192 Fundamental Mechanics of Fluids

5.13  Forces Induced by Singularities

It was established in the previous section that, according to the equations of
hydrodynamics, no force exists on a body that is in a uniform flow field. This
is consistent with the results of the last chapter since the Kutta–Joukowski
law shows that in the absence of circulation around a body, there are no
forces acting on two-dimensional bodies. In view of the fact that ∇ ∙ ω = 0,
it is very difficult to establish an appreciable circulation around short bod-
ies—that is, around three-dimensional bodies. However, it was established
in the problems at the end of Chapter 4 that a force will exist on a cylinder
that is exposed to a singularity in the flow such as a source, a sink, or a vor-
tex. Likewise, it will be shown here that a force exists on a three-dimensional
body if it is exposed to a point singularity in the fluid.
Figure 5.11a shows an arbitrary body whose center of gravity coincides
with the origin of a coordinate system. The surface of the body is denoted by
S, and n is the outward unit normal to S. A singularity is assumed to exist
at the point x = xi since the polar axis may be made to pass through the sin-
gularity without loss of generality. A small spherical control surface denoted
by Si and of radius ε is established around the singularity. The unit outward
normal to the surface ε is denoted by ni. A large spherical surface, denoted
by S0, is drawn around both the body and the singularity. The unit normal to
this surface is denoted by n0. The hydrodynamic force that acts on the body
and whose magnitude is sought is denoted by F.
For equilibrium of the forces that act on the body of fluid that is inside S0
but outside S and Si, the sum of the forces must be zero. Hence,

n0
(a) (b)

S0
n
ni
S F
Si +Q –Q
U Reference
axis

xi δ
xi

FIGURE 5.11
(a) Control surfaces for a body located at the origin and a point singularity at x = xi and (b) a
source and a sink close together near the body.