2

Basic vector and tensor analysis

Nils Hallbäck
Department of Engineering and Physics, Karlstad University

2.1 Notation
The following notations are adopted throughout this series of lectures:
s : scalar

v : vector

w : second order tensor

u : matrix

∇ : vector differential operator

2.2 Frame of reference

A cartesian coordinate system will be used as a basis for the analysis (see Fig. 1). The orthogonal coordinate axes are denoted by x1 , x2 and
x3 , while the corresponding unit base vectors are denoted by e1 , e2 and e3 .

Fig. 1. Cartesian coordinate system

2.3 Vector products

The scalar (inner) product:

Consider two vectors u and v (see Fig. 2 below). The dot product (sometimes also referred to as the “scalar” product or “inner” product) of
two vectors is defined as
u · v = u · v · cosφuv (1.1)
2 Ch2_Vectors and Tensors.nb

If one of the vectors is a unit vector, then the scalar product is the projection of the other vector in the direction of the unit vector. Let e.g. v
be a unit vector so that v=1, then u · v=u·cosφuv .
A vector could be represented as a linear combination of the unit base vectors, e.g.
3
u = e1 u1 + e2 u2 + e3 u3 = ei ui = ei ui
i=1

where in the last expression Einstein’s summation convection is applied. If a term contains the same index twice, then Eintein’s summation
convection implies summation from 1 to 3 over that index. If an index appears in a term more than twice then the expression is corrupt. In
the above expression the ui are the componentes of the vector u in the ei basis. In fact they are the projections of u on the respective ei .
The length of any vector, say u, could be derived from the vector components as

u = u21 + u22 + u23 (1.2)

The scalar product between two cartesian base vectors could be expressed as
ei · e j = δij (1.3)

where δij is the kronecker delta symbol which behaves as

1 if i = j
δij = 
0 if i ≠ j

This reflects the fact that the scalar product of two orthogonal vectors is zero, and that the projection of a unit vector onto itself is one.
Similar to the vector u, the vector v could be expressed as
v = e 1 v 1 + e2 v 2 + e3 v 3 = e i v i (1.4)

The dot product between u and v could be expressed in their components as

u · v = (e1 u1 + e2 u2 + e3 u3 ) · (e1 v1 + e2 v2 + e3 v3 ) = u1 v1 e1 · e1 + u1 v2 e1 · e2 + u1 v3 e1 · e3 +
(1.5)
u2 v1 e2 · e1 + u2 v2 e2 · e2 + u2 v3 e2 · e3 + u3 v1 e3 · e1 + u3 v2 e3 · e2 + u3 v3 e3 · e3 = u1 v1 + u2 v2 + u3 v3

This computation could be done shorter as

u · v = ei ui · e j v j = ui v j ei · e j = ui v j δij = ui vi

which gives the same result as the above calculation. Note here that
3
v j δij = v j δij = vi
j=1

since δij =1 only when j=i, where i could be any of the numbers 1, 2 or 3.

The cross product:

The cross product between two vectors u and v is defined by
u ⨯ v = Auv e⊥uv = u · v · sinφuv · e⊥uv (1.6)

Hence the cross product between two vectors u and v is a vector perpendicular to the plane defined by u and v with a length equal to the
area spanned by u and v, see Fig. 2. Note also that the right hand rule according to Fig. 3 applies for the direction of the product. Hence
v ⨯ u = -u ⨯ v

The cross product between two different cartesian base vectors is the positive or negative of the third base vector, e.g.
e1 × e2 = e 3

e2 × e1 = -e3 ,

while the cross product of a base vector with itself obviously is zero.
The cross product between base vectors could generally be expressed as
ei × e j = εijk ek (note that summation over k from 1 to 3 is understood !)

where εijk is the Levi-Civita permutation symbol which behaves as

 Ch2_Vectors and Tensors.nb 3

1 if ijk = 123, 312, 231

εijk = -1 if ijk = 132, 321, 213
0 if any two indices are the same

The cross product between any two vectors u and v could be expressed in their components as
e1 e2 e3
u ⨯ v = u1 u2 u3 = e1 (u2 v3 - u3 v2 ) + e2 (u3 v1 - u1 v3 ) + e3 (u1 v2 - u2 v1 ) = εijk u j vk ei
v1 v2 v3

This operation could be performed in a more compact notation as

u ⨯ v = ei ui × e j v j = ui v j ei × e j = ui v j εijk ek = εkij ui v j ek

Note that the final expressions in the last two equations above are the same. Note also that ε ijk =εkij =εjki .

