Velocity Potential

Velocity potential or Potential flow denoted by ( ∅) is an ideal flow that might not seem
practical because viscosity is negligible. Potential flows are incompressible, irrotational and
inviscid flows and they are considered outside the boundary layer.

 Why is it so important to consider such an idealized flow?

The pressure gradient that is imposed in the boundary layer which is required to solve for the
velocity is the same as the pressure gradient which is imposed in the externally flow outside
the boundary layer. Therefore, analysis of inviscid and irrotational flow is required to solve
the velocity and pressure distribution outside the boundary layer and that pressure distribution
is then imposed into the boundary layer to get the wall shear stresses and so on. All real fluids
possess viscosity, but there are many situations in which the assumption of inviscid flow
considerably simplifies the analysis and, at the same time, gives meaningful results. Because
of its relative simplicity and mathematical beauty, potential flow has been studied
extensively.

For irrotational flow, we can introduce a companion function, the potential function
∅, defined by

V =−∇ ∅(1)
⃗

Why this definition? Because it guarantees that any continuous scalar function ∅ (x, y, z, t)
automatically satisfies the irrotationality condition.

∇×⃗
V =0(2)

∇×⃗
V =−∇ × ∇ ∅=−curl(grad ∅) ≡0(3)

The minus sign is inserted simply so that ∅ decreases in the flow direction (analogous to the
temperature decreasing in the direction of heat flow in heat conduction).

In cartesian coordinate.

−∂ ∅ −∂ ∅ −∂ ∅
u= , v= ,∧w= (4)
∂x ∂y ∂z
In cylindrical coordinates,

∂ 1 ∂ ^ ∂
∇= e^ r + e^ θ +k (5)
∂r r ∂θ ∂z

From Equation (1), velocity potential in cylindrical coordinate

−∂ ∅ −1 ∂ ∅ −∂ ∅
V r= , V θ= ,V z= (6)
∂r r ∂θ ∂z

Because ∇ · ∇ ∅ = 0, for all ∅, the velocity potential exists only for irrotational flow.
Irrotationality may be a valid assumption for those regions of a flow in which viscous forces
are negligible. (Such a region exists outside the boundary layer in the flow over a wing
surface, and can be analyzed to find the lift produced by the wing.) The theory for irrotational
flow is developed in terms of an imaginary ideal fluid whose viscosity is identically zero.

Stream Function and Velocity Potential for Two-Dimensional, Irrotational,

For a two-dimensional, incompressible, and irrotational flow, we have expressions for the
velocity components, u and v, in terms of both the stream function ψ and the velocity
potential ( ∅)

∂ψ −∂ ψ
u= v=
∂y ∂x

−∂ ∅ −∂ ∅
u= v= (7)
∂x ∂y

The irrotationality condition the continuity equation, ∇ · V =0, expressed in cartesian

∂u ∂ v
+ =0(8)
∂x ∂ y

Therefore, for a flow that is both incompressible and irrotational, equation 1 and 2 can be
combined to yield a velocity potential.

∇ ∙ ( ∇ ∅ )=0
 ∇ 2 ∅=0(9)

∂2 ∅ ∂2 ∅ 2
+ =∇ ∅=0( 10)
∂ x2 ∂ y 2

Substituting for u and v from Equation 7 we have, from the stream function ψ.

∂v ∂u
− =0(11)
∂x ∂ y

∂ −∂ ψ ∂ ∂ψ
(
∂x ∂ x
−)∂y ∂y
=0( )
∂2 ψ ∂2 ψ 2
+ =∇ ψ =0(12)
∂ x2 ∂ y 2

From Equations (11) and (12), we make the following obvious and important conclusions:

 Any irrotational, incompressible flow has a velocity potential and stream function (for
two-dimensional flow) that both satisfy Laplace’s equation.
 Conversely, any solution of Laplace’s equation represents the velocity potential or
stream function (two-dimensional) for an irrotational, incompressible flow.

The same rules (of when incompressibility and irrotationality apply, and with the appropriate
form of Laplace’s equation) are valid for the stream function and velocity
potential when expressed in cylindrical coordinates.

1 ∂ψ −∂ ψ
V r= ∧V θ=
r ∂∅ ∂r

−∂ ∅ −1 ∂ ∅
V r= ∧V θ = (13)
∂r r ∂θ
Table 1

Table 1 summarizes the results of our discussion of the stream function and velocity potential
for two-dimensional flows.

We showed that the stream function ψ is constant along any streamline. For ψ = constant,

dψ = 0.

