INTRODUCTION TO

1
CARTESIAN TENSORS
2 Review of Vector Calculus
A SCALAR is ANY
Scalar Magnitude
quantity in physics that
has MAGNITUDE, but
Example
NOT a direction Speed 20 m/s
associated with it.
Magnitude – A numerical Distance 10 m
value with units.
Age 15 years

Heat 1000
calories
3 Review of Vector Calculus
Vector Magnitude
A VECTOR is ANY & Direction
quantity in physics Velocity 20 m/s, N
that has BOTH Acceleration 10 m/s/s, E
MAGNITUDE and Force 5 N, West
DIRECTION.
   
v , x, a, F
Vectors are typically
illustrated by drawing an
ARROW above the symbol.
The arrow is used to convey
direction and magnitude.
4 Review of Vector Calculus
Polar Notation
Polar notation defines a vector by
designating the vector’s magnitude |A|
and angle θ relative to the +x axis. Using
that notation the vector is written:

In this picture we have a force vector with

magnitude 12 Newtons oriented at 210 degrees
with the + x axis. It would be characterized as
F = 12 < 210
5 Review of Vector Calculus
Polar Notation
In this picture we have a force vector of 12
Newtons oriented along the -x axis.
However, polar notation is relative to the +
x axis. Therefore, it would be characterized
by
F = 12 < 180

In this last picture we have 2 vectors. They

are characterized by:

C = 2 < 30

D = 4 < - 50 or D = 4 < 310

 Scalar Multiplication
Multiplying a vector by a scalar
will ONLY CHANGE its magnitude.
Multiplying a vector by
“-1” does not change the
magnitude, but it does
reverse it's direction or in a Thus if A = 12 < 105, Then 2A =
sense, it's angle. 24 < 105

-
1/2
A Thus if A = 12 < 105, then
-A = 12 < 285

If A = 12 < 105, then

(-1/2)A = 6 < 285
 Unit Vector Notation
An effective and popular system used in engineering is called unit vector notation. It is used to
denote vectors with an x-y Cartesian coordinate system.
 Unit Vector Notation =3j
J = vector of magnitude “1” in the “y” direction

= 4i
i = vector of magnitude “1” in the “x” direction

The hypotenuse in Physics is called

the RESULTANT or VECTOR SUM.

The LEGS of the triangle are called the

A  4iˆ  3 ˆj COMPONENTS
3j
Vertical Component

NOTE: When drawing a right triangle that conveys some

4i type of motion, you MUST draw your components HEAD
Horizontal Component TO TOE.
 Unit Vector Notation
iˆ - unit vecto r  1 in the  x direction The proper terminology is to use the “hat”
instead of the arrow. So we have i-hat, j-
ˆj - unit vecto r  1 in the  y direction hat, and k-hat which are used to describe
any type of motion in 3D space.
kˆ - unit vecto r  1 in the  z direction

How would you write vectors J and K in unit

vector notation?

J  2iˆ  4 ˆj

K  2iˆ  5 ˆj
 Applications of Vectors
VECTOR ADDITION – If 2 similar vectors point in the SAME direction, add them.

 Example: A man walks 54.5 meters east, then another 30 meters east.
Calculate his displacement relative to where he started?

54.5 m, E + 30 m, E Notice that the SIZE of the

arrow conveys MAGNITUDE
and the way it was drawn
84.5 m, E conveys DIRECTION.
 Applications of Vectors
VECTOR SUBTRACTION - If 2 vectors are going in opposite directions,
you SUBTRACT.

 Example: A man walks 54.5 meters east, then 30 meters west.

Calculate his displacement relative to where he started?

54.5 m, E
-
30 m, W

24.5 m, E
Non-Collinear Vectors
When 2 vectors are perpendicular, you must use the
Pythagorean theorem.
A man walks 95 km, East then 55 km,
north. Calculate his RESULTANT
DISPLACEMENT.

c2  a2  b2  c  a2  b2
55 km, N c  Resultant  952  552
c 12050  109.8 km

95 km,E
 BUT…..what about the VALUE of the angle???
Just putting North of East on the answer is NOT specific enough for the direction. We MUST find the VALUE of the
angle.

To find the value of the angle we use a

109.8 km Trig function called TANGENT.
55 km, N

opposite side 55
q N of E Tan    0.5789
adjacent side 95
95 km,E   Tan 1 (0.5789)  30

109.8km @ 30 NofE

So the COMPLETE final answer is : 109.8km  30
95iˆ km  55 ˆj km
 What if you are missing a component?
Suppose a person walked 65 m, 25 degrees East of North. What were his
horizontal and vertical components?
The goal: ALWAYS MAKE A RIGHT TRIANGLE!
H.C. = ?

