Chapter 2Governing Equations of Fluid DynamicsJ.D. Anderson, Jr.2.1 IntroductionThe cornerstone of computational fluid dynamics is the fundamental governingequations of fluid dynamics—the continuity, momentum and energy equations.These equations speak physics. They are the mathematical statements of three fun-damental physical principles upon which all of fluid dynamics is based:(1) mass is conserved;(2) F = ma (Newton’s second law);(3) energy is conserved.The purpose of this chapter is to derive and discuss these equations.The purpose of taking the time and space to derive the governing equations offluid dynamics in this course are three-fold:(1) Because all of CFD is based on these equations, it is important for each studentto feel very comfortable with these equations before continuing further with hisor her studies, and certainly before embarking on any application of CFD to aparticular problem.(2) This author assumes that the attendees of the present VKI short course comefrom varied background and experience. Some of you may not be totally fa-miliar with these equations, whereas others may use them every day. For theformer, this chapter will hopefully be some enlightenment; for the latter, hope-fully this chapter will be an interesting review.(3) The governing equations can be obtained in various different forms. For mostaerodynamic theory, the particular form of the equations makes little difference.However, for CFD, the use of the equations in one form may lead to success,whereas the use of an alternate form may result in oscillations (wiggles) inthe numerical results, or even instability. Therefore, in the world of CFD, thevarious forms of the equations are of vital interest. In turn, it is important toderive these equations in order to point out their differences and similarities,and to reflect on possible implications in their application to CFD.J.D. Anderson, Jr.National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DCe-mail: [email protected]. Wendt (ed.), Computational Fluid Dynamics,3rded., 15c Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 200916 J.D. Anderson, Jr.2.2 Modelling of the FlowIn obtaining the basic equations of fluid motion, the following philosophy is alwaysfollowed:(1) Choose the appropriate fundamental physical principles from the laws ofphysics, such as(a) Mass is conserved.(b) F = ma (Newton’s 2nd Law).(c) Energy is conserved.(2) Apply these physical principles to a suitable model of the flow.(3) From this application, extract the mathematical equations which embody suchphysical principles.This section deals with item (2) above, namely the definition of a suitable model ofthe flow. This is not a trivial consideration. A solid body is rather easy to see anddefine; on the other hand, a fluid is a ‘squishy’ substance that is hard to grab holdof. If a solid body is in translational motion, the velocity of each part of the body isthe same; on the other hand, if a fluid is in motion the velocity may be different ateach location in the fluid. How then do we visualize a moving fluid so as to apply toit the fundamental physical principles?For a continuum fluid, the answer is to construct one of the two following models.2.2.1 Finite Control VolumeConsider a general flow field as represented by the streamlines in Fig. 2.1(a). Letus imagine a closed volume drawn within a finite region of the flow. This volumedefines a control volume, V, and a control surface, S, is defined as the closed surfacewhich bounds the volume. The control volume may be fixed in space with the fluidmoving through it, as shown at the left of Fig. 2.1(a). Alternatively, the controlvolume may be moving with the fluid such that the same fluid particles are alwaysinside it, as shown at the right of Fig. 2.1(a). In either case, the control volume is areasonably large, finite region of the flow. The fundamental physical principles areapplied to the fluid inside the control volume, and to the fluid crossing the controlsurface (if the control volume is fixed in space). Therefore, instead of looking atthe whole flow field at once, with the control volume model we limit our attentionto just the fluid in the finite region of the volume itself. The fluid flow equationsthat we directly obtain by applying the fundamental physical principles to a finitecontrol volume are in integral form. These integral forms of the governing equationscan be manipulated to indirectly obtain partial differential equations. The equationsso obtained from the finite control volume fixed in space (left side of Fig. 2.1a), ineither integral or partial differential form, are called the conservation form of thegoverning equations. The equations obtained from the finite control volume moving2 Governing Equations of Fluid Dynamics 17Fig. 2.1 (a) Finite control volume approach. (b) Infinitesimal fluid element approachwith the fluid (right side of Fig. 2.1a), in either integral or partial differential form,are called the non-conservation form of the governing equations.2.2.2 Infinitesimal Fluid ElementConsider a general flow field as represented by the streamlines in Fig. 2.1b. Let usimagine an infinitesimally small fluid element in the flow, with a differential vol-ume, dV. The fluid element is infinitesimal in the same sense as differential calcu-lus; however, it is large enough to contain a huge number of molecules so that itcan be viewed as a continuous medium. The fluid element may be fixed in spacewith the fluid moving through it, as shown at the left of Fig. 2.1(b). Alternatively,it may be moving along a streamline with a vector velocity V equal to the flow ve-locity at each point. Again, instead of looking at the whole flow field at once, thefundamental physical principles are applied to just the fluid element itself. This ap-plication leads directly to the fundamental equations in partial differential equationform. Moreover, the particular partial differential equations obtained directly fromthe fluid element fixed in space (left side of Fig. 2.1b) are again the conservationform of the equations. The partial differential equations obtained directly from themoving fluid element (right side of Fig. 2.1b) are again called the non-conservationform of the equations.18 J.D. Anderson, Jr.In general aerodynamic theory, whether we deal with the conservation or noncon-servation forms of the equations is irrelevant. Indeed, through simple manipulation,one form can be obtained from the other. However,