Useful identities between the permutation symbol and the kronecker delta
εijk εljk = 2 δil (1.7)

εijk εlmk = δil δjm - δim δjl (1.8)

Fig. 2. Two vectors with spanned area and normal unit vector

Fig. 3. The right hand rule for the cross product.

The box product:

In addition to the vectors u and v, introduce yet another vector w as
w = e 1 w 1 + e2 w 2 + e3 w 3 = e i w i

Consider the volume V spanned by the vectors u, v and w. Using the symbols shown in Fig. 4 this volume could be expressed as
V = Auv · h (1.9)

but h is the projection of w in the direction of e⊥uv . Since e⊥uv is a unit vector then
h = w · e⊥uv (1.10)

Inserting Eq. 10 into Eq. 9 and utilizing the first expression of Eq. 6 gives
4 Ch2_Vectors and Tensors.nb

w1 w2 w3
V = w · (u ⨯ v) = el wl · εijk u j vk ei = εijk wl u j vk el · ei = εijk wl u j vk δil = εljk wl u j vk = u1 u2 u3
v1 v2 v3

Hence the volume spanned by the vectors u, v and w is obtained by the multiplication w · (u ⨯ v). This product is therefore sometimes
referred to as the box product. It can also be called the “triple product”.

Fig. 4. A domain spanned by three vectors

Note that the box product between three base vectors

ei · (e j ⨯ ek ) = ei · εjkl el = εjkl δil = εjki = εijk

So that the box product between three vectors could be more swiftly expressed as
w · (u ⨯ v) = wi u j vk ei · (e j ⨯ ek ) = wi u j vk εijk

The outer product:

Consider again the representation of a vector as a linear combination of base vectors, i.e.
u = e 1 u1 + e 2 u2 + e 3 u3 = e i ui (1.11)

The scalar components ui are the projections of the vector in the direction of the respective base vectors e i . As such, they represent the
embodiment of the vector u in the direction of ei .
Consider next a vector-like device τ where the components themselves are vectors, i.e. in each direction e j the device is represented by a
vectorial component. Analogeous to Eq. 11 the vectorial components could be expressed as (just replace u by τ j in Eq. 11)
τ j = e1 τj1 + e2 τj2 + e3 τj3 = ei τji (1.12)

and, again analogeous to Eq. 11, the device could be written as

τ = e 1 τ1 + e 2 τ2 + e 3 τ3

The vectorial components τi of τ are the projections of τ onto the respective base vectors ei . Unlike Eq. 11, it is in the above expression not
self-evident how to interpret the multiplication operation. Each term is obviously a multiplication of two vectors, but it could not be the dot
product, since then the result would be a scalar. Nor could it be the cross product because then the result would be a vector. The multiplica-
tion operation here is another vector product referred to as the outer product. The outer product takes every component of the first vector
and multiplies it with every component of the second vector. Hence, since a vector is defined by 3 components, referred to a certain set of
base vectors, then the result of the outer product is described by 9 components. In order to distinguish the outer product from other
multiplication operations we denote it by ⊗. Devices created in this way are referred to as 2nd order tensors. In this case
τ = e1 ⊗ τ1 + e2 ⊗ τ2 + e3 ⊗ τ3 = e1 ⊗ (e1 τ11 + e2 τ12 + e3 τ13 ) + e2 ⊗ (e1 τ21 + e2 τ22 + e3 τ23 ) + e3 ⊗ (e1 τ31 + e2 τ32 + e3 τ33 ) =
e1 ⊗ e1 τ11 + e1 ⊗ e2 τ12 + e1 ⊗ e3 τ13 + e2 ⊗ e1 τ21 + e2 ⊗ e2 τ22 + e2 ⊗ e3 τ23 + e3 ⊗ e1 τ31 + e3 ⊗ e2 τ32 + e3 ⊗ e3 τ33 = e j ⊗ ei τji

