Concept of Fluid Continuity
The principle of fluid continuity states that for an incompressible fluid, the volume flow rate must be constant throughout a given stream.
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The statement of the theorem
Consider a control volume through which an incompressible fluid of constant density flows steadily. Let be the velocity field, and be the cross-sectional area perpendicular to the -axis. The principle of continuity, derived from the conservation of mass, mandates that the net volumetric flow rate must be constant along the flow axis . Mathematically, this is expressed as:\n \nIntegrating this differential equation yields the fundamental statement of continuity:\n \nwhere and are the cross-sectional area and the average fluid velocity, respectively, at any two arbitrary sections and along the conduit, provided the fluid remains incompressible (). This formulation is a direct consequence of the divergence-free condition for the velocity field: .