TABLE OF CONTENTS Fluid mechanics is the discipline dealing with the statics and dynamics of a fluid; a state of matter that is able to flow - a liquid or a gas. The opposite to fluids are solids.
Theoretically, the motion of a given fluid particle in chemical and physical equilibrium can be completely defined if the pressure, temperature and velocity as a function of space and time is known. To determine the state of a fluid particle, density and viscosity are needed. In general, seven variables are therefore required to describe fluid dynamics: three velocity components of the three co-ordinates, the pressure p, the temperature T, the density p and the viscosity ?. In order to solve for those seven variables, seven equations are required which are given by the following relationships:
Newton's laws of motion must hold for every fluid particle at every instant. This is the law of conservation of momentum which is normally described mathematically by the Navier-Stokes equations (3 equations),
the continuity relationship or the law of conservation of mass must apply (1 equation),
the law of conservation of energy or the first and second laws of thermodynamics must hold (1 equation),
the equation of state which relates the fluid density to the pressure and temperature must apply (1 equation),
the empirical viscosity equation as a function of pressure and temperature must hold (1 equation).
Unfortunately, this system of equations is highly non-linear and even numerically very hard to solve. In the following, a number of...