To solve for components, we often use the trig

V.C = ? functions sine and cosine.
25 65 m

adjacent side opposite side

cosine   sine  
hypotenuse hypotenuse
adj  hyp cos  opp  hyp sin 

adj  V .C.  65 cos 25  58.91m, N or 58.91 ˆj m

opp  H .C.  65 sin 25  27.47m, E or 27.47iˆ m
Example
A bear, searching for food wanders 35 meters east then 20 meters north. Frustrated, he wanders
another 12 meters west then 6 meters south. Calculate the bear's displacement.

23 m, E
- =

12 m, W
- =
14 m, N
6 m, S
R 142  232  26.93m
20 m, N
14
Tan   .6087
23
35 m, E R 14 m, N   Tan 1 (0.6087)  31.3
q
26.93m @ 31.3 NofE
23 m, E 26.93m  31.3
The Final Answer: 23iˆ m  14 ˆj m
Example
A boat moves with a velocity of 15 m/s, N in a river which flows with a velocity of
8.0 m/s, west. Calculate the boat's resultant velocity with respect to due north.

Rv  8 2  152  17 m / s
8
8.0 m/s, W
Tan   0.5333
15 m/s, N 15
Rv q
  Tan 1 (0.5333)  28.1

17 m / s @ 28.1 WofN
The Final Answer :
17 m / s  118.1 

 8iˆ m / s  15 ˆj m / s
Example
A plane moves with a velocity of 63.5 m/s at 32 degrees South of East. Calculate the plane's
horizontal and vertical velocity components.

adjacent side opposite side

cosine   sine  
hypotenuse hypotenuse
H.C. =? adj  hyp cos  opp  hyp sin 
32
V.C. = ?
adj  H .C.  63.5 cos 32  53.85 m / s, E or 53.85iˆ
63.5 m/s
opp  V .C.  63.5 sin 32  33.64 m / s, S or  33.64 ˆj
18 Review of Vector Calculus
The transfer phenomena of interest here can be mathematically
represented by equations involving physical variables that fall under three
categories: scalars, vectors, and tensors.

 Scalars are designated by lightface italic, vectors by lower boldface

Roman, and tensors by boldface Greek letters. In addition, matrices
are identified by upper boldface Roman letters.
 A scalar represents a quantity that has magnitude such as volume V,
pressure p, temperature T, time t, mass m, and density ρ.
 A vector represents a quantity of a given magnitude and direction
such as velocity v, momentum L=mv, and force F.
 A matrix is a rectangular array of quantities ordered along rows and
columns.
19 Review of Vector Calculus
 A tensor is a mathematical object analogous to but more general than
a vector, represented by an array of components, such as the shear
stress tensor.
 Moreover, the conservation equations are composed of terms that
represent the product of two or more variables.
 The multiplication involved may be of various types and the variables
could be a combination of the three types described above.
Whenever the multiplication results:
 in a scalar, the product will be enclosed by parentheses “(product)”,
 in a vector, it will be enclosed by square brackets “[product]”,
 in a tensor, it will be enclosed by curly brackets “{product}”.
20 Review of Vector Calculus
Vectors and Vector Operations
The most frequently used vector in fluid
dynamics is the velocity vector that will be
designated by v.
The components of the velocity vector in a
three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate
system will be denoted by u, v, and w in the
x, y, and z direction, respectively (Fig. 2.1).
In Cartesian coordinates, v is written as

Fig. 2.1 The components of a

where i, j, and k are unit vectors in the x, y, vector v in a three-dimensional
and z direction, respectively. Cartesian coordinate system
21 Review of Vector Calculus
A vector is usually presented in a column format with its transpose,
denoted with a superscript T, in a row format as

The magnitude of a vector is given by

The sum of two vectors v1 and v2 is the sum of their components, i.e.,
22 Review of Vector Calculus
or

The multiplication of a vector v by a scalar s results in the vector sv such that

23 Review of Vector Calculus
The product of two vectors is not as straightforward. When multiplying a
vector v1 by another vector v2 two types of multiplications arise. The first
is denoted by the scalar or dot product, (v1 ∙ v2), and the second by
vector or cross product [v1 × v2].
The Dot Product of Two Vectors
By definition, the dot product of two vectors v1 and v2 is a scalar quantity
given by

where cos(v1 × v2) denotes the cosine of the angle between v1 and v2.
From the definition of the vector dot product, it follows that
24 Review of Vector Calculus
In terms of orthonormal Cartesian components, the dot product of the
two vectors v1 and v2 can be calculated as

Vector Magnitude
From Eq. (2.9) it follows that the magnitude of a vector v can be obtained
as
25 Review of Vector Calculus
The Unit Direction Vector
A unit vector ev in the direction of v can be derived from the definition of
the dot product as
26 Review of Vector Calculus
Therefore, the component of a vector in the direction of another vector
(i.e., magnitude of the projected length) can be viewed as the dot product
of the vector to be projected with the unit direction of the other vector as
shown in Fig. 2.2a, b.
27 Review of Vector Calculus
The Cross Product of Two Vectors
Whereas the dot product of two vectors v1 and v2 is a scalar quantity,
their cross or vector product is a vector v3 normal to the plane formed by
the vectors v1 and v2, of magnitude calculated as

and of direction given by the right hand rule.

