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Fluid dynamics

All stressed out

Nature volume 389, pages 331–333 (1997)Cite this article

On page 360 of this issue1, Peter Thompson and Sandra Troian report the discovery of remarkable behaviour at the interface between fluids and solids. They use a computer model to follow the motion of individual atoms in a fluid flowing over a solid surface. As the fluid is forced to flow more quickly, it suddenly begins to slip more easily over the solid. Even more surprisingly, the increase in ease of slipping follows a universal law. This transition in behaviour could affect macroscopic flow patterns in spreading, extrusion and other important industrial processes.

Scientists and engineers usually model fluid flow using continuum theories. Rather than following the motion of each atom, they describe the fluid by a few continuous variables that specify the average properties of atoms in each small region of space. These variables are the mean velocity, density and pressure. The Navier-Stokes equation relates these variables, and can be solved to see how they change with time.

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Figure 1: An apparently universal relationship between shear stress σ and the slip velocity ΔVbetween fluids and solids.

References

  1. Thompson, P. A. & Troian, S. M. Nature 389, 360–362 (1997).

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  1. the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, 21218, Maryland, USA

    Mark Robbins

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  1. Mark Robbins
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Robbins, M. All stressed out. Nature 389, 331–333 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/38608

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