Newtonian fluid

A Newtonian fluid (named after Isaac Newton) is a fluid whose stress versus strain rate curve is linear and passes through the origin. The constant of proportionality is known as the viscosity.

Definition

A simple equation to describe Newtonian fluid behavior is

\[\tau=\mu\frac{du}{dy}\]

where \[\tau\] is the shear stress exerted by the fluid ("drag") [Pa] \[\mu\] is the fluid viscosity - a constant of proportionality [Pa·s] \[\frac{du}{dy}\] is the velocity gradient perpendicular to the direction of shear, or equivalently the strain rate [s⁻¹]

In common terms, this means the fluid continues to flow, regardless of the forces acting on it. For example, water is Newtonian, because it continues to exemplify fluid properties no matter how fast it is stirred or mixed. Other examples may be aqueous solutions, emulsions. Contrast this with a non-Newtonian fluid, in which stirring can either leave a "hole" behind (that gradually fills up over time - this behavior is seen in materials such as pudding and oobleck, or, to a less rigorous extent, sand), or climb the stirring rod (the Weissenberg effect) because of shear thinning, the drop in viscosity causing it to flow more (this is seen in non-drip paints, which brush on easily but become more viscous when on walls).

For a Newtonian fluid, the viscosity, by definition, depends only on temperature and pressure (and also the chemical composition of the fluid if the fluid is not a pure substance), not on the forces acting upon it.

If the fluid is incompressible and viscosity is constant across the fluid, the equation governing the shear stress, in the Cartesian coordinate system, is the tensor

\[\tau_{ij}=\mu\left(\frac{\partial u_i}{\partial x_j}+\frac{\partial u_j}{\partial x_i} \right)\]

A second tensor, \(\mathbb{P}\) (also written as \(\mathbf{\sigma}\)), representing the total stress, can be written by combining the shear stress with conventional (thermodynamic) pressure:

\[\mathbb{P}_{ij}= - p \delta_{ij} + \mu\left(\frac{\partial u_i}{\partial x_j}+\frac{\partial u_j}{\partial x_i} \right)\]

where, by the convention of tensor notation, \[\tau_{ij}\] is the shear stress on the \(i\)th face of a fluid element in the \(j\)th direction \[p\] is thermodynamical pressure \[u_i\] is the velocity in the \(i\)th direction \[x_j\] is the \(j\)th direction coordinate

If a fluid does not obey this relation, it is termed a non-Newtonian fluid, of which there are several types, including polymer solutions, molten polymers, many solid suspensions and most highly viscous fluids.

See also

• Non-newtonian fluid

References

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