Classical & Biological Fluid Dynamics - MAT00039H

«Back to module search

  • Department: Mathematics
  • Credit value: 10 credits
  • Credit level: H
  • Academic year of delivery: 2022-23

Related modules

Pre-requisite modules

Co-requisite modules

  • None

Prohibited combinations


Additional information

Pre-requisite modules for Natural Sciences students: Fundamentals of Fluid Dynamics (MAT00012H).

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Spring Term 2022-23

Module aims

To develop further the theoretical understanding and mathematical techniques necessary for analysing fluid flows.

Module learning outcomes

At the end of the module you should be able to:

  • Analyse and understand different flow regimes

  • Understand theories underlying fluid flow dynamics

  • Be able to carry out exact and approximate calculations for important types of fluid flows

Module content

 

Syllabus

  • Two dimensional inviscid flows and the complex variables formalism.

  • Very viscous (Stokes) flows: basic equations and boundary conditions. Reversibility.

  • The Stokes drag for a sphere and its generalisations to bodies of complex shapes.

  • Use resistive force theory to analyse the swimming of bacteria and spermatozoa.

  • Thin film flows.

Academic and graduate skills

  • Academic skills: The skills taught are used in many areas of applied mathematics and mathematical physics and are essential for modern applications of fluid dynamics.

  • Graduate skills: students will develop their ability to assimilate, process and engage with new material quickly and efficiently. They will develop problem-solving skills and learn to analyse critically different approaches.

Indicative assessment

Task % of module mark
Closed/in-person Exam (Centrally scheduled) 100

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task % of module mark
Closed/in-person Exam (Centrally scheduled) 100

Module feedback

Current Department policy on feedback is available in the undergraduate student handbook. Coursework and examinations will be marked and returned in accordance with this policy.

Indicative reading

D J Acheson. Elementary Fluid Dynamics, OUP.

L. M. Milne-Thompson, Theoretical Hydrodynamics, Dover.

G K Batchelor, An Introduction to Fluid Dynamics, Cambridge University Press.

L D Landau and E M Lifshitz, Fluid Mechanics, Butterworth-Heinemann.

S. Childress, Mechanics of swimming and flying, Cambridge Studies in Mathematical Biology (2), C.U.P., 1981.