or in short notation, using Eq. 12

τ = e j ⊗ τ j = e j ⊗ ei τji

The outer product of the base vectors ei ⊗ e j are referred to as unit dyads. The τji are the scalar components of the tensor τ. To derive a
certain scalar component τji from τ we first project τ on e j , to get the vector τ j , and then project this vector on ei . The tensor τ is a linear
 Ch2_Vectors and Tensors.nb 5

combination of the dyads through their scalar components τji , as indicated above. The above reasoning can of course be extended to higher
order tensors. A device where the property in a certain direction is a 2nd order tensor is referred to as a 3rd order tensor. A 2nd order tensor
where each component is a 2nd order tensor is a 4th order tensor, and so on.
Hence the outer product of any two vectors u and v is a second order tensor
uv = u ⊗ v = ei ui ⊗ e j v j = ei ⊗ e j ui v j

The 9 components of the tensor uv could be represented as a matrix by expressing the vectors in the form of 3 by 1 matrices (i.e. as column
vectors). Referred to the cartesian basis this gives
1 0 0
e 1 = 0 , e 2 = 1 , e 3 = 0
0 0 1

the matrix representing the tensor components of uv then becomes

 = u v e e T = u v e e T + u v e e T + u v e e T + u v e e T + .... =
uv i j i j 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 3 1 3 2 1 2 1
1 1 1 0
u1 v 1 0 ( 1 0 0 ) + u 1 v 2 0 ( 0 1 0 ) + u 1 v 3 0 ( 0 0 1 ) + u 2 v 1 1 ( 1 0 0 ) + ... =
0 0 0 0
1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
u1 v1 0 0 0 + u1 v2 0 0 0 + u1 v3 0 0 0 + u2 v1 1 0 0 + ... =
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
u1 v 1 u1 v 2 u1 v 3 u1
u2 v1 u2 v2 u2 v3 = u2 ( v1 v2 v3 ) = u v T
u3 v 1 u3 v 2 u3 v 3 u3

Note here the difference between the dot (inner) product and the outer product. The inner product of two vectors is instead
v1
u · v = ( u1 u2 u3 ) v2 = u T v
v3

2.3 Multiplications involving tensors and vectors

Analogous to vectors, 2nd order tensors can be projected to find its vectorial component in a certain direction. If we would like to find out
about the vectorial component of the tensor τ in the direction of the unit vector n then we take the dot product between n and τ, i.e.
τn = n · τ = nk ek · ei ⊗ e j τij = ek · ei ⊗ e j nk τij = (ek · ei ) e j nk τij = δki e j nk τij = e j ni τij

In particular
τ1 = e1 · τ = e1 · ei ⊗ e j τij = (e1 · ei ) e j τij = δ1 i e j τij = e j τ1 j

Note that it generally matters whether we premultiply or postmultiply a tensor with a vector. Postmultiplication yields
τ · n = ei ⊗ e j τij · nk ek = ei (e j · ek ) τij nk = ei δjk τij · nk = ei τij · n j

This is a vector where each component (τij · n j =τi1 · n1 + τi2 · n2 + τi3 · n3 ) is the projection on n of the vectorial component acting in the
direction ei . This vector is generally not the same as the vectorial component acting in direction n.
As seen above multiplications involving tensors and vectors boils down to multiplication operations involving the constituents base vectors
and dyads. Apart from the operations outlined above there are also some other common multiplication operations that sometimes needs to
be conducted. The dot product between two tensors σ and τ is computed as
σ · τ = ei ⊗ e j σij · ek ⊗ el τkl = σij τkl ei ⊗ e j · ek ⊗ el = σij τkl ei ⊗ (e j · ek ) el = σij τkl δjk ei ⊗ el = σik τkl ei ⊗ el

