LECTURE 1

B58FB / B48BB Unit 1.1

FLUID MECHANICS A Fluid Properties:
TOPIC 1- FLUID PROPERTIES Definition & Units
STATES OF MATTER
Deposition

Freezing / Solidification Condensation

Melting / Fusion Evaporation

Sublimation

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DEFINITION OF A FLUID
Liquids
A fluid can be defined in several
ways; two useful definitions are:

­ “Fluid is a matter that distorts to

occupy the shape of the volume
that encloses it”
Gases
­ “Fluid is a matter that cannot
sustain a shear stress while
remaining at rest”

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DEFINITION OF A FLUID

Fluid Mechanics is part of general Continuum Mechanics. It is of

major importance in engineering. It involves applying the basic
concepts of mass, momentum and energy balances to fluids:

• Fluid Dynamics: The study of fluids in motion

• Fluid Statics: The study of fluids at rest

The goals of Fluid Mechanics include flow measurement,

predicting forces acting on bodies submerge in fluids or
containing a moving mass of fluid, predicting flow regimes,
sizing pipes, sizing pumps and calculating energy consumption.

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UNITS. FUNDAMENTAL
§ Seven fundamental SI units. Fundamental units cannot be
subdivided into other units, and define the basis of the SI system:

Quantity Dimension SI Unit

mass [M] kg (kilogram)
length [L] m (metre)
time [T] s (second)
temperature [] K (kelvin)
amount of substance [N] mol (mole)
electric current [I] A (ampere)
luminous intensity [J] cd (candela)

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UNITS. DERIVED
§ “Derived units” are products or quotients of fundamental units
raised to some power. Some widely used derived SI units named
after famous scientists:

Quantity SI Name SI Symbol Fundamental

SI units
force newton N kg m/s2
pressure pascal Pa (N/m2) kg/m s2
energy joule J (N m) kg m2/s2
power watt W (J/s) kg m2/s3
frequency hertz Hz 1/s
angle radian rad -

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 UNITS. ENGINEERING
§ Key variables associated with Fluid Mechanics:
§ Symbols are widely used, but beware of variations.
§ Always look at the units.

Quantity Symbol SI units Quantity Symbol SI units

area A m2 volumetric flow Q m3/s
volume V m3 pressure (normal stress) P Pa
density r kg/m3 shear stress t Pa
specific volume 𝑣 m3/kg shear rate g! 1/s
velocity (average) u m/s dynamic viscosity µ Pa s
velocity (point) v m/s surface tension s N/m
mass flow m! kg/s compressibility c 1/Pa

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 B58FB / B48BB Unit 1.2
FLUID MECHANICS A Fluid Properties:
TOPIC 1- FLUID PROPERTIES Pressure & Velocity
 WHAT IS STRESS ?

A stress is a force applied over an area = F / A

τ
A normal stress (Pressure) is applied
perpendicular to a surface
P
A shear stress 𝞃 is applied
parallel to a surface

The “area” for Pressure P (normal stress) and shear stress 𝞃

are so care is needed when identifying them.

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PRESSURE
Air
§ A fluid always has always the property
of pressure as a consequence of its
molecular activity.
Water
§ Units are Force/Area.
In the SI system 1 Pa = N/m! :
­ 1 bar = 10" N/m!
­ 1 atmo = 101325 N/m!
§ Pressure at a point is independent of Air
direction, in other words it is a scalar

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PRESSURE

§ A fluid always has always the property Fluid

of pressure as a consequence of its
molecular activity.
§ Units are Force/Area.
In the SI system 1 Pa = N/m! :
­ 1 bar = 10" N/m!
­ 1 atmo = 101325 N/m!
§ Pressure at a point is independent of
direction, in other words it is a scalar

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PRESSURE

§ A fluid always has always the property

of pressure as a consequence of its
molecular activity. 𝑷
§ Units are Force/Area.
𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒
In the SI system 1 Pa = N/m! :
­ 1 bar = 10" N/m!
­ 1 atmo = 101325 N/m!
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎
§ Pressure at a point is independent of
direction, in other words it is a scalar

Force
Pressure =
Area

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PRESSURE

§ A fluid always has always the property

of pressure as a consequence of its
molecular activity. 𝑷
§ Units are Force/Area.
In the SI system 1 Pa = N/m! : 𝑜 𝑟𝑐𝑒
𝐹
­ 1 bar = 10" N/m!
­ 1 atm = 101325 N/m!
𝑟𝑒𝑎
𝐴
§ Pressure at a point is independent of
direction, in other words it is a scalar

Force
Pressure =
Area

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PRESSURE

§ A fluid always has always the property

of pressure as a consequence of its
molecular activity.
𝑷
§ Units are Force/Area.
In the SI system 1 Pa = N/m! :
­ 1 bar = 10" N/m! 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒

𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎
­ 1 atm = 101325 N/m!
§ Pressure at a point is independent of
direction, in other words it is a scalar

Force
Pressure =
Area

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PRESSURE

§ A fluid always has always the property

of pressure as a consequence of its 𝑷
molecular activity.
𝑷
§ Units are Force/Area.
In the SI system 1 Pa = N/m! : 𝑷
­ 1 bar = 10" N/m! 𝑷 𝑷
­ 1 atm = 101325 N/m!
§ Pressure at a point is independent of
𝑷
direction, in other words it is a scalar

Force
Pressure =
Area

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ABSOLUTE PRESSURE VS GAUGE PRESSURE

Perfect vacuum, P = 0 Pa

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 ABSOLUTE PRESSURE VS GAUGE PRESSURE

Patm = 1 atm Reading of a barometer

Perfect vacuum, P = 0 Pa

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 ABSOLUTE PRESSURE VS GAUGE PRESSURE
Gauge Pressure
Pgauge > 0 Pa

Patm = 1 atm Reading of a barometer

Gauge Pressure
Pgauge < 0 Pa

Perfect vacuum, P = 0 Pa

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 ABSOLUTE PRESSURE VS GAUGE PRESSURE
Gauge Pressure
Pgauge > 0 Pa Absolute Pressure
Pabs > Patm
Patm = 1 atm Reading of a barometer

Gauge Pressure
Pgauge < 0 Pa

Absolute Pressure
Pabs < Patm

Perfect vacuum, P = 0 Pa

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 VELOCITY
§ The velocity of a fluid is a vector and § It is usually represented by its three
represents the rate of change of component parts 𝑢, 𝑣 and 𝑤 in the 𝑥, 𝑦
!" and 𝑧 directions respectivel 𝒖 = 𝑢, 𝑣, 𝑤
displacement with time 𝒖 = !#
𝒖 𝑢= 𝑢!" + 𝑢#" + 𝑢$"
𝑦
𝑽
𝒔 x, y, z
𝑣 = 𝑢!
𝑧
𝑤 = 𝑢#
𝒖

𝑥
0,0,0 𝑢 = 𝑢"
0,0,0

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