【正文】
of the inpressible flow Pathlines ? A pathline is the actual path traveled by an individual fluid particle over some time period. ? A pathline is a Lagrangian concept in that we simply follow the path of an individual particle. ? For steady flow pathlines are identical to streamlines Streaklines ? A streakline is the locus of fluid particles that have passed sequentially through a prescribed point in the flow. ? Streaklines are the most mon flow pattern generated in a physical experiment. If a small tube is inserted into a flow and introduce a continuous stream of tracer fluid (dye in a water flow or smoke in an airflow), the observed pattern is a streakline. ? Streaklines are often confused with streamlines or pathlines. ? While the three flow patterns are identical in steady flow, they can be quite different in unsteady flow. ? The main difference is that a streamline represents an instantaneous flow pattern at a given instant in time, while a streakline and a pathline are flow patterns that have some age and thus a time history associated with them. ? A streakline is an instantaneous snapshot of a time integrated flow pattern. ? A pathline, on the other hand, is the timeexposed flow path of an individual particle over some time period.