The result is a tensor. Therefore the dot product between tensors is sometimes referred to as the tensor product between two tensors. The
cross product between a tensor τ and a vector u is
τ × u = ei ⊗ e j τij × uk ek = τij uk ei ⊗ (e j × ek ) = τij uk ei ⊗ εjkl el = εjkl τij uk ei ⊗ el

The result is a tensor. Looking around a bit among the expressions presented so far in this section reveals that the dot and cross product
between dyads and base vectors follow a simple pattern: Simply take the dot, or cross, product of the nearest base vector on either side of
the dot, or cross, symbol.
The double dot product between two tensors σ and τ is somewhat different tough. It is defined as
6 Ch2_Vectors and Tensors.nb

σ : τ = ei ⊗ e j σij : ek ⊗ el τkl = σij τkl ei ⊗ e j : ek ⊗ el = σij τkl (ei · ek ) (e j · el ) = σij τkl δik δjl = σkj τkj

Note here how the double dot product between dyads are performed. It consists of the dot product between the first two base vectors in
each dyad, and by the dot product of the last two base vectors of the dyads. Since the result is a scalar, the double dot product is sometimes
referred to as the tensor scalar product.

2.4 Transpose of a tensor

The transpose of a tensor τ is defined as
τT = e j ⊗ ei τij

Hence transposing a tensor implies a reverse summation order between the indices of the tensor components and the unit base vectors in
the dyad. Practically this can be accomplished by changing the order of the indices in the tensor component or in the dyad.
A tensor is symmetric if
τT = τ ⇔ τij = τji

A tensor is asymmetric if
τT = -τ ⇔ τij = -τji

Any tensor can be divided into symmetric and asymmetric parts as

τ = τsym + τasym

where
1
τsym = τ + τT 
2

and
1
τasym = τ - τT 
2

2.5 Special tensors

The unit tensor is defined as
δ = ei ⊗ e j δij

The components of the unit tensor can be represented in matrix form by the so called unit matrix
 1 0 0
I= 0 1 0
0 0 1

2.5 Transformation relations

A tensor or vector in engineering applications represents a physical property and are therefore not dependent on the coordinate system used
to represent it. In fact any coordinate system that spans a 3D space can be used for the purpose. The base vectors need not be orthogonal
and nor need they be of unit length. Here we will however stick with the cartesian coordinate system where the base vectors are orthogonal
and of unit length.
Consider therefore a cartesian coordinate system xi (with base vectors ei ). Consider also another cartesian coordinate system x′i (with base
vectors e′i ) that is rotated relative to the ei -system (see Fig. 5).
Consider now a vector u. We know that we could get the components of this vector in any system by projecting the vector on the respec-
tive coordinate axis. This is done by taking the dot product of the vector and each of the unit base vectors. In the first system the vector
could be expressed as
u = e 1 u1 + e 2 u2 + e 3 u3 = e i ui
 Ch2_Vectors and Tensors.nb 7

The component of this vector in e.g. the x′1 direction is found by projection as

u′1 = e′1 · ei ui

Generally any component u′j in the primed system can be derived as

u′j = e′j · ei ui

This means that the vector components in the primed system could be derived from the components in the unprimed system by letting
coeffients involving projections of the base vectors operate on the original components
Define
αji = e′j · ei

Each coefficient αji is the cosine of the angle between e′j and ei . The transformation rule for vector components is thus

u′j = αji ui

Transformation of components from the second system to the first system is governed by
u j = e j · e′i u′i = αij u′i = αTji u′i

Fig. 5. Two cartesian coordinates rotated relative to oneanother.

Consider now a tensor τ. If we would like to compute a certain (scalar) component τ′ij of τ in the primed coordinate system we should first
project the tensor to obtain the vectorial component τi′ of τ acting in the xi′ -direction. I.e.
τ′i = e′i · τ = e′i · ek ⊗ el τkl = (e′i · ek ) el τkl

This vectorial component of τ should then be projected in the x′j -direction to get τ′ij

τ′ij = e′j · τ′i = e′j · (e′i · ek ) el τkl = (e′i · ek ) (e′j · el ) τkl = e′i ⊗ e′j : ek ⊗ el τkl = e′i ⊗ e′j : τ

