Mediaspace scheduled maintenance: Aug 25, 2026 07:00 - 12:00 AM. During this time, videos will be temporarily unavailable. Check status updates.

Lecture

Stokes equations: reversibility, hydro

In course

ME-444: Hydrodynamics

Nondimensionalized Navier-Stokes equations result in a great variety of models (Stokes, Lubrication, Euler, Potential) depending on the Reynolds number. The concept of boundary layer enables us then to identify the different components of the hydrodynamic ...

Description

This lecture covers the fundamentals of Stokes equations, focusing on the reversibility of low Reynolds number flow. Topics include creeping flow, low Reynolds number flow, and the birthday candle paradox. The instructor discusses the implications of Stokes equations in hydrodynamics and presents simulations by Marc Fermigier.

This video is available exclusively on Mediaspace for a restricted audience. Please log in to MediaSpace to access it if you have the necessary permissions.

Watch on Mediaspace

Instructor

François Gallaire

Né le 26 février 1975, François Gallaire obtient, en 1998, le diplôme dingénieur de lEcole Polytechnique à Paris et, en 1999, un master en « Physique des liquides » à lUniversité Pierre et Marie Curie, toujours à Paris. Il rejoint ensuite le Laboratoire dhydrodynamique (LadHyX) à lEcole polytechnique où il soutient, en 2003, une thèse sur le thème des instabilités des jets tournants et sur le contrôle de léclatement tourbillonnaire sous la direction de Jean-Marrc Chomaz. En 2003, il est nommé chargé de recherche au CNRS au Laboratoire J.A. Dieudonné de lUniversité de Nice Sophia-Antipolis.En 2009, il rejoint l'EPFL pour y fonder le laboratoire des mécanique des fluides et instabilités (LFMI). Ses recherches se concentrent sur létude des propriétés fondamentales de stabilité des écoulements de fluides et sont guidées par les applications réelles, en particulier le contrôle des écoulements. Récemment, il a réalisé dimportantes contributions dans les domaines de la micro-fluidique (lanalyse de la manipulation par laser dune goutte dans un micro-canal) et la dynamique des bio-fluides (le descriptif mécanique de lanévrisme de laorte abdominale).

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Physics

Mechanics: Fluid mechanics

Related concepts (18)

Stokes flow

Stokes flow (named after George Gabriel Stokes), also named creeping flow or creeping motion, is a type of fluid flow where advective inertial forces are small compared with viscous forces. The Reynolds number is low, i.e. . This is a typical situation in flows where the fluid velocities are very slow, the viscosities are very large, or the length-scales of the flow are very small. Creeping flow was first studied to understand lubrication. In nature, this type of flow occurs in the swimming of microorganisms and sperm.

Laminar flow

In fluid dynamics, laminar flow (ˈlæmənər) is characterized by fluid particles following smooth paths in layers, with each layer moving smoothly past the adjacent layers with little or no mixing. At low velocities, the fluid tends to flow without lateral mixing, and adjacent layers slide past one another like playing cards. There are no cross-currents perpendicular to the direction of flow, nor eddies or swirls of fluids. In laminar flow, the motion of the particles of the fluid is very orderly with particles close to a solid surface moving in straight lines parallel to that surface.

Reynolds number

In fluid mechanics, the Reynolds number (Re) is a dimensionless quantity that helps predict fluid flow patterns in different situations by measuring the ratio between inertial and viscous forces. At low Reynolds numbers, flows tend to be dominated by laminar (sheet-like) flow, while at high Reynolds numbers, flows tend to be turbulent. The turbulence results from differences in the fluid's speed and direction, which may sometimes intersect or even move counter to the overall direction of the flow (eddy currents).

Fluid dynamics

In physics, physical chemistry and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids—liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including aerodynamics (the study of air and other gases in motion) and hydrodynamics (the study of liquids in motion). Fluid dynamics has a wide range of applications, including calculating forces and moments on aircraft, determining the mass flow rate of petroleum through pipelines, predicting weather patterns, understanding nebulae in interstellar space and modelling fission weapon detonation.

Navier–Stokes equations

The Navier–Stokes equations (nævˈjeː_stəʊks ) are partial differential equations which describe the motion of viscous fluid substances, named after French engineer and physicist Claude-Louis Navier and Irish physicist and mathematician George Gabriel Stokes. They were developed over several decades of progressively building the theories, from 1822 (Navier) to 1842-1850 (Stokes). The Navier–Stokes equations mathematically express momentum balance and conservation of mass for Newtonian fluids.

Related lectures (31)

Inviscid Flows: Understanding Fluid Dynamics

Explores inviscid flows, Reynolds number importance, linear deformations, and volume change in fluid dynamics.

Fluid Mechanics: Foundations and Applications

Covers the foundations of fluid mechanics, focusing on flow problem descriptions and solutions.

Viscous flow: Equations and Solutions

Explores equations and solutions for viscous flow, including stress-deformation relationships, Navier-Stokes equations, and simple fluid flow cases.

Fluid Mechanics in Biomechanics

Introduces fluid mechanics in biomechanics, covering Eulerian description, momentum conservation, Navier-Stokes equations, and practical simulations.

Stochastic a-Navier-Stokes Model: Properties and Applications