As shown in Fig. 2.3, the magnitude of
the cross product of two vectors
represents the area of the
parallelogram spanned by the two
vectors. Since, in addition, the resulting
vector is normal to the plane formed by
the vectors, the cross product of two
vectors represents their surface vector.
28 Review of Vector Calculus
It is then clear that the cross product of two collinear vectors is zero as
they define no area, and that the cross product of two orthogonal unit
vectors is a unit vector perpendicular to the two unit vectors.
Adopting the right hand rule to define the direction of the resulting
vector, the following cross product operations hold:

Using the above relations, the cross product of two vectors in terms of
their Cartesian components is given by
29 Review of Vector Calculus

which can be written using determinant notation as

30 Review of Vector Calculus
Example 1
Compute the area of the triangle formed by points (Fig. 2.4):
P1(0, 0, 0), P2(1, 0, 0) and P3(0.5, 1, 0).
31 Review of Vector Calculus
The Scalar Triple Product
In addition, combined products of three vectors v1, v2 and v3 may arise
such as (v1 ∙ [v2 × v3]) which can be calculated using the following
determinant (to be explained later):

As shown in Fig. 2.5,

the absolute value of
the scalar triple product
represents the volume
of the parallelepiped
formed by the vectors
v1, v2 and v3.
32 Review of Vector Calculus
Example 2
Compute the volume of the pyramid defined by the points:
P1(0, 0, 0), P2(1, 0, 0), P3(0.5, 1, 0) and P4(0.5, 0.5, 1)
shown in Fig. 2.6.
33 Review of Vector Calculus
Gradient of a Scalar and Directional Derivatives
An important vector operator, which arises frequently in fluid dynamics,
is the “del” (or “nabla”) operator defined as

When the “del” operator is applied on a scalar variable s it results in the

gradient of s given by

Thus, the gradient of a scalar field is a vector field indicating that the
value of s changes with position in both magnitude and direction.
34 Review of Vector Calculus
The projection of 𝛻𝑠 in a certain direction of unit vector el is given by

and is called the directional derivative of s along the direction of the unit
vector el, as schematically depicted in Fig. 2.7.
35 Review of Vector Calculus
Example 3
Let f(x, y, z)= x2y + y2z + z2x
(a) find 𝛻𝑓 at point (3, 2, 0).
(b) find the derivative at point (3, 2, 0) along the direction (1, 2, 2):
36 Review of Vector Calculus
37 Review of Vector Calculus
38 Review of Vector Calculus
39 Review of Vector Calculus
40 Review of Vector Calculus
41 Review of Vector Calculus
Additional Vector Operations
If s is a scalar function, and v1, v2 and v3 are vector fields, then the
following relations, which are listed without proof, apply:
42 Tensors and Tensor Operations
Tensors and Tensor Operations
Tensors can be thought of as extensions to the ideas already used when
defining quantities like scalars and vectors.
A scalar is a tensor of rank zero, and a vector is a tensor of rank one.
Tensors of higher rank (2, 3, etc.) can be developed and their main use is
to manipulate and transform sets of equations.
Since within the scope of this course only tensors of rank two are needed,
they will be referred to simply as tensors.
Similar to the flow velocity vector
v, the deviatoric stress tensor τ
(Fig. 2.12) will be referred to
frequently and is used here to
illustrate tensor operations.
43 Tensors and Tensor Operations
Let x, y, and z represent the directions in an orthonormal Cartesian
coordinate system, then the stress tensor τ and its transpose designated
with superscript T (τ T) are represented in terms of their components as

Similar to writing a vector in terms of its components, defining the unit

vectors i, j, and k in the x, y, and z direction, respectively, the tensor τ
given by Eq. (2.65) can be written in terms of its components as

Equation (2.66) allows defining a third type of vector product for

multiplying two vectors, known as the dyadic product, and resulting in a
tensor with its components formed by ordered pairs of the two vectors.
44 Tensors and Tensor Operations
In specific, the dyadic product of a vector v by itself, arising in the
formulation of the momentum equation of fluid flow, gives

The gradient of a vector v is a tensor given by

45 Tensors and Tensor Operations
The sum of two tensors σ and τ is a tensor Σ whose components are the
sum of the corresponding components of the two tensors, i.e.,

