Surface Integrals of Scalar Functions

Consider a scalar function

and a surface S. Let S be given by the position vector

where the coordinates (u,v) range over some domain the points of the surface S, i.e.

of the uv-plane. Notice that the function

is evaluated only

The surface integral of scalar function

over the surface S is defined as

where the partial derivatives

and

are given by

and

is the cross product. The vector

is perpendicular to the surface at the point

The absolute value is called the area element: it represents the area dS of a small patch of the surface obtained changing the coordinates u and v by small amounts du and dv (Figure 1).

Fig.1

Fig.2

The area of the surface S is given by the integral

If the surface S is defined by the equation surface integral can be found by the formula

, where z (x,y) is a differentiable function in the domain D (x,y), thenthe

If a surface S consists of several "patches" Si, then for calculating the surface integral we can apply the additivity property:

Example 1

Calculate the surface integral 0, z 0).

, where S is the portion of the plane

lying in the first octant(x 0,

Rewriting the equation of the plane in terms of z, we obtain

Find the partial derivatives:

Applying the formula

we can express the surface integral through the double integral:

The region of integration D is the triangle shown above in Figure 2. Calculate the given integral:

Example 2

Evaluate the surface integral

, where S is the total area of the cone

Let S1 be side surface of the cone, and S2 be its base. We can write the given integral as the sum of two integrals:

Find the first integral I1, using the formula

Here the partial derivatives are

Then

Since z = 2 on the base of the cone, then the domain D (x,y) is defined by the inequality z2 + y2 4 (Figure 3). Hence,the integral I1 is w as

In polar coordinates we have

Consider now the second integral I2. The base of the cone is described by the equation z = 2. Therefore,

where

represents the area of the base, which is

. Then

Thus, the full value of the initial surface integral is

Fig.3
Example 3

Fig.4

Calculate the surface integral

, where S is the part of the cone

inside the surface

First we find the domain of integration D, which is projection of the surface S onto the xy-plane. We can write the equation as follows:

As seen, the region of integration D is the circle centered at the point (a, 0) (Figure 4). Since the partial derivatives are

then the area element of the cone surface is

Hence, by the formula

we have

It is convenient to calculate the integral in polar coordinates. The domain of integration D is defined by the set

Then the integral becomes

The first integral I1 in the latter expression is zero because the integrand is an odd function, and integration is performed over an interva symmetric with respect to the origin. Then

Example 4

Find the integral

, where the surface S is the part of the sphere

lying in the first octant.

It is convenient to solve this integral in spherical coordinates. The area element for spherical surface is Since , we can write the integral in the following form:

The domain of integration

is defined as

Hence, the integral is

Example 5

Find the integral

, where S is the part of the cylindrical surface parameterized by .

Solution.

Calculate the partial derivatives

and their cross product:

Then the area element of the given surface is

Now we can calculate the surface integral:

Example 6

Evaluate the integral vector

. The surface S is parameterized by the position .

Find the partial derivatives and their cross product:

Then the area element is

Now it is easy to find the given surface integral:

Surface Integrals of Vector Fields

We consider a vector field

and a surface S, which is defined by the position vector

Suppose that the functions x(u,v), y(u,v), z(u,v) are continuously differentiable in some domain D(u,v), and the rank ofthe matrix

is equal to 2.

Denote by

a unit normal vector to the surface S at the point (x,y,z). If the surface S is smooth and the vector

function

is continuous, there are only two possible choices for the unit normal vector:

If the choice of the vector is done, the surface S is called oriented. If S is a closed surface, by convention, we choose the normal vector to point outward from the surface. The surface integral of the vector field in one of the following forms: If S is oriented outward, then over the oriented surface S (or the flux of the vector field

across the surfaceS) can be wr

If S is oriented inward, then

Here is called the vector element of the surface. Dot means the scalar product of the appropriate vectors. The partial derivatives in the formulas are calculated in the following way:

If the surface S is given explicitly by the equation z = z(x,y), where z(x,y) is a differentiable function in the domain D(x,y), then the sur integral of the vector field over the surface S is defined in one of the following forms: If the surface S is oriented upward, i.e. the k-th component of the normal vector is positive, then

If the surface S is oriented downward, i.e. the k-th component of the normal vector is negative, then

We can also write the surface integral of vector fields in the coordinate form. Let P (x,y,z), Q (x,y,z), R (x,y,z) be the components of th vector field . Suppose that cos , cos , cos be the angles between the outer unit normal vector and the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axi respectively. Then the scalar product is Hence, the surface integral can be written as

Since (Figure 1), and, similarly, calculating the surface integral:

, we obtain the following formula for

If the surface S is given in parametric form by the vector

, then the latter formula can be written as

where the coordinates (u,v) range over some domain D(u,v).

