A Direct theory of viscous fluid flow in channels

This paper deals with an Eulerian formulation of the theory of directed fluid sheets appropriate for incompressible, linear viscous fluid flow in channels with arbitrary shapes for their major boundaries which may be moving or fixed. Special cases of the theory are applied to a number of two-dimensional fluid flow problems and these solutions are in general discussed for unsteady flow. Specific applications include fluid flow in a channel whose boundaries are symmetric with respect to a middle plane in the channel, subjected to time-dependent pressure gradient at one end; and to lubrication problems in a general shaped channel when one of the channel walls is a fixed plane while the other is moving with a constant velocity. Flow of a viscous fluid with a free surface over a fixed boundary is also discussed.Dedicated to J. L. Ericksen on the occasion of his Sixtieth Birthday