POTENTIALFLOW.COM

Potential flow is an idealized model of fluid dynamics that applies when a flow is inviscid, incompressible, and irrotational. These three simplifying assumptions lead to a convenient mathematical model of the fluid flow, and despite the simplification, potential flow is a very practical model that is widely used in aerodynamics and hydrodynamics... These potential flow solutions are powerful tools because analytical solutions in fluid dynamics are rare. There are certainly limitations to when these solutions can apply. The most notable error in potential flow theory is the result that bodies immersed in a flow experience no drag force. This contradiction to physical intuition is known as D'Alambert's paradox, and this was solved with the discovery of boundary layer theory. Boundary layers are thin areas where fluid flow meets a solid boundary and viscous effects are important at these interfaces. Potential flow neglects viscosity, so it does not adequately describe boundary layers or..

Also known as: potential flow