∂ψ ∂ψ
dψ = dx+ dy=0(15)
∂x ∂y

The slope of a streamline—a line of constant ψ—is given by

∂ψ
−
dy dx −−v v
)
dx ψ
=
∂x
=
u
= (16)
u
∂y

Along a line of constant ∅ , d ∅=0 and

∂∅ ∂∅
d ∅= dx + dy=0
∂x ∂y

Consequently, the slope of a potential line — a line of constant ∅ — is given by

∂∅
−
dy dx −u
) =
dx ∅ ∂ ∅
=
v
(17)
∂y
Comparing Equation 16 and 17, we see that the slope of a constant ψ line at any point is the
negative reciprocal of the slope of the constant∅line at that point; this means that lines of
constantψ and constant ∅ are orthogonal.

Example 1.
Elementary Plane Flows
The ψ∧∅functions for five elementary two-dimensional flows—a uniform flow, a source, a
sink, a vortex, and a doublet, are summarized in Table 2 The ψ∧∅ functions can be obtained
from the velocity field for each elementary flow.

Table 2.
A uniform flow of constant velocity parallel to the x-axis satisfies the continuity equation
and the irrotationality condition identically. In Table 2 we have shown the ψ∧∅ functions for
uniform flow in the positive x-direction. For a uniform flow of constant magnitude V,
inclined at angle α to the x-axis.

ψ=( Vcosα ) y −( Vsinα ) x

∅=−( Vsinα ) y−(Vcosα )x

A simple source is a flow pattern in the xy plane in which flow is radially outward from the
z-axis and symmetrical in all directions.

In a simple sink, flow is radially inward; a sink is a negative source. The ψ and φ functions
for a sink shown in Table 2 are the negatives of the corresponding functions for a source
flow. The origin of either a sink or a source is a singular point since the radial velocity
approaches infinity as the radius approaches zero. Thus, while an actual flow may resemble a
source or a sink for some values of r, sources and sinks have no exact physical counterparts.
The primary value of the concept of sources and sinks is that, when combined with other
elementary flows, they produce flow patterns that adequately represent realistic flows.

A flow pattern in which the streamlines are concentric circles is a vortex. In a free
irrotational vortex, fluid particles do not rotate as they translate in circular paths around the
vortex center. There are several ways of obtaining the velocity field, for example, by
combining the equation of motion (Euler’s equation) and the Bernoulli equation to eliminate
the pressure. Here, though, for circular streamlines, we have Vr = 0 and Vθ = f(θ) only. We
also have previously introduced the condition of irrotationality in cylindrical coordinates.

1 ∂r V θ 1 ∂V r
− =0
r ∂r r ∂θ
Hence, using the known forms of Vr and Vθ, we obtain

1 ∂(r V θ)
=0
r ∂r

Integrating this equation gives V θ r=constant

The strength, K, of the vortex is defined as K=2 πr; the dimensions of K are L 2/t
(volume flow rate per unit depth).

The final “elementary” flow listed in Table 2 is the doublet of strength Λ. This flow is
produced mathematically by allowing a source and a sink of numerically equal strengths to
merge. In the limit, as the distance, δs, between them approaches zero, their strengths
increase so the product qδs/2 π tends to a finite value, Λ, which is termed the strength of the
doublet.

Superposition of Elementary Plane Flows

Since Laplace’s equation is a linear, homogeneous partial differential equation, solutions may
be superposed (added together) to develop more complex and interesting patterns of flow.
Thus, if ψ1 and ψ2 satisfy Laplace’s equation, then so does ψ3 = ψ1 +ψ2. The elementary plane
flows are the building blocks in this superposition process. There is one note of caution,
While Laplace’s equation for the stream function and the stream function-velocity field
equations are linear, but the Bernoulli equation is not. Hence, in the superposition process we
will have ψ3 = ψ1 + ψ2, u3 = u1 + u2, and v3 = v1 + v2, but p3 ≠ p1 + p2! We must use the
Bernoulli equation, which is nonlinear in v, to find p3. We can add together elementary flows
to try and generate recognizable flow patterns. The simplest superposition approach is called
the direct method, in which we try different combinations of elementary flows and see what
kinds of flow patterns are produced. This sounds like a random process, but with a little
experience, it becomes a quite logical process.
Table 3.
Because Laplace’s equation appears in many engineering and physics applications, it has
been extensively studied. We saw that Laplace’s equation is sometimes amenable to a fairly
simple numerical solution using a spreadsheet. The last example in Table 3 shows the vortex
pair hints at a way to create flows that simulate the presence of a wall or walls: for the y-axis
to be a streamline (and thus a wall), simply make sure that any objects (e.g., a source, a
vortex) in the positive x quadrants have mirror-image objects in the negative x quadrants; the
y-axis will thus be a line of symmetry

Example 2 Flow over a cylinder: superposition of doublet and uniform flow