Fig.1 Example 1

Evaluate the flux of the vector field

across the surface S that has downward orientation and is given by the

equation Solution. We apply the formula

, where

Since

the flux of the vector field can be written as

After simple transformations we find the answer:

Example 2

Find the flux of the vector field

through the surface S, parameterized by the

vector Solution. First we calculate the partial derivatives:

It follows that

Hence, the vector area element is

Since

, the vector field

can be represented in the following form:

Then the original surface integral across S is

Example 3

Evaluate the flux of the vector field Solution. The surface of the cone is given by the vector

through the conic surface

, oriented upward

The domain of integration D(x,y) is the circle defined by the equation . Find the vector area element normal to the surface and pointing upwards. The partial derivatives are

Then

so that the vector area element is

The vector field

on the surface of the cone is given by

Hence, the flux of the vector field through S (or, in other words, the surface integral of the vector field) is

By changing to polar coordinates, we have

Example 4

Evaluate the flux of the vector field orientation.

through the unit sphere

that has downwar

Solution. The following is the spherical coordinate parameterization of the unit sphere:

where

. As a result, the vector

over the given surface can be written as

Calculate the vector area element

. The partial derivatives are

Hence,

Thus, we have

(This vector is oriented downwards.) Then the surface integral (the flux of the vector field) is

Example 5

Evaluate the surface integral

, where the surface S is the part of the ellipsoid parameterized

by Solution. We use the formula

that has upward orientation. The parameters u,v range over

Since

the determinant can be written as

Then the surface integral is

Example 6

Find the surface integral

, where S is the surface of the sphere

oriented downwards.

Solution. We identify that the components of the vector field

are

It is convenient to convert the equation of the sphere to spherical coordinates. Then

where

. We apply the formula

Since

the determinant in the double integral is

This value corresponds to the downward orientation of the surface. The initial integral becomes

Calculate separately the two last integrals:

Hence, the value of the surface integral is

The Divergence Theorem Let G be a three-dimensional solid bounded by a piecewise smooth closed surface S that has orientation pointing out of G. Let be a vector field whose components have continuous partial derivatives. The Divergence Theorem states:

where

is the divergence of the vector field surface.

(it's also denoted

). The symbol

indicates that the surface integral is taken over a cl

The Divergence Theorem relates surface integrals of vector fields to volume integrals. The Divergence Theorem can be also written in coordinate form as

In a particular case, setting

, we obtain a formula for the volume of solid G:

Example 1

Evaluate the surface integral orientation. Solution.

, where S is the surface of the sphere

that has upw

Using the Divergence Theorem, we can write:

By changing to spherical coordinates, we have

Example 2

Use the Divergence Theorem to evaluate the surface integral of the solid bounded by the cylinder Solution. We apply the Divergence Theorem:

of the vector field

, where S is the su

and the planes z = 1, z = 1 (Figure 1).

By switching to cylindrical coordinates, we have

Fig.1 Example 3

Fig.2

Use the Divergence Theorem to evaluate the surface integral surface of a solid bounded by the cone

of the vector field

, where Sis th

and the plane z = 1.

Solution. The solid is sketched in Figure 2. Applying the Divergence Theorem, we can write:

By changing to cylindrical coordinates, we have

Example 4

Using the Divergence Theorem calculate the surface integral of the vector field the surface of tetrahedron with vertices O (0,0,0), A (1,0,0), B (0,1,0), C (0,0,1) (Figure 3). Solution. By Divergence Theorem,

, where S

Find the given triple integral. The equation of the line AB has the form:

The equation of the plane ABC is

So the integral becomes:

Fig.3 Example 5

Fig.4

Calculate the surface integral of the vector field bounded by the planes x = 0, x = 1, y = 0, y = 2, z = 0, z = 3 (Figure 4). Solution. Using the Divergence Theorem, we can write:

, where S is the surface ofthe rectangul

Example 6

Find the surface integral

, where S is the outer surface of the

pyramid Solution.

