Potential Flows of Viscous and Viscoelastic Liquids

This book illustrates how potential flows enter into all problems of fluid mechanics.

Daniel Joseph (Author), Toshio Funada (Author), Jing Wang (Author)

9780521873376, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 17 December 2007

516 pages, 57 tables
26.2 x 18 x 2.9 cm, 1.34 kg

'The book contains some interesting nuggets that I had not been previously aware of. … The authors have developed a nice method for computing viscous boundary layers near a free surface (nicely outlined in chapter 12), which they appear to demonstrate is quite accurate. … These different ideas are critically applied to many of the rich list of problems discussed in the book.' Journal of Fluid Mechanics

This book illustrates how potential flows enter into the general theory of motions of viscous and viscoelastic fluids. Traditionally, the theory of potential flow is presented as a subject called 'potential flow of an inviscid fluid'; when the fluid is incompressible these fluids are, curiously, said to be 'perfect' or 'ideal'. This type of presentation is widespread; it can be found in every book on fluid mechanics, but it is flawed. It is never necessary and typically not useful to put the viscosity of fluids in potential (irrotational) flow to zero. The dimensionless description of potential flows of fluids with a nonzero viscosity depends on the Reynolds number, and the theory of potential flow of an inviscid fluid can be said to rise as the Reynolds number tends to infinity. The theory given here can be described as the theory of potential flows at finite and even small Reynolds numbers.

1. Introduction
2. Historical notes
3. Boundary conditions for viscous fluids
4. Helmholtz decomposition coupling rotational to irrotational flow
5. Harmonic functions which give rise to vorticity
6. Radial motions of a spherical gas bubble in a viscous liquid
7. Rise velocity of a spherical cap bubble
8. Ellipsoidal model of the rise of a Taylor bubble in a round tube
9. Rayleigh-Taylor instability of viscous fluids
10. The force on a cylinder near a wall in viscous potential flows
11. Kelvin-Helmholtz instability
12. Irrotational theories of gas-liquid flow: viscous potential flow (VPF), viscous potential flow with pressure correction (VCVPF) and dissipation method (DM)
13. Rising bubbles
14. Purely irrotational theories of the effect of the viscosity on the decay of waves
15. Irrotational Faraday waves on a viscous fluid
16. Stability of a liquid jet into incompressible gases and liquids
17. Stress induced cavitation
18. Viscous effects of the irrotational flow outside boundary layers on rigid solids
19. Irrotational flows which satisfy the compressible Navier-Stokes equations
20. Irrotational flows of viscoelastic fluids
21. Purely irrotational theories of stability of viscoelastic fluids
22. Numerical methods for irrotational flows of viscous fluid
Appendices
References
List of illustrations
List of tables.

Subject Areas: Aerospace & aviation technology [TRP], Mechanical engineering [TGB]