Multiplying a tensor τ by a scalar s results in a tensor whose components

are multiplied by that scalar, i.e.,
46 Tensors and Tensor Operations
The dot product of a tensor τ by a vector v results in the following vector:

which upon expanding becomes

47 Tensors and Tensor Operations
Using Eq. (2.8), Eq. (2.72) reduces to

The above equation can be derived using matrix multiplication as

In a similar way the divergence of a tensor τ is found to be a vector given

by
48 Tensors and Tensor Operations
The double dot product of two tensors τ and 𝛻𝐯 is a scalar computed as

The final value is obtained by expanding the above product and

performing the double dot product on the various terms. For example,
49 Tensors and Tensor Operations
Performing the same steps on every term in the expanded product, the
final form of 𝛕: 𝛻𝐯 is obtained as
50
Example

Let’s start with the i-hat vector: We cross j x ˆk

i  (4)(5)  (6)(4)  44

ˆj  (6)(3)  (2)(5)  8
Now the j-hat vector: We cross i x k

Now the k-hat vector: We cross i x j kˆ  (2)(4)  (4)(3)  20

The final answer would be: B  A  44iˆ  8 ˆj  20kˆ

51 Fundamental Theorems of Vector Calculus
Gradient Theorem for Line Integrals
The gradient theorem for line integrals relates a line integral to the values
of a function at its endpoints [22]. It states that if C is a smooth curve, as
shown in Fig. 2.13, described by the vector r(t) = r[x(t),y(t),z(t)] for a≤ t
≤b, and s is a scalar function whose gradient, 𝛻𝑠, is continuous on C, then

where a and b are the

endpoints of C. It follows
that the value of the
integral over a closed
contour is zero.
52 Fundamental Theorems of Vector Calculus
Green’s Theorem
Green’s theorem expresses the contour integral of a simple closed curve
C in terms of the double integral of the two dimensional region R
bounded by C.
Let C denotes the closed contour (Fig. 2.14) of a two dimensional region
R. If u(x,y) and v(x,y) are functions of continuous partial derivatives
defined on R, then

In Eq. (2.80) the contour integral

along C is taken positive in the
counterclockwise direction.
53 Fundamental Theorems of Vector Calculus
Green’s theorem can be written in a more compact form using vectors.
For that purpose defining dr, v and the area vector dS as

then the vector form of Green’s theorem is given by

Green’s theorem is helpful for computing line integrals arising in two-

dimensional flows.
54 Fundamental Theorems of Vector Calculus
Example 7

Compute 𝐶 2𝑦 3 𝑑𝑥 + 3𝑥𝑦 2 𝑑𝑦 where C is the

CCW-oriented boundary of the region R
shown in Fig. 2.15.
55
56 Fundamental Theorems of Vector Calculus
Stokes’ Theorem
Stokes’ theorem is a higher dimensional
version of Green’s theorem. Whereas
Green’s theorem relates a line integral
to a double integral, Stokes theorem
relates a line integral to a surface
integral. Let v be a vector field, S an
oriented surface, and C the boundary
curve of S, oriented using the right-hand
rule, as depicted in Fig. 2.16. Stokes’
theorem states the following:

where r is such that dr/ds is the unit tangent vector and s the arc length of C. The
curve of the line integral, C, must have positive orientation, meaning that dr
points
Counterclockwise when the surface normal, dS, points toward the viewer,
following the right-hand rule.
57 Fundamental Theorems of Vector Calculus
Divergence Theorem
Let V represents a volume
in three-dimensional space
(Fig. 2.17) of boundary S.
Let n be the outward
pointing unit vector normal
to S. If v is a vector field
defined on V, then the
divergence theorem (also
known as Gauss’ theorem)
states that
58 Fundamental Theorems of Vector Calculus
The divergence theorem implies that the net flux of a vector field through
a closed surface is equal to the total volume of all sources and sinks (i.e.,
the volume integral of its divergence) over the region inside the surface.
It is an important theorem for fluid dynamics.
The divergence theorem can be used in different contexts to derive many
other useful identities (corollaries). In specific it can be applied to the
product of a scalar function, s, and a non-zero constant vector, to derive
the following important relation:

The divergence theorem is equally applicable to tensors, in which case it

is written as
59 Fundamental Theorems of Vector Calculus
Example 8
Use the divergence theorem to evaluate

𝐅. 𝑑𝐒
𝜕𝑉
5
where 𝐅 = 3𝑥 + 𝑧 5 𝐢 + (𝑦 2 − sin 𝑥 2 𝑧 𝐣 + 𝑥𝑧 + 𝑦𝑒 𝑥 𝐤 and V is a box defined
by
0≤x≤1 0≤y≤3 0≤z≤2
with an outward pointing surface
60 Review of Vector Calculus