(Figure 5).

Fig.5 Using the Divergence Theorem, we can write the initial surface integral as

Fig.6

Calculate the triple integral. The region of integration in the xy-plane is shown in Figure 6. Setting z = 0, we find:

Hence, the region D can be represented in the form:

Rewrite the inequality

in terms of z:

Then the triple integral becomes

Stoke's Theorem Let S be a smooth surface with a smooth bounding curve C. Then for any continuously differentiable vector function Stoke's Theorem states:

where

is the curl of the vector field

The symbol

indicates that the line integral is taken over a closed curve.

We assume there is an orientation on both the surface and the curve that are related by the right hand rule. That is, if you were to walk around the curve in its preferred direction with your head pointing in the same direction as the normal vector tothe surface, then the surface would always be on your left (Figure 1). Stoke's Theorem relates line integrals of vector fields to surface integrals of vector fields. In coordinate form Stoke's Theorem can be written as

Fig.1 Example 1

Fig.2

Show that the line integral

is zero along any closed contour C.

Solution. Let S be a surface bounded by a closed curve C. Applying Stoke's formula, we identify that Then

Hence, we can find the line integral:

So the statement is proved. Example 2

Use Stoke's Theorem to evaluate the line integral intersection of the sphere with the plane .

, where C is the curve formed by

Solution. Let S be the circle cut by the sphere from the plane. Find the coordinates of the unit vector

normal to the surface S:

In our case Hence, the curl of the vector is

Using Stoke's Theorem, we have

Since the sphere is centered at the origin and the plane is the circle of radius 1. Hence the integral is

also passes through the origin,the cross se

Example 3

Use Stoke's Theorem to calculate the line integral and the plane .

. The curve C is the intersection of the cylinder

Solution. We suppose that S is the part of the plane cut by the cylinder. The curve C is oriented counterclockwise when viewed from the end of th normal vector , which has coordinates

Since

, we can write:

Applying Stoke's Theorem, we find:

The projection of the surface S onto the xy-plane is the circle the form and using the formula

of radius a. Therefore, representing the equation of the pla

we obtain

Example 4

Use Stoke's Theorem to evaluate the line integral

. The curve C is the ellipse and defined by the

equation

(Figure 2 above).

Solution. Let the surface S be the part of the plane z = 1 bounded by the ellipse. Obviously that the unit normal vector is then the curl of the vector field is

. Since

By Stoke's Theorem,

The double integral in the latter formula is the area of the ellipse. Therefore, the integral is

Example 5

Use Stoke's Theorem to calculate the line integral vertices A(2,0,0), B(0,2,0), D(0,0,2) (Figure 3).

. The curve C is the triangle withthe

Solution. We suppose that the surface S is the plane of the triangle ABD. Orientation of the surface S and the contour C are shown in Figure 3. We first find the unit normal vector :

Then

and, hence,

In our case

, so the curl of

is

By Stoke's formula,

Here the double integral

is the area of the triangle ABD, which is equal to

Then the answer is

Fig.3 Example 6

Fig.4

Use Stoke's Theorem to evaluate the line integral intersection of the paraboloid with the plane . (Figure 4).

, where the curve C is formed by

Solution. Let S be the part of the plane cut by the paraboloid. Orientation of the surface S and the curve C are shown in Figure 4.The normal vect can be found from the equation of the plane:

Since the curl of the vector field is

By Stoke's formula, we have

Since

, the integral becomes

To complete the calculation, we must evaluate the double integral The explicit equation of the plane is

, i.e. the area of the surface S.

. Therefore, using the formula

where D(x,y) is projection of S onto the xy-plane, we have

Determine the region of integration D(x,y). Solving the system of the equations

we obtain

Thus, we see that the region D(x,y) is the circle of radius

centered at

. Then the area of the region D(x,y) is

Hence, the initial integral is

Geometric Applications of Surface Integrals Surface integrals are used for computations of surface area; volume of a solid enclosed by a surface.

