ME651 Problem Set 1

1. Cartesian tensor notation problems

(a) Show ij xj = xi (show explicitly, expanding the summations)
(b) Show
(c) Show

xi
xj
r
xi

= ij
=

xi
r ,

where r = (x x)1/2 (Use Cartesian tensor Notation)

(d) Use the relations i = ijk Wjk and ijk lmk = il jm im jl to show
that Wij = 12 ijk k . Here Wij = Wji .
2. Starting with the Navier Stokes equation for u(x, t):


u
+ u u = P + 2 u

(1)

where (x, t) is the density field, P (x, t) is the pressure field and is the
dynamic viscosity of the fluid
(a) Use Cartesian tensor notation to show that the advection term is given
as u u = 21 u u + u, where = u is the vorticity field
(b) Use Cartesian tensor notation to take the Curl of equation (1), and show
that, for constant density, the equation for = u is given by:

+ u = u + 2
t
where = / is the kinematic viscosity.

(2)

3. An open cylindrical container, with weight W , is immersed in a rigid closed

cylindrical container as shown in Fig 1. Air is trapped at the top of the smaller
container, because of which it floats above the surface of the surrounding fluid
(gravity is acting downwards as usual). If the height of the closed container,
H, is reduced, then does the open container rise, sink, or stay at the same
level with respect to the bottom surface of the closed container ? Assume that
water is incompressible. (Hint: Take into account the compressibility of the
air. Relate pressure inside and outside the open container by (a) drawing the
free body diagram of the open container, and (b) via the hydrostatic pressure
change. Then obtain a constraint for the difference in height between the liquid
surfaces inside and outside the open container, and deduce the answer.)
1

Figure 1:

4. Consider a rigid object with some arbitrary shape, represented by the volume
V , completely immersed in a quiescent incompressible fluid of density . If
the pressure field in the fluid is P (x), then the force acting on the object can
R
be given as F = V P ndS, where n is the normal vector at any point on
the surface V , and dS is the differential surface element. In Cartesian tensor
notation, we can write P ni = P ij nj
(a) From hydrostatics, show that P = P0 gxj j2 (x is the position vector,
g is acceleration due to gravity acting in the j direction, is density and
P0 is a constant).
(b) Now use the divergence theorem for second order tensors to prove Archimedes
principle: A body totally immersed in a fluid is subject to an upward
force equal in magnitude to the weight of fluid it displaces.
5. The velocity components in an unsteady plane flow are given by u = x/(1 + t)
and v = 2y/(2 + t). Determine equations for the streamlines and pathlines,
subject to x = x0 at t = 0.
6. For the flow field u(x) = U + x, where U and are constant linear and
angular velocity vectors, use Cartesian coordinates to show that (a) strain rate
u
ui
xji
tensor Sij is zero and (b) determine rotation tensor Rij = x
j

7. For a smooth single valued function F (x) that depends only on space, and
an arbitrary shaped control volume that moves with a velocity b(t), where t
R
is time, show, using Reynolds transport theorem, that d/dt V (t) F (x)dV =
R
b ( V (t) F (x)dV )
8. Show that, for a velocity field u(x), u can be shown to be a second order
tensor (hint: start by writing coordinate transformation relations for u and x)
9. A small thermocouple probe floats over water, in which the velocity and temperature fields are given by: u = (2x, y + 3t2 y, 2) and T = 2x2 + yz + t. Find
the rate of change of temperature w.r.t. time recorded by the thermocouple
when it is at a position x = (3, 1, 3) and t = 1
10. In the class, we showed that, under coordinate transformation, the unit vectors
along the axes, ei , rotate to e0i , and that the stress tensor components in the
0 = C C , where C = e e0 . For a
new coordinate frame are given as ij
ij
i
lm li mj
j
2D stress tensor, show that, for a coordinate frame rotation of , we can say:
0
12
= 12 cos 2

11 22
sin 2
2

(3)

0 is maximized ? What are

What are the angles for which the magnitude of 12
0 is equal to zero ?
the angles for which 12