Euler’s Equation and the Bernoulli Equation¶
Here we will start with the Euler equation and from a sequence of plausible stipulations arrive at the Bernoulli Equation. This development is an alternative to the way most books present the Bernoulli Equation - choose whichever makes more sense to you.
Recall Euler’s equation of motion for a fluid (behaving as a rigid body):
Two “classical” ways to use are illustrated below using
Uniform linear acceleration
Constant angular velocity
Example: Fluid surface under constant linear acceleration¶
Here is an example combining hydrostatic pressure equation and acceleration. Identify the problem solving steps depicted.
Derivation of Bernoulli’s Equation from Euler’s Equation¶
Now to continue to onward to the Bernoulli Equation; what appears herein is more of a plausibility argument than a proper derivation, however the goal is to illustrate the relationship of the two. The textbook has an entirely different approach to accomplish the same task, and choose the explaination that makes the most sense to you, and helps you remember how to use the results better.
Starting with Euler’s Equation, and neglect viscous forces (no internal shear) we have:
Stipulate that \(\bar g = -g \bar k\) (we are simply stating that +z is up!)
Next we will require that \(\rho g =\text{constant}\) (incompressible fluid!) which allows
and simplified becomes
Now write \(\bar a\) in differential form (Eulerian reference system); as a set of cartesian component equations we have:
Next we will consider steady flow only which will cause the local acceleration terms to vanish that is:
Make the necessary substitution and simplifications and express the vector equation as a set of component equations as
Next we will stipulate that the flow is irrotational (we will study rotation soon) for the time being, irrotational means that the curl of the velocity field is zero. Typical notation is
notice the capital \(\bar V\), this is the vector field function that provides the components \((u,v,w)\) at any location and time.
If \( curl(\bar V) = \bar 0 \) then the following relationships hold:
So we will make these substitutions to obtain
Now recall that \(y\frac{\partial y}{\partial x} = \frac{1}{2}\frac{\partial y^2}{\partial x}\) and apply this rule on the expressions on the left side of the equation set;
Rearrange as
The sum \(u^2+v^2+w^2\) is simply the magnitude of the velocity vector (speed) at a point squared; so we will simply make that substitution as:
Now recall that \(\frac{dy}{dx} = 0\) if \(y\) is a constant with respect to \(x\). Thus all three equations must equal the same constant.
So anywhere in our flow field (that satisfies all the stipulations and assumptions) we have
where \(C\) is some constant (its often called the total head - but that’s getting ahead of ourselves!)
Often the equation is written along a streamline where in the absence of friction the constant is unchanging and we would have
This is the most useful form of Bernoulli’s equation, where the subscripts \(_1\) and \(_2\) indicate different locations on the streamline.
Example: Application of Bernoulli’s Equation¶
A tank with water drains through a small hole to the atmosphere as shown. The depth in the tank is maintained by external addition of fluid.
Determine the speed of the flow in the small hole.
Known
pressure at free surface and at the exit jet
depth in the tank
Unknown
speed of the jet in the exit hole
Governing Principles
Bernoulli’s equation
Assume inviscid, irrotational flow
Solution
Pressure at surface and jet are the same so they cancel. The make-up fluid in problem statement implies the velocity at point 1 is negligible. We can choose to set the jet elevation to zero. Thus the free surface elevation is \(z_1=H\)
So all that remains in the equation is
Solving for \(V\) we have
Example: Application of Bernoulli’s Equation¶
Water issues vertically from a fountain. The water velocity at the exit is 20 feet per second. Assuming irrotational flow, how high will the fountain rise?
Known
pressure at apogee of fountain stream (location 2)
velocity at the exit (location 1)
elevation of the exit (location 1)
Unknown
elevation of the apogee of the fountain stream (location 2)
Governing Principles
Bernoulli’s equation
Assume inviscid, irrotational flow
Solution
Pressure at apogee and jet are the same (assume jet has small cross section; it is atmospheric just after exiting) so they cancel. We can choose to set the jet elevation to zero. At the apogee, the fountain stream has zero velocity just before it begins its fall back to earth.
So all that remains in the equation is
If we desire a numerical result, we simply use our Jupyter Notebook
jet_velocity = 20 #feet/second
gravity = 32.2 #ft/second/second
jet_height = jet_velocity**2/(2.0*gravity)
print("Fountain height is",round(jet_height,3)," feet")
Fountain height is 6.211 feet