Surface Area Suppose S be a smooth piecewise surface. The area of the surface is given by the integral

If the surface S is parameterized by the vector then the surface area is

where D(u,v) is the domain where the surface is defined. If S is given explicitly by the function z(x,y), the surface area is

where D(x,y) is the projection of the surface S onto the xy-plane. Volume of a Solid Bounded by a Closed Surface Suppose that a solid is bounded by a smooth closed surface S. Then the volume of the solid is given by

Example 1 Compute the surface area of the portion of the paraboloid Solution. The surface area is given by lying above the xy-plane.

By changing to polar coordinates, we have

Example 2 Find the area of a hemisphere of radius R. Solution. Using the spherical coordinate system, we can describe the surface of the upper hemisphere as

where Calculate the area element.

(Figure 1).

Find the cross product of the given vectors:

Hence, the area element is

From here we can find the area of the sphere:

Fig.1 Example 3

Fig.2

Compute the surface area of the torus with equation Solution. Parametric equations for the torus (Figure 2) are

in cylindrical coordinates.

Make sure that these equations properly desrcibe the circle in the toric section. Indeed, since

, then after substitution we

Thus, the surface of the torus is parameterized by the position vector:

The surface area is given by the formula

The cross product in this formula is calculated as

Then the absolute value of the cross product is

Now we can find the surface area of the torus:

Example 4

Find the volume of the ellipsoid

Solution. We use the following formula to calculate the volume of the ellipsoid:

The surface S of the ellipsoid can be parameterized by (The variables u,v correspond to spherical coordinates and .) According to the formula for the volume given above, we identify that the vector field here is Since , so that

we obtain the following expression for the surface integral:

Hence, the volume of the ellipsoid is

Physical Applications of Surface Integrals Surface integrals are used in multiple areas of physics and engineering. In particular, they are used for calculations of mass of a shell; center of mass and moments of inertia of a shell; gravitational force and pressure force; fluid flow and mass flow across a surface; electric charge distributed over a surface; electric fields (Gauss' Law in electrostatics).

Mass of a Surface Let S be a smooth thin shell. The mass per unit area of the shell is described by a continuous function shell is expressed through the surface integral of scalar function by the formula . Thenthe total mass

Center of Mass and Moments of Inertia of a Surface Let a mass m is distributed over a thin shell S with a continuous density function shell are defined by the formulas

. The coordinates of the center of mass of

where

are so-called the first moments about the coordinate planes x = 0, y = 0, and z = 0, respectively. The moments of inertia about the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis are given by

The moments of inertia of a shell about the xy-, yz-, and xz-plane are defined by the formulas

Gravitational Force Let m be a mass at a point (x0, y0, z0) outside the surface S (Figure 1).

Fig.1 Then the force of attraction between the surface S and the mass m is given by

Fig.2

where

, G is gravitational constant,

is the density function.

Pressure Force Suppose a surface S be given by the position vector

and is stressed by a pressure force acting on it. Examples of such surfaces are d created by the pressure is given by the surface integral

aircraft wings, compressed gas storage tanks, etc. The total force

By definition, the pressure is directed in the direction of the normal of S in each point. Therefore, we can write:

where is the unit normal vector to the surface S. Fluid Flux and Mass Flux If the vector field is the fluid velocity across S per unit time and given by

, the flux across a surface S is called the fluid flux. It is equal to the volume ofthe fluid pas

Similarly, the flux of the vector field

, where is the fluid density, is called the mass flux and given by

It is equal to the mass passing across a surface S per unit time. Surface Charge Let formula be the surface charge density. The total amount of charge distributed over the conducting surface S is expressed by the

Gauss' Law The electric flux

through any closed surface S is proportional to the charge Q enclosed by the surface:

where , is the magnitude of the electric field strength, is permittivity of material, and permittivity of free space. For the discrete case the total charge Q is the sum over all the enclosed charges.

is

Gauss' Law is a general law applying to any closed surface. For geometries of sufficient symmetry, it simplifies the calculation of electr field. Gauss' Law is the first of Maxwell's equations, the four fundamental equations for electricity and magnetism. Example 1

Find the mass of cylinder parameterized by The surface density is defined by the function .

