Navier-Stokes equations validity

These are the two components of the Navier-Stokes equation including fluctuations s., which obey the fluctuation dissipation theorem, valid for incompressible, classical fluids ... 

Wu and Cheng (2003) measured the friction factor of laminar flow of de-ionized water in smooth silicon micro-channels of trapezoidal cross-section with hydraulic diameters in the range of 25.9 to 291.0 pm. The experimental data were found to be in agreement within 11% with an existing theoretical solution for an incompressible, fully developed, laminar flow in trapezoidal channels under the no-slip boundary condition. It is confirmed that Navier-Stokes equations are still valid for the laminar flow of de-ionized water in smooth micro-channels having hydraulic diameter as small as 25.9 pm. For smooth channels with larger hydraulic diameters of 103.4-103.4-291.0pm, transition from laminar to turbulent flow occurred at Re = 1,500-2,000. 

On the continuum level of gas flow, the Navier-Stokes equation forms the basic mathematical model, in which dependent variables are macroscopic properties such as the velocity, density, pressure, and temperature in spatial and time spaces instead of nf in the multi-dimensional phase space formed by the combination of physical space and velocity space in the microscopic model. As long as there are a sufficient number of gas molecules within the smallest significant volume of a flow, the macroscopic properties are equivalent to the average values of the appropriate molecular quantities at any location in a flow, and the Navier-Stokes equation is valid. However, when gradients of the macroscopic properties become so steep that their scale length is of the same order as the mean free path of gas molecules,, the Navier-Stokes model fails because conservation equations do not form a closed set in such situations. 

For applications in the field of micro reaction engineering, the conclusion may be drawn that the Navier-Stokes equation and other continuum models are valid in many cases, as Knudsen numbers greater than 10 are rarely obtained. However, it might be necessary to use slip boimdaty conditions. The first theoretical investigations on slip flow of gases were carried out in the 19th century by Maxwell and von Smoluchowski. The basic concept relies on a so-called slip length L, which relates the local shear strain to the relative flow velocity at the wall ... 

For low-Reynolds-number fluids the second term in the right-hand side of the Navier-Stokes equation can be neglected. Additionally, assuming that the viscous relaxation occurs more rapidly than the change of the order parameter, the acceleration term in Eq. (65) can be also omitted. Such approximations are validated in the case of polymer blends, for which they become exact in the limit of infinite polymer length, N —> oo. After these approximations, the NS equation can be easily solved in the Fourier space [160]. 

However, one difference exists with classical theory in this latter case, the Navier-Stokes equation (443) and the incompressibility condition (444) are assumed to be valid for all distances rict. In this case, it is an easy matter to calculate explicitly the higher-order terms in Eq. (445), and the boundary condition at the B-particle (assumed to be spherical) imposes the condition... 

Boundary-layer behavior is one of several potential simplifications that facilitate channel-flow modeling. Others include plug flow or one-dimensional axial flow. The boundary-layer equations, however, are the ones that require the most insight and effort to derive and to establish the ranges of validity. The boundary-layer equations retain a full two-dimensional representation of all the field variables as well as all the nonlinear behavior of Navier-Stokes equations. Nevertheless, when applicable, they provide a very significant simplification that can be used to great benefit in modeling. 

Scaling arguments are used to establish the circumstances where the boundary-layer behavior is valid. These arguments, which are usually made for external flows over surfaces, may be found in many texts on fluid mechanics (e.g., [350]). The essential feature of the boundary-layer approximation is that there is a principal flow direction in which the convective effects significantly dominate the diffusive behavior. As a result the flow-wise diffusion may be neglected, while the cross-flow diffusion and convection are retained. Mathematically this reduction causes the boundary-layer equations to have essentially parabolic characteristics, whereas the Navier-Stokes equations have essentially elliptic characteristics. As a result the computational simulation of the boundary-layer equations is much simpler and more efficient. 

The momentum balance equations can be written in a form that is valid for the Navier-Stokes equations as well as low Reynolds number non-Newtonian flow equations ... 

The Navier-Stokes equations are valid when A is much smaller than the characteristic flow dimension L. When this condition is violated, the flow is no longer near equilibrium and the linear relations between stress and rate of strain and the no-slip velocity condition are no longer valid. Similarly, the linear relation between heat flux and temperature gradient and the no-jump temperature condition at a solid-fluid interface are no longer accurate when A is not much smaller than L. The different Knudsen number regimes are delineated in Fig. 2. 

These assumptions restrict the validity of NET, but as stated above, they have a wide range of validity. It has long been known that the Navier-Stokes equations are contained in NET. More recently, NET has been extended to deal with transport across surfaces, quantum mechanical systems, and mesoscopic systems see Chapter 2. We have chosen to illustrate NET with cases of transport through surfaces in the following sections. 

Each of these different types of flows is governed by a set of equations having special features. It is essential to understand these features to select an appropriate numerical method for each of these types of equations. It must be remembered that the results of the CFD simulations can only be as good as the underlying mathematical model. Navier-Stokes equations rigorously represent the behavior of an incompressible Newtonian fluid as long as the continuum assumption is valid. As the complexity increases (such as turbulence or the existence of additional phases), the number of phenomena in a flow problem and the possible number of interactions between them increases at least quadratically. Each of these interactions needs to be represented and resolved numerically, which may put strain on (or may exceed) the available computational resources. One way to deal with the resolution limits and... 

If so, the complete Navier—Stokes equations with the discontinuous force (1.7) can be reduced to two ordinary differential equations each valid on adjoining intervals ... 

No simplification can be used for the problem of the backward facing penetrable step but the full Navier—Stokes equations. Therefore, no solution is available to validate the numerical algorithm. To be aware of it, the numerical algorithm shortly described in the previous section was tested over the whole range of the above-mentioned problems. In this case, the outlet boundary condition (3 = which is associated with the steady flow in an infinite duct, was used. The results of two numerical performances for the flow regime Re = 100 and EPR dimensions h = 0.3 and L x = 1, are shown in Fig. 3.16 the halves of flows in each case are symmetric. Let us analyze them. 

For incompressible flows the same equation is valid even for viscous fluids if the flow is irrotational. This is shown next, starting out from the Navier-Stokes equation (1.78). If the fluid is incompressible, with constant p and p, the Navier-Stokes equation becomes... 

Reynolds [127] postulated that the Navier-Stokes equations are still valid for turbulent flows, but recognized that these equations could not be applied directly due to the complexity and irregularity of the fluid dynamic variables. A true description of these flows at all points in time and space was not feasible, and probably not very useful at the time. Instead, Reynolds proposed to develop equations governing the mean quantities that were actually measurable. 

The viscous stresses only come into play for systems containing significant velocity gradients within the fluid. Nevertheless, very large gradients are not required as the Navier-Stokes equations can be derived from the Chapman-Enskog perturbation theory. On the other hand, for the non-equilibrium boundary layer and shock wave systems, i.e., systems which deviates considerably from equilibrium, higher order expansions are apparently needed [28]. Actually, at least for shock waves the validity of the Maxwell-Boltzmann equation becomes questionable. 

The Navier-Stokes equations are valid whenever the relative changes in p, T and v in the distance of the mean free path are small compared to unity. Inasmuch as the Enskog theory is rather long and involved, we will only provide a brief outline of the problem and the method of attack, and then rather discuss the important results. 

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