Hence the component of a tensor could be derived by projecting it on the corresponding dyad. This is accomplished by taking the double
dot product between the dyad and the tensor. In this way it acts very much like an ordinary vector. To get the component of a vector or a
tensor we project it on the corresponding base vector or dyad.
Expressed in α-coefficients the transformation could be expressed as
τ′ij = αik αjl τkl = αik τkl αjl = αik τkl αTlj

If the α-coeffiecents and the tensor components are represented as matrices then the transformation relation becomes
τ′ = α · τ · αT

An example of a tensor component transformation is given in the exercise section. Note that the rows of α are the components of the
corresponding primed base vector expressed in the unprimed system. Hence
e′1 · e1 e′1 · e2 e′1 · e3
α = e′ · e e′ · e e′ · e
2 1 2 2 2 3
e′3 · e1 e′3 · e2 e′3 · e3
8 Ch2_Vectors and Tensors.nb

where each product is the cosine of the angle between the two base vectors.

2.6 Eigenvalues and eigenvectors

Suppose that the vectorial component of a tensor in a certain direction m (m=1) is computed, and it turns out that this vectorial component
is parallell to m, i.e.
m · τ = m · τp (1.13)

where τp is the magnitude of the vectorial component. In such a case the direction m is said to be a left eigenvector to τ (because it
multiplies τ from the left side) and τp is the corresponding eigenvalue.
By representing the components of m as a 1×3 matrix the above expression could be written in matrix form as
 · τ = m
m  ·τ ⇒
p

 τ - I τ  = 0 ⇒
m p

τ11 τ12 τ13 1 0 0

( m 1 m2 m3 ) τ21 τ22 τ23 - τp 0 1 0 =(0 0 0 )⇒
τ31 τ32 τ33 0 0 1
τ11 - τp τ12 τ13
( m 1 m2 m3 ) τ21 τ22 - τp τ23 =(0 0 0 )⇒
τ31 τ32 τ33 - τp

m1 ( τ11 - τp τ12 τ13 ) + m2 ( τ21 τ22 - τp τ23 ) + m3 ( τ31 τ32 τ33 - τp ) = ( 0 0 0 ) (1.14)

For the continued discussion, let

τ11 - τp τ12 τ13

A= τ21 τ22 - τp τ23
τ31 τ32 τ33 - τp

Hence, Eq. 14 states that m is a left eigenvector if the components of m could be used to linearly combine the rows of A to obtain the zero
vector. Viewing upon the rows of A as being vectors in a 3D space, the above statement implies that these vectors must be linearly
dependent, i.e. any one of the vectors could be obtained by linearly combining the other two. This is only possible if the vectors all lie in
the same plane. If the vectors all lie in the same plane, then the volume spanned by the vectors is zero. We know that the volume spanned
by three vectors could be obtained by arranging the vector components as rows in a matrix and then taking the determinant of the matrix
(the box product). Hence the eigenvalues to the stress tensor could be obtained by solving the equation
τ11 - τp τ12 τ13

det(A) = det τ21 τ22 - τp τ23 =0 (1.15)
τ31 τ32 τ33 - τp

This is a third order equation with three solutions for τp . Each τp gives the magnitude of the vectorial component in a certain direction
given by the corresponding left eigenvector m. The left eigenvector components corresponding to a particular eigenvalue τp could be

computed by inserting the eigenvalue into Eq. 14 and solving for m1 , m2 and m3 . Note here that since det(A)=0 the equation system given
by Eq. 14 is singular. This means that only the relation between the components could be computed, i.e. the direction. Regarding the length
of the eigenvector it is common practice to set it to unity, i.e. m21 + m22 + m23 = 1.

Note however that the term “eigenvector” normally (e.g. in math program packages like Matlab and Mathematica among others) refers to
the so called right eigenvector defined by the equation
τ · n = n · τp

With the right eigenvector n represented by a 3×1 matrix, the above equation could be expressed in matrix notation as
τ · n = n · τp

Taking the transpose of both sides of Eq. 13 gives

τT · m
T =m
 T ·τ
p

Hence the left eigenvector is the transpose of the right eigenvector to τT . Since the determinant of a matrix is equal to the determinant of
the transpose of the matrix it follows that the eigenvalues to the left and right eigenvalues are the same. These relationships are valid as
long as all components in τ are real valued. For a symmetric matrix τ the left and right eigenvectors coincide. This is an important
 Ch2_Vectors and Tensors.nb 9

observation since many matrices that appear in engineering applications are symmetric.

