CINEMATIC SIMILARITY

Kinematic similarity implies similarity in movement. This implies similarity of length (this is
geometric similarity) and in addition similarity of time intervals. Then, since the
corresponding lengths are in a fixed ratio, the velocities of the corresponding particles
must be in a fixed ratio of corresponding timescales. If the corresponding ratio of lengths is
Lr and the corresponding ratio of time intervals is Tr, then the magnitudes of the
corresponding velocities are in the relation:

=

When the movements of the fluids are kinematically similar, the patterns formed by current
lines are geometrically similar at the corresponding times. Since the limits consist of
current lines, kinematically similar flows are only possible through geometrically similar
limits. However, this condition is not sufficient to ensure the geometrical similarity, at a
certain distance from the limits, of current line patterns, therefore similar geometrical limits
do not need to imply similar flows in a kinematic manner. Two phenomena are
kinematically similar if, with geometric similarity, proportionality and equal orientation of the
velocity vectors at all appropriate points takes place at the same time. The main criteria of
kinematic similarity are angles that determine the position of a body with respect to the
velocity vector of the free current.