Vector Fields in Fluid Mechanics : Streamlines

Statement of the Problem:

The general definition of a streamline s() = x() says that the tangent to the streamline
should be equal to the velocity at a given instant in time:

()
= (, ), (0) = (1)

Here, is a parameter that follows or parameterizes the streamline, whereas t is the real
(physical) time. Since the streamlines are independent of time, the streamlines describe the
direction of the flow field at a given instant in time. The parameter measures the pseudo-time
(measured in ) needed for a particle to travel a given distance along the streamline at a given
instant of the physical time t.
In reservoir simulation, both and the shape of the streamline are important, whereas in
other applications, such as visualization, only the shape of the streamlines may be important.
The general definition of a path line p(t) = x(t) says that the tangent to the path line, at a
given time t and position x, should be equal to the velocity at the same time and position:

()
= (, ), (0) = (2)

A path line describes the geometry of the trajectory of a particle exposed to the velocity field
(, ). The parameter t of the path line gives the (physical) time needed for a particle to travel a
given distance along its path line.
We use notation (. ) for both path lines and streamlines, which makes it difficult to
distinguish between a path line and a streamline. We have therefore introduced an additional
notation s() for a streamline, and p(t) for a path line. Alternatively, Equations (1) and (2) can be
written as :
()
= (), (0) =

()
= (, ), (0) =

 In solving streamlines, we use vector analysis and integration to determine the
characteristics of the streamline such as finding if the streamline is curl free or not.

Divergence:

=

+ +

Curl : x = = ( )i + ( )j + ( )k
y z z x x y

Curl in 2D : x = ( )k
x y

Example 1:

= (, ), where a and b are

Consider a two-dimensional fluid with velocity field
constants and we adopt Cartesian coordinates. Assume that at time t = 0 the density is equal to .

a) Draw streamlines for the following two cases (i) a = b > 0, and (ii) a = -b > 0
b) Under what condition(s) is the flow compressible? Under what condition is it curl-free
c) Consider the location = (2,2). How does the density at change as a function of time in
cases (i) and (ii) above?

a)
b) Under what condition(s) is the flow incompressible? Under what condition is it curl-free?

Solution: A flow is incompressible if

= 0. Using that,

= = a + b
x y

Hence, we see that this flow is always curl-free, independent of the values of a or b.

c) Consider the location A = (2,2). How does the density at A change as a function of time in
cases (i) and (ii) ?
Solution: The density is related to the divergence of the velocity field via the continuity
equation ;

+
+p p = 0
t

= (a+b), and using that initially p = 0, we have that

Using that

= ( + )
t

which has a solution

() = (+)

where we have used the boundary condition ( = 0) = . Note that () is independent of

position, which implies that p will remain zero at all times. Hence, the density at location A
is described by the above equation.

is defined by: (, ) = + . The streamlines show the

Example 2: A vector field
path traced by an object following the vector field can be plotted by defining the first order
ordinary differential equation:

In this example, a vector field

is defined by (, ) = ( + ) + ( )

()
() =
+ ()
 Solving the differential equation we get:

() 2 2 ()2 + 1 () + 2 2 ()2 + 1
() = , () =

Using the values {0<x<10} ,{0<C<5}, we can plot the streamline :

Alternatively samples of the vector field can be plotted directly: