Heat and Flow 4PB00

Part 2

Introduction

In this lecture, the conservation of mass and the conservation of momentum in in-
tegral form are derived. Subsequently, the external forces, which can act upon the
control volume are mentioned.
Literature about these two subjects can be found in chapter 4 and 5 in the book of
Welty, Fundamentals of Momentum, Heat and Mass Transfer.

Conservation of mass

The conservation of mass is often used to derive basic relations between inflow and
outflow. First, a normal vector ~n, a control volume c.v. and a control surface c.s. are
introduced. The vector ~n is a vector, that is perpendicular to the surface of the control
volume and points outwards. Here, the control volume is a volume fixed in space,
where the in- and outflow of masses and energies are studied. If the inner product is
taken between the velocity of the fluid and the corresponding normal vector, the in-
or outflow velocity of this point can be determined. Since the normal vector points
outwards of the control volume the inflow becomes negative and the outflow positive.
The mass flow, which flows in or out of this control volume can be determined by the
following equation:
ZZ
ρ(~v · ~n) dA. (1)
c.s.

Here, ρ is the density of the fluid, ~v is the velocity vector and A is the area of the
control surface. The rate of accumulation of mass within a control volume can be
expressed as

ZZZ
∂
ρ dV. (2)
∂t c.v.

Here, V is the control volume. The conservation of mass states that the accumula-
tion of mass is equal to the amount of mass, which flows into the system, minus the
amount of mass, which flows out of the system. This can be written as the following
equation:

ZZZ ZZ
∂
ρ dV + ρ(~v · ~n) dA = 0. (3)
∂t c.v. c.s.

In the following video the conservation of mass is derived in another way. There is
also a basic example of how to use it.

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Heat and Flow 4PB00

Web lecture: Conservation of mass

Conservation of momentum

In fluid flows, also momentum is present. For example, in the case of a flow in a pipe
with a bend, forces act on the pipe bend and some counterforce should act on this
bend to keep it in place. These forces can be defined as
d
∑ ~F = dt (m~v) (4)

Where ∑ ~F is the sum of the external forces and m the mass. The rate of momentum,
which goes in and out of the control volume, can be expressed as
ZZ
~vρ(~v · ~n) dA (5)
c.s.

The rate of accumulation of linear momentum within the control volume can be ex-
pressed as
ZZZ
∂
~vρ dV (6)
∂t c.v.

The conservation of momentum states that the sum of the forces acting on the control
volume is equal to the net rate of momentum flux from the control volume plus the
rate of accumulation of momentum within the control volume. Combining this with
the above equations gives us the conservation of momentum equation

ZZ ZZZ
∂
∑ ~F = c.s.
~vρ(~v · ~n) dA +
∂t c.v.
~vρ dV (7)

It is important to notice that the outcome of the momentum equation is a vector equa-
tion. This can be rewritten in an equation for each of the directions. As can be seen
below:

ZZ ZZZ
∂
∑ Fx = c.s.
v x ρ(~v · ~n) dA +
∂t c.v.
ρv x dV, (8)

ZZ ZZZ
∂
∑ Fy = c.s.
vy ρ(~v · ~n) dA +
∂t c.v.
ρvy dV, (9)

ZZ ZZZ
∂
∑ Fz = c.s.
vz ρ(~v · ~n) dA +
∂t c.v.
ρvz dV. (10)

The forces which act on the flow can be all kinds of forces; pressure, gravity or another
external force.

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Heat and Flow 4PB00

Another derivation and a small example is given in the next video.

Usage of the conservation laws

The conservation laws are dynamical equations, which means they depend on time.
In most cases during this course a steady state condition is considered. This means
that the time derivative of the mass and momentum is equal to zero in the control
volume. This means they can be left out of the equation, which makes the equations
a lot easier. The following equations remain for mass and momentum respectively.
ZZ
ρ(~v · ~n) dA = 0 (11)
c.s.
ZZ
∑ ~F = c.s.
~vρ(~v · ~n) dA (12)

The best way to practice these conservation laws is with the exercises. Here is a link
to a video, which shows a couple of examples. The video is longer than usual. You
should decide for yourself, whether you watch every example.
Web lecture: Exercises with conservation laws

Exercises

Exercises: 4.1, 4.3, 4.4, 4.7, 4.8, 5.1, 5.3, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7
Exercises (optional): 4.2, 4.5, 4.6, 4.9, 5.2, 5.4

Checklist

 Read the lecture information that is provided.