., there is symmetry across the diagonal elements. This strain-rate
tensor is valid for all materials, including fluids. It merely expresses the strain rates as a function of the
velocity gradients, and is constructed entirely from geometry.
For Newtonian fluids, such as water, the constitutive relationship between the stress tensor and the strain-rate
tensor is delightfully simple:
ij 2 ij

where is a constant called the coefficient of viscosity. Notice that this constitutive relationship preserves
the defining property of a fluid; that is, that any small shear stress will produce strain. It is now easy (!) to
write the stress tensor in terms of strains, and then in terms of the velocity gradients as follows:

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Juster, GLY5932

xx xy xz

1
ij 2 yx yy yz 2
2

zx
zy
zz

1
2

v x
x
v x v y

y
x
v x v z

z
x
v x
x
v x v y

y
x
v x v z

z
x
2

1 v x v y

2 y
x
v y
y
1 v y v z

2 z
y
v x v y

x
y
v y
2
y
v y v z

2
1

v x v z

z
x
v y v z

z
y
v z
z

v x v z

x
z
v y v z

2 v z

We can now substitute this expression for the stress tensor into the expression for Newtons 2nd Law (the
viscous forces term):

Dv

gk P ij
Dt

v v y
v
v v

x z
2 x
x
x
x
x

z
y

v y
v x v y
v y v z

gk P

y
x
y

v
2 v z
v x v z y v z

This is yucky, but we need to carry out the divergence operator on the stress tensor. Its simply a matter of
following the rules, and we get:

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Juster, GLY5932

v x
x
v x v y

y x
v x v z

z x
2

v x v y

v y
2
y
v y v z

v x v x

x
x y y

v x v y

x y x y

v x v z
x z x y

v x v z

z x
v y v z

z y

2 v z

v y v x v z

x z z x
v y v y v z

y z z y
v y v z
v
2 z

z
z y z

Ive had to write the resultant vector out in column format even though it should be a row because theres
just not enough room in row format!
This can be expanded to produce second derivatives and cross-derivatives:

2
2
2
2v y
2 v z
2 v x v x v x

xy
xz
x 2
y 2
z 2
2
2
2

2
vy
vy
vy
vx
2 v z
2
2 2

xy
yz

y 2
x
z
2

2
2
2
2vy
vx
vz
vz
vz
2 2 2 2

Finally, we separate the first term in each row and rearrange as follows:

2
2
2
2
2vy
2vz
vx vx vx vx

xy
xz
x 2
y 2
z 2
x 2
2
2
2
2v
2
vy
vy
vy
vx
2vz
y

2 2
2
xy
yz

x 2
y
z
y
2
2
2v
2
2
vy
vx
v
v
2vz
2z 2z 2z

2
x

z
z

The last three terms in each row can now be expressed as the partial derivative of a sum:

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Juster, GLY5932

2vx
2vx
2vx

x
x 2
y 2
z 2
2v y
2v y
2vy

2 2 2
y
x
y
z
2v
2v
2v

2z 2z 2z
z
x
y
z

v x v y v z

x y z

v x v y v z

x y z

v x v y v z

x y z

But the sum in brackets at the end of each row is the divergence of the velocity,
v y v z
v
v x

x
y
z

which is zero for incompressible flow! Therefore the last three terms in each row drop out and we end up
with the three components of the viscous force vector:

2vx 2vx 2vx

2vx
2vx
2vx

2 2 2
2 2
2
x
y
z
y
z
x
2
2
2
2
2

vy
vy
vy
v y v y 2v y
2 2 2
2 2
2
x
y
z
y
z
x
2
2
2
2
2
vz vz 2vz
vz
vz
vz
2 2 2
2 2

2
x
y
z
y
z
x

For example, the viscous force per unit volume in the x-direction is:
2vx 2vx 2vx
2 2
2
y
z
x

The term in the parentheses is often expressed via another vector operator called the Laplacian with
symbol 2 and definition:
2 f

2 f 2 f 2 f

2
x 2
y 2
z

Note that f is a scalar and the Laplacian 2 produces another scalar.