, where

(Figure 2 ab

Solution. The mass of the surface is given by the formula

Calculate the area element dS:

Find the partial derivatives and their cross product:

So that

. Then the mass of the surface is

Example 2 Find the mass of the parabolic surface Solution. We use the formula with density .

The projection D(x,y) of the parabolic surface S onto the xy-plane is the circle of radius 1 centered at the origin. Hence, we can write:

By changing to polar coordinates, we obtain

Make the substitution the integral becomes

. Then

. Here u = 1 when r = 0, and

whenr = 1. Hen

Example 3 Find the center of mass of the sphere in the first octant, if it has constant density 0.

Solution. Obviously that the mass of the part of the sphere lying in the first octant (Figure 3) is

Fig.3 Calculate the first moment Myz.

Fig.4

where the projection D(x,y) of the surface onto the xy-plane is the part of the circle that lies in the first quadrant (Figure 4). Since

then

So the first moment Myz is

It is convenient to transform the integral into polar coordinates:

Calculate the first integral

in the square brackets. Make the substitution:

. Whenr = 0, we

have t = 0, and when r = a, we get

. Then the integral becomes

The second integral is

Thus, the first moment Myz is

Hence, the coordinate xc of the center of mass is

By symmetry, we conclude that other two coordinates have the same value. Thus, the centroid of the shell is

Example 4 Calculate the moment of inertia of the uniform spherical shell x2 + y2 + z2 = 1 (z 0) with the density 0 about the z-axis. Solution. The moment of inertia Iz is given by the formula

where the surface S is the hemisphere x2 + y2 + z2 = 1 (z 0).

Since the equation of the upper hemisphere is

, the area element is

Then the surface integral can be expressed through the double integral as

where the region of integration D(x,y) is the circle

. By changing to polar coordinates, we obtain

To calculate the latter integral, we make the substitution: When r = 1, then, on the contrary, t = 0. As a result, we get the final answer for the moment of inertia:

. When r = 0, thent = 1.

Example 5 Find the attractive force between the hemisphere of radius r with constant density 0 centered at the origin and the point massm placed

origin. Solution. Consider a point M(x,y,z) of the hemisphere that belongs to the area element dS (Figure 5). We can write the attractive force between the area element dS and the point mass m in the form

where G is gravitational constant,

is the unit vector directed from point O to point M.

Since

, we can write:

After integrating on the given hemisphere, we obtain

In spherical coordinates the equation of the hemisphere is

where

. . Then the force components are

It is known that the area element for the sphere is

Note that the result directed along the z-axis.

is obvious due to symmetry of the uniform surface. Therefore the resultant force

Fig.5 Example 6

Fig.6

Evaluate the pressure force acting on the dam sketched in Figure 6, which retains a reservoir of water of width W and depthH. Solution. Under condition of hydrostatic equilibrium, the gauge pressure on the dam surface depending on z is given by the formula where is water density, g is the acceleration of gravity. The total pressure force acting on the dam surface is

The vector

shows the direction of the force

. The absolute value of the force is

Example 7

A viscous fluid is flowing along a cylindrical pipe of radius R with velocity field (ms1), where is the unit vector alo the axis of the pipe in the direction of the flow, r is the distance from the axis, and C is a constant (Figure 7). Calculate the flow rate of fluid through a cross section of the pipe. Solution. To determine the fluid flux, we should compute the surface integral

Since the vectors

and

have the same direction, we can write:

By changing to polar coordinates, we have

The latter integral can be found using integration by parts. Let

so that

Thus, the flow rate is

Fig.7 Example 8 Calculate the electric field of an infinite sheet with a uniform charge density .

Fig.8

Solution. By symmetry the resultant electric field must have a direction normal to the plane and must have the same magnitude at all points a com distance from the plane.

Take as a Gaussian surface a cylinder of cross-sectional area S and height 2H (Figure 8). The electric flux is only non-zero through end the cylinder, so the total flux is is , where E is the electric field at cylinder ends. The total charge enclosed by the cylinder

. Then using Gauss' Law we find: