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Concept of Continuum

The document discusses the behavior of matter at a microscopic level, emphasizing the role of intermolecular forces in determining the states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas. It explains fluid properties and the concept of density, highlighting the importance of sampling volume to achieve accurate measurements, and introduces the continuum hypothesis which models matter as continuous for practical applications. Additionally, it addresses the relationship between fluid dynamics and thermodynamics, particularly under conditions of local thermodynamic equilibrium.

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24 views3 pages

Concept of Continuum

The document discusses the behavior of matter at a microscopic level, emphasizing the role of intermolecular forces in determining the states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas. It explains fluid properties and the concept of density, highlighting the importance of sampling volume to achieve accurate measurements, and introduces the continuum hypothesis which models matter as continuous for practical applications. Additionally, it addresses the relationship between fluid dynamics and thermodynamics, particularly under conditions of local thermodynamic equilibrium.

Uploaded by

sendtovarun2004
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The Microscopic Point of View

The origin of the substances’ behavior is based on their microscopic


structure. Matter is formed by moving molecules, subject to various types of
intermolecular forces. These forces maintain the bonding of molecules, and it is
the strength of these forces that distinguishes the solid and fluid (liquid or gas)
states of matter.
In a solid the inter-molecular forces are strong, allowing the molecules to
stay at an approximately fixed position in space. For liquids, these cohesive
forces are intermediate, weak enough to allow relative movements between
molecules, but strong enough to keep the relative distance constant. Liquids,
when within an open container in a gravitational field, take the shape of the
container and form a surface of separation with the air, called free surface.
Finally, in gases the inter-molecular forces are so weak as to allow a variable
inter-molecular distance. Gases tend to expand and occupy all the available
volume.

The Fluid as a Continuum

A fluid flow is characterized by the specification of fluid variables


(sometimes also called fluid properties) such as density ρ, pressure p,
temperature T, velocity vector v, chemical concentration of the component A ρA,
and so on. But according to the molecular structure of nature, if matter is made
of voids and fast moving particles, how can we define each one of the above fluid
variables?
For example, let us examine the fluid density. For that purpose, let us take a
volume of matter δV , which will have a mass δm. In principle, the density can
be calculated as the ratio between the mass δm and its volume δV,

m
    (1)
V
However, depending on the size of the volume δV, we will find different
values of the density.
If δV is very small, let’s say microscopic, due to random molecular motion,
we may at one time find one molecule, at others three, etc. Therefore, the value
of the density will vary from one measurement to the next. This type of
uncertainty is called microscopic uncertainty and is caused by the discontinuous
and fluctuating nature of matter.
On the other hand, if the sampling volume is very large, such as a room,
statistically speaking the number of molecules inside is going to be constant.
However, due to variations of density inside the volume, the average density
might differ from the actual density at the center of the room. This type of
uncertainty is called macroscopic uncertainty and is caused by spatial variation
of the fluid variables.

δV
δV *

Fig. 1.4. Behavior of the measured density as a function of the sample volume.

As a consequence, in order to calculate a reasonable value of the density we


need a specific size of the sampling volume δV ∗, not too large nor too tiny. This
volume also needs to contain enough molecules to be able to attain statistically
meaningful averages. Thus, the density at a point in space is defined as
m
  lim    (2)
 V  V 
V
It has been estimated that for a stable measurement, this volume must
contain around 106 molecules. Therefore, the size of δV∗ must be
3
 V  /   100
where δ is the distance between molecules. For instance, for
air at ambient temperature, a volume δV∗ of the order of 10−9 mm3 contains
about 3 × 107 molecules, a number sufficiently large to attain a correct value of
density.
Furthermore, in order to be able to employ differential calculus, it will be
assumed that the above definition of density yields a continuous and
continuously differentiable function. The substances that are treated with this
hypothesis are called continuum media and are studied in the branch of physics
called continuum mechanics.
In conclusion, the continuum hypothesis allows us to model discontinuous
matter as continuous. Certainly, every hypothesis has a range of validity. The
continuum hypothesis is valid as long as a characteristic length of the flow L is
much larger than that of δV ∗, i.e.  V
3 
L. This is the case for routine flows
at moderate speeds, such as those encountered in chemical plants, engineering
applications and vehicle aerodynamics. However, this hypothesis cannot be
applied for instance to flows at pressures close to zero (called rarefied gases),
such as the spacecraft reentry into the atmosphere. Also in microfluidic
applications, where fluid transport phenomena take part in devices at the micro
and nano scale, the continuum hypothesis can easily break down.

Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium

Fluid dynamics is tightly linked to thermodynamics, which studies the


equilibrium states of substances. This equilibrium implies that the properties
of matter are constant in space and time, which is rarely the case in moving
fluids.
However, as in the continuum hypothesis, under certain conditions it can be
assumed that each piece of fluid is in thermodynamic equilibrium. Since
molecular collisions are the mechanism responsible for equilibrium, it can be
assumed that there exists local thermodynamic equilibrium if within a
characteristic distance for property variations L = c/|∇c| (where c is any
thermodynamic variable) there are enough collisions. This condition can be
expressed as λ << L, where λ is the mean free path (the path that molecules
travel between collisions).
Similar arguments can be applied in time if the characteristic collision time
is much smaller than the characteristic flow time scale.
Local equilibrium implies that each little piece of fluid can be considered in
thermodynamic equilibrium and that at each point, the thermodynamic
relations among thermodynamic properties can be safely used.

Remark - For gas flows, the applicability of the continuum hypothesis and the
local thermodynamic equilibrium is usually expressed by the dimensionless
Knudsen number

Kn     (3)
L
For Kn < 0.01 the medium can be considered as a continuum and the transport
equations of this text are valid. For larger Kn, other models, like the Boltzmann
equation, must be used.
Remark - In the case of liquids, the break-down of the continuum hypothesis
manifests in anomalous diffusion mechanisms.

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