AERODYNAMICS

PORT
B.Tech OPERATIONS
IV semester (IARE UG-20)
(AAE350)
BY
Dr. Y D Dwivedi
Professor
DEPARTMENT OF AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING
INSTITUTE OF AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING
(Autonomous)
DUNDIGAL, HYDERABAD - 500 043
Pathlines, streamlines and Streaklines

DON’T WRITE
OR PLACE ANY
IMAGE IN THIS
AREA.
.
.
 Pathlines
 Knowing the p, T, ρ, v etc, is ok. but we should also know
where and how the flow is going?
 For this pathlines and/or streamlines of the flow must be
known.
 Consider an unsteady flow with a velocity field given by V =
V(x, y, z, t). infinitesimal fluid element moving through the
flow field, say, element A. Element A passes through point 1.
 Trace the path of element A as it moves downstream from
point 1, as given by the dashed line in fig a. Such a path is
defined as the pathline for element A.
 Element B also passes through point 1, but at some different DON’T WRITE
time from element A. The pathline of element B is given by OR PLACE ANY
the dashed line in fig b. IMAGE IN THIS
 Because the flow is unsteady, the velocity at point 1 changes AREA.
with time. the pathlines of elements A and B are different .
curves .
 Streamlines
A streamline is a curve whose tangent at any point is in
the direction of the velocity vector at that point (fig a).

b
If the flow is unsteady, the streamline pattern is different at DON’T WRITE
different times. OR PLACE ANY
For steady flow, streamlines and pathlines are the same. Given IMAGE IN THIS
in fig b above AREA.
.
.
 Mathematical Equation of Streamline

Given the velocity field of a flow, how can we obtain the

mathematical equation for a streamline?
Curve can be represented by equation f (x, y, z) = 0.
Let ds be a directed element of the streamline, and The velocity
at point 2 is V. By definition of a streamline, V is parallel to ds.
definition of the vector cross product

DON’T WRITE
vector given by above Equation is zero, Their components are OR PLACE ANY
also zero IMAGE IN THIS
AREA.
.
.
 Physical meaning of Equation

consider a streamline in two dimensions.

The equation of this streamline is y = f (x).
Hence, at point 1 on the streamline, the slope is
dy∕dx.
However, V with x and y components u and v,
respectively is tangent to streamline at point 1.
The slope of the streamline is also given by v∕u.
(a) Equation of a stream in two-dimensional
cartesian space.
or
(b) (b) Sketch of a stream tube in 3D space.

This eq. simply state mathematically that the velocity vector is DON’T WRITE
tangent to the streamline. OR PLACE ANY
IMAGE IN THIS
AREA.
.
.
 Numerical 1
Consider the velocity field given by u = y∕(x2 + y2) and v = −x∕(x2 + y2). Calculate the
equation of the streamline passing through the point (0 , 5).

Solution:

Integrating, we obtain
where c is a constant of integration.
For the streamline through (0,5), we have

the equation of the streamline is DON’T WRITE

OR PLACE ANY
Note that the streamline is a circle with its center at the origin and IMAGE IN THIS
a radius of 5 units. AREA.
.
.
 Streaklines
Element A is the fluid element that passed through point 1
at time t1. Element B is the next element that passed
through point 1, just behind element A. Element C is the
element that passed through point 1 just behind element
B, and so forth.
Figure is an illustration, made at time t2, which shows all
the fluid elements that have earlier passed through point 1
over the time interval (t2 − t1). The line that connects all
these fluid elements is, by definition, a streakline.
For a steady flow, pathlines, streamlines, and streaklinesFig: Illustration of streakline
are all the same curves. DON’T WRITE
OR PLACE ANY
IMAGE IN THIS
AREA.
.
.
 ANGULAR VELOCITY, VORTICITY, AND STRAIN

In this we will discuss motion more closely, paying particular attention to the
orientation of the element and its change in shape as it moves along a
streamline. we introduce the concept of vorticity, one of the most powerful
quantities in theoretical aerodynamics
Consider an infinitesimal fluid element
moving in a flow field. As it translates along
a streamline, it may also rotate, and in
addition its shape may become distorted.
The amount of rotation and distortion
depends on the velocity field;
DON’T WRITE
OR PLACE ANY
Figure The motion of a fluid element along a streamline is a IMAGE IN THIS
combination of translation and rotation; in addition, the shape of AREA.
the element can become distorted. .
.
 Angular velocity 𝝎:
Distance in y direction that A moves
during time increment Δt = vΔt
Distance in y direction that C moves
during time increment Δt =
Net displacement in y direction
of C relative to A =

Fig. Rotation and distortion of a fluid element. DON’T WRITE

OR PLACE ANY
For Small angle IMAGE IN THIS
AREA.
.
.
 Consider the angular velocities of lines AB and AC, defined as d𝜃1∕dt
and d𝜃2∕dt, respectively

By definition, the angular velocity of the fluid element as seen in the xy plane
is the average of the angular velocities of lines AB and AC. Let 𝜔z denote this
angular velocity. Therefore, by definition

For 3D DON’T WRITE

OR PLACE ANY
IMAGE IN THIS
AREA.
.
.
 Vorticity
The angular velocity of a fluid element plays an important role in
theoretical aerodynamics, as we shall see soon. However, the
expression 2𝝎 appears frequently, and there fore we define a new
quantity, vorticity, which is simply twice the angular velocity. Denote
vorticity by the vector 𝝃:

Fig: Angular velocity of a fluid

element in three-dimensional space
Right side of eq. is the curl of the vector DON’T WRITE
OR PLACE ANY
IMAGE IN THIS
In a velocity field, the curl of the velocity is equal to the vorticity AREA.
.
.
 The above leads to two important definitions:
1. If ∇×V ≠ 0 at every point in a flow, the flow is called rotational. This
implies that the fluid elements have a finite angular velocity.
2. If ∇×V = 0 at every point in a flow, the flow is called irrotational.
This implies that the fluid elements have no angular velocity; rather,
their motion through space is a pure translation.

DON’T WRITE
OR PLACE ANY
IMAGE IN THIS
AREA.
Fluid elements in a rotational flow Fluid elements in an irrotational flow .
.
if the flow is irrotational, 𝝃 = 0.

is the condition of irrotationality for two-dimensional flow.

Δ𝜅 = −Δ𝜃2 − (−Δ𝜃1)

Strain = −Δ𝜅 = Δ𝜃2 −Δ𝜃1

DON’T WRITE
OR PLACE ANY
IMAGE IN THIS
AREA.
.
.
 Consider the velocity field given by u = y∕(x2 + y2) and v = −x∕(x2 +
y2). Calculate the vorticity of this.
Solution:

DON’T WRITE
OR PLACE ANY
The flow field is irrotational at every point except at the origin, IMAGE IN THIS
where x2 + y2 = 0. AREA.
.
.
 References

1. John J. Bertin, Russell M. Cummings “Aerodynamics for Engineers” Sixth Edition,

Pearson International Edition, Harlow , England, 2011.
2. John D. Anderson, Jr., Christopher P. Cadou, “Fundamentals of Aerodynamics”
Seventh Edition, McGraw Hills, 2023.

DON’T WRITE
OR PLACE ANY
IMAGE IN THIS
AREA.
.
.
ANY QUESTIONS?

DON’T WRITE
OR PLACE ANY
IMAGE IN THIS
AREA.
.
.