Conservation of Linear Momentum

Once we have determined the continuity equation in dierential form we proceed to derive the momentum
equation in dierential form. We start by writing the integral form of the momentum equation:

t
Z

~
V dV +
Z

~
V (
~
V n)dA =
~
F
As in previous derivation we will do our analysis for a 2D situation and then we will extend our results to
3D. Then, lets start by dening our dierential element with sides x, y and z.
y x
z
x y
z
The rst term of the momentum equation:

t
Z

~
V dV
Represents the amount of momentum accumulated within the control volume, and for a dierential element,
as the one we are dealing with:

t
Z

~
V dV =

t
(
~
V )xyz
Now, we work on the second term:
Z

~
V (
~
V n)dA
1
Which represents the momentum crossing the boundaries of the control volume, as discussed in the previous
chapter this equation is a vector equation and therefore it has three components (one in each direction).
Lets do the analysis of this second term using a 2D dierential element and then we extend our results to 3D.
x
y

v
~
V +

y
(v
~
V )y

xz
u(
~
V yz)

u
~
V +

x
(u
~
V )x

yz
v(
~
V xz)
So in the xdirection we will have:
x : u(
~
V yz) +
"
u
~
V +
(u
~
V )
x
]x
#
yz
Simplifying we get:
x :
(u
~
V )
x
xyz
Similarly in the y and z directions we will get:
y :
(v
~
V )
y
xyz
and
z :
(w
~
V )
z
xyz
2
Thus, the second term on the LHS of the momentum equation as applied to our dierential control volume is:
Z

~
V (
~
V n)dA =
"
(u
~
V )
x
+
(v
~
V )
y
+
(z
~
V )
z
#
zyz
Therefore, the LHS of the momentum equation applied to a dierential element can be written as:
"

t
(
~
V ) +
(u
~
V )
x
+
(v
~
V )
y
+
(z
~
V )
z
#
zyz
Lets analyze the expression within the square brackets to obtain a simplied version of it. By expanding
this expression we can write:

t
~
V +
~
V

t
+
~
V
(u)
x
+ u

~
V
x
+
~
V
(v)
y
+ v

~
V
y
+
~
V
(w)
z
+ w

~
V
z
Now, we rearrange this expression to obtain:
~
V

t
+
~
V
(u)
x
+
~
V
(v)
y
+
~
V
(w)
z
+

~
V
t
+ u

~
V
x
+ v

~
V
y
+ +w

~
V
z
Factoring out
~
V from the rst four terms:
~
V

t
+
(u)
x
+
(v)
y
+
(w)
z

~
V
t
+u

~
V
x
+v

~
V
y
+ +w

~
V
z
!
As we found when deriving the continuity equation:

t
+
(u)
x
+
(v)
y
+
(w)
z
= 0
Thus, the LHS of the momentum equation can be presented as:

~
V
t
+u

~
V
x
+v

~
V
y
+ +w

~
V
z
!
xyz
3
or:

~
V
t
+ (
~
V )
~
V
!
xyz
or also:
"

D
~
V
Dt
#
xyz
Once we have determined the LHS of the momentum equation, we continue with the RHS:

~
F
In this part of our analysis we need to consider all the forces acting in our dierential control volume. As
we know, we have body forces and the surface forces. The only body force that we take into consideration
is the weight of the uid inside the control volume (W).
x y
z
y x
z

W
W = xyz ~g
Where ~g is a vector representing the acceleration of gravity.
Now, we take into consideration the surface forces. We need to consider normal and shear stresses and the
forces theses stresses exert on the surfaces of the control volume. Lets start by considering the forces
produced by normal stresses. Again, we do our analysis for a 2D dierential element and then we extend
the results to a 3D element.
Then, the forces due to the normal stresses acting on the element are:
x :
xx
yz + (
xx
+

xx
x
x)yz =

xx
x
xyz
y :
yy
xz + (
yy
+

yy
y
y)xz =

yy
x
xyz
4
x
y

yy
+

yy
y
y

xz

xx
+

xx
x
x

yz
xx
yz

yy
xz
Similarly, for the z direction we have:
z :

zz
z
xyz
Therefore, the forces due to the normal stresses acting on 3D dierential element are:

xx
x
+

yy
y
+

zz
z

xyz
Next, we analyze the forces created by the shear stresses acting on the boundaries of the control volume.
We rst sketch all forces due to shear stresses acting on the x direction on our control volume.
y x
z

yx
+

yx
y
y

xz
x y
z

zy
+

zy
z
z

xy

yx
xz

zx
xy
Thus, the summation of shear forces in the x direction is:
x :
yx
xz +

yx
+

yx
y
y

xz +
zx
xy +

zx
+

zx
z
z

xy
5
Which can be written as:
x :

yx
y
+

zx
z

xyz
In a similar way, the forces due to shear stresses in the other two directions are obtained to be:
y :

xz
x
+

yz
y

xyz
And:
z :

xy
x
+

zy
z

xyz
If we now write together all the forces acting on the element, i.e. body, normal and shear forces, we obtain:

~
F =

~g +

xx
x
+

yy
y
+

zz
z

k +

yx
y
+

zx
z

xy
x
+

zy
z

xz
x
+

yz
y

xyz
Now that we have all the terms of the momentum equation, we proceed to write them into:

t
Z

~
V dV +
Z

~
V (
~
V n)dA =
~
F
To obtain:

~
V
t
+u

~
V
x
+v

~
V
y
+w

~
V
z
!
xyz = ~g +

xx
x
+

yx
y
+

zx
z

yy
y
+

xy
x
+

zy
z

zz
z
+

xz
x
+

yz
y

k
Eliminating xyz since it is common to every term we obtain:

~
V
t
+u

~
V
x
+v

~
V
y
+w

~
V
z
!
xyz = (g
x
+g
y
+g
z

k) +

xx
x
+

yx
y
+

zx
z

yy
y
+

xy
x
+

zy
z

zz
z
+

xz
x
+

yz
y

k
6
This is a vector equation and can be written in terms of its components as:
x :

u
t
+u
u
x
+v
u
y
+w
u
z

= g
x
+

xx
x
+

yx
y
+

zx
z

y :

v
t
+u
v
x
+v
v
y
+w
v
z

= g
z
+

xy
x
+

yy
y
+

zy
z

z :

w
t
+u
w
x
+v
w
y
+w
w
z

= g
z
+

xz
x
+

yz
y
+

zz
z

These are the momentum equations in dierential form. Later we will study some particular cases of these
equations.
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