2.8 Invariants of a tensor

Consider again the determinant expression in Eq. 15, governing the third order equation whose solutions are the eigenvalues to the tensor
τ. Since the eigenvalues are unique the third order equation also has to be unique. The third order equation could be derived as

detτ - I τp  = 0 ⇒ εijk (τ1 i - δ1 i τp ) (τ2 j - δ2 j τp ) (τ3 k - δ3 k τp ) =
-τ3 + (ε τ + ε τ + ε τ ) τ2 - (ε τ τ + ε τ τ + ε τ τ ) τ + det(τ) = 0 ⇒
p 12 k 3k i23 1i 1 j3 2j p i2k 1i 3k 1 jk 2j 3k ij3 1i 2j p

⇒ -τ3p + (τ11 + τ22 + τ33 ) τ2p + (τ11 τ33 - τ13 τ31 + τ22 τ33 - τ23 τ32 + τ11 τ22 - τ12 τ21 ) τp + det(τ) = 0

For the equation to be unique the coefficients in the equation has to be unique, i.e. invariant with respect coordinate transformation. Hence
the invariants of a tensor are
I1 = τ11 + τ22 + τ33 = trace(τ)

I2 = τ11 τ33 - τ13 τ31 + τ22 τ33 - τ23 τ32 + τ11 τ22 - τ12 τ21

I3 = det(τ)

where the notation “trace” has been used for the first invariant. The trace of a matrix is simply the sum of the diagonal elements of the
matrix.

2.7 Differential operations

Consider a scalar field s(x1 ,x2 ,x3 ) that varies from point to point in a three dimensional domain. At a certain point the variation may be
different in different directions. The variation of the scalar field at a point is therefore a vector. This vector is referred to as the gradient of
the scalar field. This is defined as
∂s ∂s ∂s ∂
grad(s) = e1 + e2 + e3 = ei s = ∇s
∂ x1 ∂ x2 ∂ x3 ∂ xi

where
∂ ∂ ∂ ∂
∇ = e1 +e2 +e3 = ei
∂ x1 ∂ x2 ∂ x3 ∂ xi

is the vector differential operator.

Consider next a vector field v = v(x1 , x2 , x3 ) . The divergence of the vector field is
∂ ∂vj ∂vj ∂ vi
div(v) = ∇ · v = ei ·vj ej = ei · e j = δij =
∂ xi ∂ xi ∂ xi ∂ xi

The result is a scalar. The divergence is measure of the inbalance of the vector field that must be compensated by sources or sinks. If e.g.
the vector field describes the velocity field of a fluid, a negative divergence implies the vanishing of the fluid into a sink.
The curl of the vector field is obtained as
∂ ∂vj ∂vj ∂vj ∂ v3 ∂ v2 ∂ v1 ∂ v3 ∂ v2 ∂ v1
curl(v) = ∇ × v = ei ×vj ej = ei × e j = εijk ek = εkij ek = e 1 - + e2 - + e3 -
∂ xi ∂ xi ∂ xi ∂ xi ∂ x2 ∂ x3 ∂ x3 ∂ x1 ∂ x1 ∂ x2

The result is a vector. Again, if the vector field is the velocity field of a fluid, the curl vector represents the rotational speed of that fluid in
each of the three coordinate directions (see Fig. 6).
10 Ch2_Vectors and Tensors.nb

Fig. 6. The curl vector.

