I.

FLUID MECHANICS

I.1 Basic Concepts & Definitions:

Fluid Mechanics - Study of fluids at rest, in motion, and the effects of fluids on
boundaries.

Note: This definition outlines the key topics in the study of fluids:

(1) fluid statics (fluids at rest), (2) momentum and energy analyses (fluids in
motion), and (3) viscous effects and all sections considering pressure forces
(effects of fluids on boundaries).

Fluid - A substance which moves and deforms continuously as a result of an

applied shear stress.

The definition also clearly shows that viscous effects are not considered in the
study of fluid statics.

Two important properties in the study of fluid mechanics are:

Pressure and Velocity

These are defined as follows:

Pressure - The normal stress on any plane through a fluid element at rest.

Key Point: The direction of pressure forces will always be perpendicular to

the surface of interest.

Velocity - The rate of change of position at a point in a flow field. It is used

not only to specify flow field characteristics but also to specify flow
rate, momentum, and viscous effects for a fluid in motion.

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 I.4 Dimensions and Units

This text will use both the International System of Units (S.I.) and British
Gravitational System (B.G.).

A key feature of both is that neither system uses gc. Rather, in both systems
the combination of units for mass * acceleration yields the unit of force, i.e.
Newton’s second law yields

S.I. - 1 Newton (N) = 1 kg m/s2 B.G. - 1 lbf = 1 slug ft/s2

This will be particularly useful in the following:

Concept Expression Units

momentum ˙V
m kg/s * m/s = kg m/s2 = N
slug/s * ft/s = slug ft/s2 = lbf
manometry ρgh kg/m3 *m/s2 *m = (kg m/s2 )/ m2 =N/m2
slug/ft3 *ft/s2 *ft = (slug ft/s2 )/ft2 = lbf/ft2
dynamic viscosity µ N s /m2 = (kg m/s2 ) s /m2 = kg/m s
lbf s /ft2 = (slug ft/s2 ) s /ft2 = slug/ft s

Key Point: In the B.G. system of units, the unit used for mass is the
slug and not the lbm. and 1 slug = 32.174 lbm. Therefore, be careful
not to use conventional values for fluid density in English units
without appropriate conversions, e.g., for water: ρw = 62.4 lb/ft3 (do
not use this value.) Instead use ρw = 1.94 slug/ft3 .

For a unit system using gc, the manometer equation would be written as

g
∆P= h
gc

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Example:
Given: Pump power requirements are given by
˙ p = fluid density*volume flow rate*g*pump head = ρ Q g hp
W

For ρ = 1.928 slug/ft3 , Q = 500 gal/min, and hp = 70 ft,

Determine: The power required in kW.

˙ p = 1.928 slug/ft3 * 500 gal/min*1 ft3 /s /448.8 gpm*32.2 ft/s2 * 70 ft

W

˙ p = 4841 ft– lbf/s * 1.3558*10-3 kW/ft– lbf/s = 6.564 kW

W

Note: We used the following: 1 lbf = 1 slug ft/s2 to obtain the desired units

Recommendation: In working with problems with complex or mixed system

units, at the start of the problem convert all parameters with
units to the base units being used in the problem, e.g. for S.I.
problems, convert all parameters to kg, m, & s; for BG
problems, convert all parameters to slug, ft, & s. Then
convert the final answer to the desired final units.

Review examples on units conversion in the text

1.5 Properties of the velocity Field

Two important properties in the study of fluid mechanics are

Pressure and Velocity

The basic definition for velocity has been given previously, however, one of its
most important uses in fluid mechanics is to specify both the volume and mass
flow rate of a fluid.

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 Volume flow rate:

Q˙ = ∫ V ⋅n dA = ∫ VndA
cs cs

where Vn is the normal component of

velocity at a point on the area across
which fluid flows.

Key Point: Note that only the normal

component of velocity contributes to
flow rate across a boundary.

Mass flow rate:

˙ = ∫ V ⋅ n dA = ∫ VndA
m
cs cs

NOTE: While not obvious in the basic

equation, Vn must also be measured
relative to any motion at the flow area
boundary, i.e., if the flow boundary is
moving, Vn is measured relative to the
moving boundary.

This will be particularly important for problems involving moving control

volumes in Ch. III.

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 1.6 Thermodynamic Properties

All of the usual thermodynamic properties are important in fluid mechanics

P - Pressure (kPa, psi)

T- Temperature (o C, o F)
ρ – Density (kg/m3 , slug/ft3 )

Alternatives for density

γ - specific weight = weight per unit volume (N/m3 , lbf/ft3 )

γ=ρg H2 O: γ = 9790 N/m3 = 62.4 lbf/ft3

Air: γ = 11.8 N/m3 = 0.0752 lbf/ft3
S.G. - specific gravity = ρ / ρ (ref) where ρ(ref) is usually at 4˚C, but
some references will use ρ (ref) at 20˚C
liquids ρ (ref) = ρ (water at 1 atm, 4˚C) for liquids = 1000 kg/m3
gases ρ (ref) = ρ (air at 1 atm, 4˚C) for gases = 1.205 kg/m3

Example: Determine the static pressure difference indicated by an 18 cm

column of fluid (liquid) with a specific gravity of 0.85.

