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Fluid mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the mechanics of fluids (liquids, gases, and plasmas) and the forces on them. [ 1 ] : 3 It has applications in a wide range of disciplines, including mechanical , aerospace , civil , chemical , and biomedical engineering , as well as geophysics , oceanography , meteorology , astrophysics ...
In fluid mechanics, Helmholtz's theorems, named after Hermann von Helmholtz, describe the three-dimensional motion of fluid in the vicinity of vortex lines. These theorems apply to inviscid flows and flows where the influence of viscous forces are small and can be ignored.
A physical paradox indicates flaws in the theory.. Fluid mechanics was thus discredited by engineers from the start, which resulted in an unfortunate split – between the field of hydraulics, observing phenomena which could not be explained, and theoretical fluid mechanics explaining phenomena which could not be observed – in the words of the Chemistry Nobel Laureate Sir Cyril Hinshelwood.
In fluid mechanics, dynamic similarity is the phenomenon that when there are two geometrically similar vessels (same shape, different sizes) with the same boundary conditions (e.g., no-slip, center-line velocity) and the same Reynolds and Womersley numbers, then the fluid flows will be identical.
Dimensionless numbers (or characteristic numbers) have an important role in analyzing the behavior of fluids and their flow as well as in other transport phenomena. [1] They include the Reynolds and the Mach numbers, which describe as ratios the relative magnitude of fluid and physical system characteristics, such as density, viscosity, speed of sound, and flow speed.
Flux F through a surface, dS is the differential vector area element, n is the unit normal to the surface. Left: No flux passes in the surface, the maximum amount flows normal to the surface.
The study of momentum transfer, or fluid mechanics can be divided into two branches: fluid statics (fluids at rest), and fluid dynamics (fluids in motion). When a fluid is flowing in the x-direction parallel to a solid surface, the fluid has x-directed momentum, and its concentration is υ x ρ.
Leonhard Euler is credited of introducing both specifications in two publications written in 1755 [3] and 1759. [4] [5] Joseph-Louis Lagrange studied the equations of motion in connection to the principle of least action in 1760, later in a treaty of fluid mechanics in 1781, [6] and thirdly in his book Mécanique analytique. [5]