COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS: Momentum Equation

Lecture 6
MOMENTUM EQUATION

6.1 MOMENTUM EQUATION: INTEGRAL FORM

Newton’s second law of motion states that the rate of change of linear momentum for a
material region (system) is equal to the sum of external forces acting on the system. For a
particle of mass dm, this law can written as
d
dF   vdm  , dm = d (6.1)
dt
Hence, for a finite material region, this law takes the form
d dP

dt 
v d  F or
dt
F (6.2)

where P is the linear momentum of the system. The intensive property corresponding to P is
  v . Hence, from Reynolds transport theorem for a fixed control volume
dP 
t 
  vd    vv  dA (6.3)
dt
 
S
Rate of change of Rate of efflux of momentum
momentum in the CV across the control surface

Net force F on the control volume can be expressed as sum of the surface force, FS (pressure,
viscous stress), and body force, FB (gravity, electromagnetic, centrifugal, Coriolis etc.), i.e.
F  FS  FB (6.4)
The surface force FS essentially represents microscopic momentum flux across a surface and
can be expressed as
FS   τ  dA (6.5)
S

where τ is the stress tensor. Body force FB can be expressed as

FB   b d (6.6)

where b is body force per unit mass. Combining (6.2)-(6.6), the integral form of momentum
equation can be written as

t 
 v d    vv  dA   τ  dA   b d (6.7)
 
S S 
Convective flux Diffusive flux

Note that since momentum is a vector quantity, its convective and diffusive fluxes are the
scalar products of second order tensors  vv and τ with the surface vector dA.

Dr K M Singh, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee NPTEL L6.1

COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS: Momentum Equation

6.2 MOMENTUM EQUATION: DIFFERENTIAL FORM

For a fixed control volume, order of temporal differentiation and integration in Eq. (6.7) can
be interchanged. Transform the convective and diffusive terms using Gauss divergence
theorem, i.e.
 (  v)

t 
 vd  

t
d,   vv  dA     (  vv)d and  τ  dA     τ d (6.8)
S  S 

Substitution of Eq. (6.8) into Eq. (6.7) yields

  (  v) 
   .   vv   .τ   b  d  0 (6.9)

t 
Equation (6.9) holds for any control volume which is possible only if the integrand vanishes
everywhere, i.e.
(  v)
 .   vv   .τ   b (6.10)
t
Equation (6.10) is referred as the conservative or strong conservation form of momentum
equation. It is also known as Cauchy equation of motion.

The integral form of momentum equation (6.7) or its differential form represented by
Eq. (6.10) is applicable to an inertial control volume. Similar forms can be derived for
moving control volumes and non-inertial reference frames (Batchelor 1973, Panton 2005,
Kundu and Cohen 2008).

Further, using the identity

    vv       v   v   v v (6.11)

and chain rule of differentiation, we get

(  v)     v 
 .   vv     .   v   v     v v 
t  t   t 
Using continuity equation (5.4), the first term on the RHS of the preceding equation vanishes.
Thus, Eq. (6.10) takes the following form:
 v  Dv
   v v   .τ   b or   .τ   b (6.12)
 t  Dt

where the operator (D/Dt) denotes the material or particle derivative. Equation (6.12) is
referred to as the non-conservative form of the momentum equation.

Example 6.1
Derive the differential form of the momentum equation using an infinitesimal differential
control volume in Cartesian coordinates.

Solution
Let us consider flow of a fluid through an infinitesimal differential control volume of
dimensions dx, dy and dz. For the sake of clarity, Figure 6.2 depicts the flow through a three-

Dr K M Singh, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee NPTEL L6.2

COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS: Momentum Equation

dimensional control volume, and the forces acting on the surfaces of the control volume in x-
direction only. The resultant force in x-direction is
   
Fx   bx dxdydz   xx  xx dx    xx  dydz
 x  
  yx      
  yx  dy    yx  dxdz +  zx  zx dz    yx  dxdy
 y    z  
   yx  zx 
=   bx  xx    dxdydz
 x y z 
Similarly, components of the resultant force in y- and z-directions are

  xy  yy  zy 
Fy    by     dxdydz
 x y z 
   yz  zz 
Fz    bz  xz    dxdydz
 x y z 

Figure 6.2 Forces acting on the faces of a differential control volume (only the x-components
are shown in the figure for clarity)

From Reynolds transport theorem,

dP  Rate of change of   Rate of efflux of momentum 

  
dt  momentum in the CV   across the control surface 
 (  dxdydzv )  (  v )
Rate of change of the momentum in CV =  dxdydz
t t
Rate of efflux of momentum in x-direction is given by

Dr K M Singh, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee NPTEL L6.3

COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS: Momentum Equation

 Rate of momentum     u    u 
    u  dx  dydz  u  dx   (  udydz )u
 efflux in x-direction   x   x 
   v   u dy   u dy 
+ v  dy  dxdz  u   -( vdxdz )  u  
 y   y 2   y 2 
    w   u dz   u dz 
+  w  dz  dxdy  u   -( wdxdy )  u  
  z   z 2   z 2 
   u  u   v u    w u 
 u  u  u  v  u   w  dxdydz
 x x y y z z 
   uu     uv     uw 
    dxdydz
 x y z 
Similarly, rate of momentum efflux in y- and z-directions are

 Rate of momentum     uv     vv     vw 

     dxdydz
 efflux in y -direction   x y z 
 Rate of momentum     uw    vw    ww 
     dxdydz
 efflux in z -direction   x y z 

From Newton’s second law, DP/Dt = F. The x-component of this equation is

DPx  (  u )     uu     uv     uw  
 dxdydz      dxdydz
Dt t  x y z 
   yx  zx 
= Fx    bx  xx    dxdydz
 x y z 
which can be simplified to obtain the x-component of momentum equation. We can similarly
obtain y- and z-components of the momentum equation, and these equations are given by

(  u )    uu     uv     uw    yx  zx
     bx  xx  
t x y z x y z
(  v)    uv     vv     vw   xy  yy  zy
     by   
t x y z x y z
 (  w)    uw     vw     ww    yz  zz
     bz  xz  
t x y z x y z

The preceding equations represent the conservation form of the momentum equation. Non-
conservation form can be obtained using alternative form of the Newton’s second law given
by
Dv
ma  (  dxdydz ) F
Dt
Thus,
Du    yx  zx 
max  (  dxdydz )  Fx    bx  xx    dxdydz
Dt  x y z 

Simplification of the preceding equation and similar equations for y and z-components leads
to the non-conservation form of momentum equation in Cartesian component form given by
the following set of scalar equations:

Dr K M Singh, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee NPTEL L6.4

COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS: Momentum Equation

Du   yx  zx
   bx  xx  
Dt x y z
Dv  xy  yy  zy
   by   
Dt x y z
Dw   yz  zz
   bz  xz  
Dt x y z

Exercise 6.1: Derive the differential form of momentum equation in polar coordinates by
take an infinitesimal control volume in (a) cylindrical polar coordinates and (b) spherical
polar coordinates.

REFERENCES
Batchelor, G. K. (1973). An Introduction to Fluid Dynamics. Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge.
Kundu, P. K. and Cohen, I. M. (2008). Fluid Mechanics, 4th Ed., Academic Press.
Panton, R. L. (2005). Incompressible Flow, 3rd Ed., Wiley.

Dr K M Singh, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee NPTEL L6.5