∆P = ρ g h = S.G. γref h = 0.85* 9790 N/m3 0.18 m = 1498 N/m2 = 1.5 kPa

Ideal Gas Properties

Gases at low pressures and high temperatures have an equation-of-state ( the
relationship between pressure, temperature, and density for the gas) that is closely
approximated by the ideal gas equation-of-state.

The expressions used for selected properties for substances behaving as an ideal gas
are given in the following table.

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 Ideal Gas Properties and Equations
Property Value/Equation
1. Equation-of-state P=ρRT

2. Universal gas constant Λ = 49,700 ft 2 /(s2 ˚R) = 8314 m2 /(s2 ˚K)

3. Gas constant R = Λ / Mgas

4. Constant volume u du R
specific heat Cv =  = = C v (T ) =
T v d T k −1

5. Internal energy d u = Cv(T) dT u = f(T) only

6. Constant Pressure h dh kR
specific heat Cp =  = = C p (T ) =
T v d T k −1

7. Enthalpy h = u + P v, d h = Cp(T) dT h = f(T) only

8. Specific heat ratio k = C p / Cv = k(T)

Properties for Air

(Rair = 1716 ft2 /(s2 ˚R) = 287 m2 /(s2 ˚K)

at 60˚F, 1 atm, ρ = P/R T = 2116/(1716*520) = 0.00237 slug/ft3 = 1.22 kg/m3
Mair = 28.97 k = 1.4
Cv = 4293 ft2 /(s2 ˚R) = 718 m2 /(s2 ˚K)
Cp = 6010 ft 2 /(s2 ˚R) = 1005 m2 /(s2 ˚K)

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 I.7 Transport Properties
Certain transport properties are important as they relate to the diffusion of
momentum due to shear stresses. Specifically:

µ ≡ coefficient of viscosity (dynamic viscosity) {M / L t }

2
ν ≡ kinematic viscosity = µ / ρ {L /t}

This gives rise to the definition of a Newtonian fluid.

Newtonian fluid: A fluid which has

a linear relationship between shear
stress and velocity gradient.
dU
=
dy
The linearity coefficient in the
equation is the coefficient of viscosity
µ.

Flows constrained by solid surfaces can typically be divided into two regimes:
a. Flow near a bounding surface with
1. significant velocity gradients
2. significant shear stresses
This flow region is referred to as a "boundary layer."
b. Flows far from bounding surface with
1. negligible velocity gradients
2. negligible shear stresses
3. significant inertia effects

This flow region is referred to as "free stream" or "inviscid flow region."

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 An important parameter in identifying the characteristics of these flows is the

VL
Reynolds number = Re =

This physically represents the ratio of inertia forces in the flow to viscous
forces. For most flows of engineering significance, both the characteristics of
the flow and the important effects due to the flow, e.g., drag, pressure drop,
aerodynamic loads, etc., are dependent on this parameter.

Surface Tension

Surface tension, Y, is a property important to the description of the interface

between two fluids. The dimensions of Y are F/L with units typically expressed as
newtons/meter or pounds-force/foot. Two common interfaces are water-air and
mercury-air. These interfaces have the following values for surface tension for
clean surfaces at 20˚C (68˚F):

 0.0050 lbf/ft = 0.073 N/m air − water

Y =
 0.033 lbf/ft = 0.048 N/m air − mercury

Contact Angle
For the case of a liquid interface intersecting a solid surface, the contact angle, θ, is
a second important parameter. For θ < 90˚, the liquid is said to ‘wet’ the surface;
for θ > 90˚, this liquid is ‘nonwetting.’ For example, water does not wet a waxed
car surface and instead ‘beads’ the surface. However, water is extremely wetting
to a clean glass surface and is said to ‘sheet’ the surface.

Liquid Rise in a Capillary Tube

The effect of surface tension, Y, and contact angle, θ , can result in a liquid either
rising or falling in a capillary tube. This effect is shown schematically in the Fig. E
1.9 on the following page.

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A force balance at the liquid-tube-air
interface requires that the weight of
the vertical column, h, must equal the
vertical component of the surface
tension force. Thus

γ π R2 h = 2 π R Y cos θ

Solving for h we obtain

2 Ycos
h=
R
Fig. E 1.9 Capillary Tube Schematic

Thus the capillary height increases directly with surface tension, Y, and inversely
with tube radius, R. The increase, h , is positive for θ < 90˚ (wetting liquid) and
negative (capillary depression ) for θ > 90˚ (non-wetting liquid).

Example
Given a water-air-glass interface ( θ ≈ 0̊, Y = 0.073 N/m, and ρ = 1000 kg/m 3 )
with R = 1 mm, determine the capillary height, h.

2 (0.073N/m) cos0˚
h= = 1.5cm
(1000kg/m 3 )(9.81m/s 2 ) (0.001m)
For a mercury-air-glass interface with θ = 130˚, Y = 0.48 N/m and ρ = 13,600
kg/m3 , the capillary rise will be

2 ( 0.48N/m) cos130˚
h= = − 0.46cm
(13,600kg/m 3
)( 9.81m/s 2
)(0.001m )

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