Stokes flow

Summary

Stokes flow is the flow of a viscous fluid in which viscous forces are much larger than inertial forces. It is governed by the Stokes equations, the linear system obtained from the Navier–Stokes equations by dropping the nonlinear term and the time derivative. Because the equations are linear, solutions can be added and many problems can be solved exactly. Stokes flow models very small organisms, slow flows of very viscous fluids and flows in thin films.