Physics 797C - ST-Topics in Continuum Physics

The course will address elementary concepts in continuum mechanics: conserved scalar and vector fields, and the stress tensor, and Lagrangian and Eulerian descriptions of the balance laws. Examples of motion - extensional, shear, and rigid body motion will be discussed, along with the basic equations of elasticity. We will study the basic equations of fluid mechanics, the Navier-Stokes equations, and its solutions in special cases, for viscous flows and low Reynolds number hydrodynamics. We will briefly touch upon the theory of boundary layers, fluid mechanical instabilities, transition and turbulence, and interfacial flow phenomena. The interaction of fluids with dispersed particles, and the governing equations for the dispersed phase dynamics will be discussed.