19. Surface Forces and Stress Tensors
The chapter focuses on the significance of stress tensors in the analysis of surface forces, particularly in fluid mechanics. It covers the definition and composition of stress tensors, differentiating between normal and shear stresses, and emphasizes the importance of understanding control volumes in analyzing fluid forces. Important concepts such as pressure components and momentum flux are introduced, along with applications to practical fluid mechanics problems.
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What we have learnt
- Stress tensors describe surface forces as having nine components.
- Normal and shear stresses are defined, with normal stresses consisting of pressure and viscous stress components.
- Control volumes are critical for analyzing fluid mechanics problems, especially in accounting for forces acting on fluid elements.
Key Concepts
- -- Stress Tensor
- A mathematical construct used to describe the distribution of internal forces within a material, having nine components in three-dimensional space.
- -- Control Volume
- A defined region in space through which fluid flows, allowing for the analysis of the forces, mass flow, and momentum within the fluid.
- -- Normal Stress
- The component of stress acting perpendicular to the surface, comprising pressure and viscous stresses.
- -- Shear Stress
- The component of stress acting parallel to the surface, associated solely with viscous forces.
- -- Momentum Flux
- The transport of momentum per unit time across a specified area, closely related to mass flow and velocity.
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