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Streamlines Streaklines and Pathlines

Streamlines, streaklines, and pathlines are used to visualize fluid flow. [1] Streamlines show the instantaneous direction of flow, [2] streaklines show the trajectory of particles entering at a point over time, and [3] pathlines show the trajectory of individual particles. These differ in steady versus unsteady flows.

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84 views3 pages

Streamlines Streaklines and Pathlines

Streamlines, streaklines, and pathlines are used to visualize fluid flow. [1] Streamlines show the instantaneous direction of flow, [2] streaklines show the trajectory of particles entering at a point over time, and [3] pathlines show the trajectory of individual particles. These differ in steady versus unsteady flows.

Uploaded by

Kahloon kahloon
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Lecture 8

Streamlines, streaklines, and pathlines

Streamlines, streaklines, and pathlines are field lines in a fluid flow. They differ only when
the flow changes with time, that is when the flow is not steady. Considering a velocity vector
field in three-dimensional space in the framework of continuum mechanics, we have that:
● Streamlines are a family of curves that are instantaneously tangent to the velocity
vector of the flow. These show the direction in which a massless fluid element will
travel at any point in time.
● Streaklines are the loci of points of all the fluid particles that have passed
continuously through a particular spatial point in the past. Dye steadily injected into
the fluid at a fixed point extends along a streakline.
● Pathlines are the trajectories that individual fluid particles follow. These can be
thought of as "recording" the path of a fluid element in the flow over a certain
period. The direction the path takes will be determined by the streamlines of the
fluid at each moment in time.
● Timelines are the lines formed by a set of fluid particles that were marked at a
previous instant in time, creating a line or a curve that is displaced in time as the
particles move.
By definition, different streamlines at the same instant inflow do not intersect, because a fluid
particle cannot have two different velocities at the same point. Similarly, streaklines cannot
intersect themselves or other streaklines, because two particles cannot be present at the same
location at the same instant of time; unless the origin point of one of the streaklines also
belongs to the streakline of the other origin point. However, pathlines are allowed to intersect
themselves or other pathlines (except the starting and endpoints of the different pathlines,
which need to be distinct).
Streamlines and timelines provide a snapshot of some flowfield characteristics, whereas
streaklines and pathlines depend on the full time-history of the flow. However, often sequences
of timelines (and streaklines) at different instants—being presented either in a single image or
with a video stream—may be used to provide insight in the flow and its history.
If a line, curve, or closed curve is used as a start point for a continuous set of streamlines, the
result is a stream surface. In the case of a closed curve in a steady flow, the fluid that is inside a
stream surface must remain forever within that same stream surface, because the streamlines
are
tangent to the flow velocity. A scalar function whose contour lines define the streamlines is
known as the stream function.
Dye line may refer either to a streakline: dye released gradually from a fixed location during
the time; or it may refer to a timeline: a line of dye applied instantaneously at a certain moment
in time and observed at a later instant.

Mathematical description

Streamlines

Streamlines are defined by,

where "X" denotes the vector cross product and is the parametric representation of just
one
streamline at one moment in time.
If the components of the velocity are written and those of the streamline
as we deduce

which shows that the curves are parallel to the velocity vector. Here ‘s’ is a variable which
parametrizes the curve Streamlines are calculated instantaneously, meaning that
at one instance of time they are calculated throughout the fluid from the instantaneous flow
velocity field.
Streaklines

Streaklines can be expressed as,

where, is the velocity of a particle P at location and time t.

Example of a streakline used to visualize the flow around a car inside a wind tunnel.

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