The gradient of a vector field is the outer product of the vector differential operator and the vector field, i.e.
∂ ∂vj
∇ v = ∇ ⊗v = e i ⊗v j e j = ei ⊗ e j
∂ xi ∂ xi

The result is a tensor. This is not surprising, since the vector field is defined by 3 components - one in each of the three coordinate
directions. A full description of the variation of the vector field must involve the variation of each of these three components in each of the
three coordinate directions. This leaves 3×3=9 unique variations.
Finally we consider the tensor field τ = τ(x1 ,x2 ,x3 ). The divergence of a tensor field is obtained as
∂ ∂ τkl ∂ τkl ∂ τil
∇ · τ = ei · ek ⊗ el τkl = ei · e k ⊗ e l = δik el = el
∂ xi ∂ xi ∂ xi ∂ xi

which is a measure of the inbalance of the tensor field, sometimes literally speaking, as will be seen later in this book.
Another operator frequently seen in engineering mechanics applications is the Laplace operator (Δ). It is the divergence of the gradient, or
in other words, the inbalance of the variation. The laplacian of a scalar field is
∂ ∂ ∂ ∂2 s ∂2 s ∂2 s ∂2 s ∂2 s
∇ · ∇ s = Δs = ei ·ej s = ei · e j s = δij = = + +
∂ xi ∂xj ∂ xi ∂ xi ∂ x j ∂ xi ∂ xi ∂ x21 ∂ x22 ∂ x23

Suppose that s is the temperature field of a body. We know from basic thermodynamics that the flow of heat is proportional to the variation
of the temperature (heat flows from warmer to colder areas). If there is an inbalance in the variation then there would be a net increase or
loss of heat which would lead to an either increasing or decreasing temperature. Hence for a steady state temperatue field the laplacian of s
is equal to zero.
The laplacian of a vector field:
∂ ∂ ∂2 v k ∂2 v k ∂2 v k
∇ · ∇ v = Δ v = ei ·ej ⊗vk ek = ei · e j ⊗ e k = δij ek = ek
∂ xi ∂xj ∂ xi ∂ x j ∂ xi ∂ x j ∂ xi ∂ xi

2.8 Integral theorems

Consider a vector field v = v(x1 , x2 , x3 ). Consider also a control volume V, bounded by the surface S, that is embedded in the vector field
(see Fig. 7).
 Ch2_Vectors and Tensors.nb 11

Fig. 7. A control volume inside a vector field

The Gauss divergence theorem then states that

 ∇ ·v ⅆV =  n·v ⅆS (1.16)
V S

Related theorems are (as usual s is scalar and τ a tensor)

 ∇s ⅆV =  n s ⅆS (1.17)
V S

 ∇ ·τ ⅆV =  n·τ ⅆS (1.18)
V S

Note here that these relations in fact are quite easy to remember. Just replace ∇ in the volume integral with n in the surface integral. The
above relations can also be expressed in component form. The first (Eq. 16) becomes
∂ vi
 ⅆ V =  ni · v i ⅆ S
V ∂ xi S

The second one (Eq. 17):

∂s ∂s
 ei ⅆ V =  e i ni s ⅆ S ⇒  ⅆ V =  ni s ⅆ S
V ∂ xi S V ∂ xi S

and the third (Eq. 18) is

∂ τij ∂ τij
 e j ⅆ V =  ni ei · ek ⊗ el τkl ⅆ S =  nk τkl el ⅆ S =  ni τij e j ⅆ S ⇒  ⅆ V =  ni τij ⅆ S
V ∂ xi S S S V ∂ xi S

Exercises
1. Let u, v, w and q all be vectors. Show that
(u × v) · (w × q) = (u · w) (v · q) - (u · q) (v · w)

2. Let u, v, w all be vectors. Show that

u × (v × w) = v(u · w) - w(u · v)

3. Consider a tensor with components τ11 = 20, τ12 = -10, τ13 = 30, τ21 = 5, τ22 = 10, τ23 = 40, τ31 = -15, τ32 = 20, τ33 = -25 referred to
a certain cartesian coordinate system. What will the components of this tensor be in a cartesian coordinate system that is rotated 30° around
the x3 - axis of the original cartesian system.
4. Compute the eigenvalues and the left eigenvectors of the tensor defined in the previous exercise.
5. Let τ be a 2nd order tensor and v a vector. Derive a formula for the divergence of the dot product between τ and v, i.e.
∇ · τ · v

6. Consider the fluid flow described by the velocity field v. Consider an arbitrary control volume surrounding a point Q in the fluid. Let the
surface of the control volume be denoted S and the volume by V. Integrate the velocity field over the surface S to compute the net flow
12 Ch2_Vectors and Tensors.nb

(volume/s) of the fluid out of the control volume. Express the volume per unit time that flows out of each small part (dS) of the surface and
“sum” the contribution (see Fig. 8) from each dS over the whole surface S. Apply the Gauss integration theorem and imagine that the
control volume is shrunk towards the point Q. What do you conclude?

