In: Mechanical Engineering
Define the system, control volume, and control surface for a 4-foot, 6-inch diameter section of pipe. Is the system Lagrangian or Eulerian? Why?
A 'System' is defined as a quantity of matter or a region in space that is taken into consideration while analysis of a particular problem. In this case, the system would be the 4-foot long, 6 inch diameter section of a pipe. There are two types of systems: Closed and open. In closed system, there is no mass transfer whereas in open system, there involves mass transfer.
A 'Control volume' is a type of open system in which a certain volume in space is focussed upon for analysis. Here since the mass transfer is present in a pipe, the said section of pipe will be a control volume.
A 'Closed surface' is the bounding surface of the control volume. It is shown in the figure as PQRS.
In kinematic analysis of fluids, there are two methods: Lagrangian and Eulerian.
In Lagrangian system, each individual particle is tracked in a flow and analysed for momentum and energy exchange using Newton's laws of motion.
In Eulerian system, only a finite volume is focussed upon and analysis is carried out by treating the fluid as continuous. Measurements of different field variable are taken at points of interest instead of measuring variables of individual particles. Therefore, in this case, since a control volume is considered, Eulerian system is used.