potenzialflusstheoretische

Potenzialfluss, a term of German origin, translates to "potential flow" in English. It is a fundamental concept in fluid dynamics, describing the idealized motion of a fluid where viscosity is neglected. In potential flow, the fluid particles are assumed to move in a way that their velocity can be expressed as the gradient of a scalar potential function, known as the velocity potential. This means the flow is both irrotational and divergence-free.

Irrotationality implies that the fluid elements do not rotate as they move. Mathematically, this is expressed as the curl of the velocity vector being zero. Divergence-free means that the net flow of fluid into or out of any given region is zero, which is a consequence of the fluid being incompressible. This condition is often represented by the divergence of the velocity vector being zero.

The mathematical framework of potential flow simplifies many fluid dynamics problems, particularly in aerodynamics and hydrodynamics. By assuming potential flow, complex flow patterns around objects like airfoils or ship hulls can be analyzed using simpler mathematical tools, often involving complex analysis in two dimensions. Solutions for potential flow can be constructed by superposing basic flow elements such as sources, sinks, vortices, and uniform streams.

While potential flow provides a useful approximation for many real-world scenarios, especially at high Reynolds numbers where viscous effects are less dominant, it has limitations. It cannot accurately describe phenomena strongly influenced by viscosity, such as boundary layers, drag, or flow separation. Therefore, its application is typically limited to inviscid flow regimes.