Fig. 8

Solutions to selected exercises

Before doing any analysis we clean up the memory
Remove["Global`*"]

2. Begin with the left hand side

VL = u × (v × w) =
ei ui × (e j v j × ek wk ) = ei ui × v j wk (e j × ek ) = ei ui × v j wk εnjk en = ui v j wk εnjk ei × en = ui v j wk εnjk εmin em = ui v j wk εjkn εmin em =
{see Eq. 8} = ui v j wk (δjm δki - δji δkm ) em = uk vm wk em - ui vi wm em = v(u · w) - w(u · v) = HL

3. First represent the tensor components in matrix form

 = {{20., - 10, 30}, {5, 10, 40}, {- 15, 20, - 25}}
τ
20. -10 30
5 10 40
-15 20 -25

Rotation around the 30° around the x3 - axis gives the transformation coefficient matrix as
 = {{Cos[30. Degree], Cos[60. Degree], 0},
α
{Cos[120. Degree], Cos[30. Degree], 0}, {0, 0, 1}}
0.866025 0.5 0
-0.5 0.866025 0
0 0 1

Then
′ = α
τ .τ
.Transpose[α
]

15.3349 -13.0801 45.9808

1.91987 14.6651 19.641
-2.99038 24.8205 -25.

4. The condition for τp being an eigenvalue is that

τps = Solve[Det[{{20. - τp , - 10, 30}, {5, 10 - τp , 40}, {- 15, 20, - 25 - τp }}] ⩵ 0, τp ]

{{τp → -31.2132}, {τp → 11.2132}, {τp → 25.}}

The eigenvector components corresponding to τp = -31.2132 is derived by inserting this value, along with stress components into Eq. 14.
Since the system is singular we choose to use only the first two equations along with the constraint that the eigenvector shold be a unit
vector, i.e.
Solve[
n1 {20. - τp , - 10} + n2 {5, 10 - τp } + n3 {- 15, 20} == {0, 0} && n1 2 + n2 2 + n3 2 == 1 /. τps [[1]],
{n1 , n2 , n3 }]

{{n1 → -0.294467, n2 → 0.358456, n3 → -0.885889}, {n1 → 0.294467, n2 → -0.358456, n3 → 0.885889}}

Note two solutions are obtained reflecting the fact that the unit vector opposite to an eigenvector also is an eigenvector to the same
 Ch2_Vectors and Tensors.nb 13

eigenvalue. In the same way the eigenvector to τp → 11.2132 is derived as

Solve[
n1 {20. - τp , - 10} + n2 {5, 10 - τp } + n3 {- 15, 20} == {0, 0} && n1 2 + n2 2 + n3 2 == 1 /. τps [[2]],
{n1 , n2 , n3 }]

{{n1 → -0.867025, n2 → 0.272777, n3 → -0.416966}, {n1 → 0.867025, n2 → -0.272777, n3 → 0.416966}}

An so on. The simplest way to do the computation is however to employ the built-in routine for eigenvalue analysis in Mathematica. Note
here that this routine computes the right eigenvector, whence we need to call this routine with the transpose of the matrix as an argument,
i.e.
]]
Eigensystem[Transpose[τ

 -31.2132 25. 11.2132 

{-0.294467, 0.358456, -0.885889} {-0.408248, 0.816497, 0.408248} {0.867025, -0.272777, 0.416966}

The results are clearly the same as those derived above.

5. The result is
∂ τij ∂vj
∇ · τ · v = v j + τij
∂ xi ∂ xi