We now have the last piece to the Navier-Stokes equations. Substituting the expression for the divergence of
the stress tensor we arrive at the final expression showing the balance of forces as per Newtons 2nd law:

Dv
gk P 2 v
Dt

These three equations (one for each direction) are known as the Navier-Stokes equations. They apply to
incompressible Newtonian fluids that follow the constitutive relationship ij 2 ij . Again, this equation is
deceptively succinct; it can be written out in its full glory as:

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Juster, GLY5932
2vx 2vx 2vx
v
v
v
v x
P
vx x v y x vz x

2
x
y
z
x
y 2
z 2
t
x

2v y 2v y 2v y
P
vx
vy
vz

2
t
x
y
z
y
y 2
z 2
x
P
2vz 2vz 2vz
v z
v
v
v
v x z v y z v z z gk

2
t
x
y
z
z
y 2
z 2
x

v y

v y

v y

v y

Intertial forces: The Navier-Stokes equation can be interpreted as a sum of four forces: gravitational body
force; pressure gradient forces; viscous forces; and an inertial force. The first three forces have been defined
above. Apparently the inertial force has to do with the acceleration (the term left over), but what is it?
Consider a person standing on a train, wearing roller skates (so there is no friction with the floor), moving at
a constant
velocity in the x-direction. The train applies its brakes and decelerates with an acceleration equal

to a x i . What happens to the person?

The answer depends on your point of view. From the point of view of spectators away from the train,
nothing happens to the person! The person continues forward while the train decelerates. The deceleration
of the train causes the front wall of the car to crash into her eventually. The crash is caused by the
deceleration of the train.
A far different story is felt by the person on the train. From her point of view she suddenly accelerates and
eventually she crashes into the front of the train; she causes the crash. Her acceleration
has a magnitude
equal to the deceleration of the train but in an opposite direction; i.e., acceleration = a x i . By Newtons 2nd
law this acceleration must be due to some force, which is obviously in the direction of +x. This force is
called the inertial force.
The inertial forces are forces that exist in the Lagrangian framework only, and are a reaction to forces
applied in the Eulerian framework. They produce an acceleration equal in magnitude but opposite in
direction to the accelerations occurring in the Eulerian framework.
We can thus write the expression of Newtons 2nd law in terms of all forces, replacing the acceleration term
with an inertial force:

Fbody
Finertial

V
V

pressure gradient

viscous

Creeping Flow: Not all of the four force terms in the equation above are always significant, and one can
often be dropped in seeking solutions. We will demonstrate this informally by estimating the magnitude of
the viscous force term relative to the inertial force term.
From the Navier-Stokes equation, the inertial and viscous forces per unit volume are:

Finertial
Dv

V
Dt

Fviscous

2 v
V

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Juster, GLY5932
We can estimate the magnitudes of these forces if we know something about the geometry and nature of the
flow system. In our case we are interested in the slow flow of groundwater through a porous medium of
typical permeability; perhaps sand, or sandstone, or limestone.
Consider the tortuous flow of water in and around sand grains depicted
to the right. We can approximate the inertial force as that produced by
the convective acceleration as the
fluid path curves. Recall the
centripetal acceleration is the
acceleration required to keep an
object moving in a circular path from
flying off in a tangential direction. It
is given as:

and is always pointed toward the center of rotation (it is a vector). The
centripetal force and force/unit volume can then be calculated as:

Flow of groundwater through a porous

v2
a

c
medium. The pore width w and radius rof
curvature r are shown.

mv 2
Fc ma c
r

Fc m
v2
ac
V
V
r

The groundwater moves with an average interstitial velocity of vi in and around grains with an average
radius of r , so that the inertial force per unit volume is approximately:

2
Finertial vi

V
r
The viscous forces are proportional to the second derivative of the velocity; i.e. the gradient of the velocity
gradient. The interstitial velocity will generally vary across the width of its channel in response to friction,
so we can estimate the magnitude of the viscous force term per unit volume in terms of the interstitial
velocity vi and width w as:

Fviscous
v v i

V
x x w 2
Both of these values have the same dimensions (ML-2T-2), as they must since theyre part of a dimensionally
consistent sum. Thus their ratio will produce a dimensionless number.
The ratio of the inertial to viscous forces is thus:

vi

Finertial
vi w 2

vi
r
Fviscous
w2
2

Study of the sketch above shows that the radius of curvature r is approximately the same magnitude as the
channel width w, so we can substitute r = w in the equation above and simplify. This arrangement of
variables is an important dimensionless number called the Reynolds Number:
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Juster, GLY5932
vi w 2 vi w 2 vi w

R
r
w

The Reynolds number expresses the ratio of the inertial forces to the viscous forces. When R << 1 the
inertial forces are so insignificant in comparison with the viscous forces that they can be ignoredthey can
be set to zero. Flows with R << 1 are called creeping flows or Stokes flow. Plugging in typical values for
groundwater flow one can show that R << 1 in nearly all cases, which means we do not need to retain the
acceleration term (producing the inertial forces) in the Navier-Stokes equations. The equations then become:

0 gk P 2 v

(2)

These can actually be solved in certain cases.

Page 20 of 20