Government College of Engineering, 19-03-2024

Amravati

MEU422: FLUID MECHANICS

Unit 1:FLUID STATICS

by
Dr. Pramod R. Pachghare
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Government College of Engineering
Amravati (M.S.) 444 604 India
[email protected]

Introduction
What is a Fluid ?
 Recall from physics that a substance exists in three primary phases: solid,
liquid, and gas. (At very high temperatures, it also exists as plasma)
 A substance in the liquid or gas phase is referred to as a fluid.
 Distinction between a solid and a fluid is made on the basis of the
substance’s ability to resist an applied shear (or tangential) stress that tends
to change its shape.
What is a Mechanics ?
Mechanics is the oldest physical science that deals with both stationary and
moving bodies under the influence of forces.
The branch of mechanics that deals with bodies at rest is called statics,
while the branch that deals with bodies in motion is called dynamics.
The subcategory fluid mechanics is defined as the science that deals with the
behaviour of fluids at rest (fluid statics) or in motion (fluid dynamics), and the
interaction of fluids with solids or other fluids at the boundaries.
Fluid mechanics is also referred to as fluid dynamics by considering fluids at
rest as a special case of motion with zero velocity.

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Introduction
 Fluid Mechanics is that branch of science which deals with
the behavior of the fluids (liquid or gases) at rest as well as in
motion.
 Thus Fluid Mechanics deals with the static, kinematics and
dynamic aspect of fluids.
 Fluid statics: The study of fluids at rest
 Fluid kinematics: The study of fluid in motion where pressure
forces are not considered.
 Fluid dynamics: The study of fluid in motion where pressure
forces are considered.
 Fluid mechanics: The science that deals with the behavior of
fluids at rest (fluid statics) or in motion (fluid dynamics), and
the interaction of fluids with solids or other fluids at the
boundaries.
 Hydrodynamics: The study of the motion of fluids that can be
approximated as incompressible (such as liquids, especially
water, and gases at low speeds).
 Hydraulics: A subcategory of hydrodynamics, which deals
with liquid flows in pipes and open channels.
 Gas dynamics: Deals with the flow of fluids that undergo
significant density changes, such as the flow of gases through
nozzles at high speeds. Fluid mechanics deals with liquids
 Aerodynamics: Deals with the flow of gases (especially air)
and gases in motion or at rest
over bodies such as aircraft, rockets, and automobiles at high
or low speeds. 3

Definition of Fluid
A fluid is a substance that deforms
continuously in the face of tangential or
shear stress, irrespective of the magnitude
of shear stress. This continuous deformation
under the application of shear stress
constitutes a flow.
In this connection fluid can also be defined
as the state of matter that cannot sustain
Fig: Shear stress on a fluid body
any shear stress.

If a shear stress τ is applied at any location in a fluid, the element 011' which is initially
at rest, will move to 022', then to 033'. Further, it moves to 044' and continues to move
in a similar fashion.

In other words, the tangential stress in a

fluid body depends on velocity of
deformation and vanishes as this velocity
approaches zero.
A good example is Newton's parallel plate
experiment where dependence of shear
force on the velocity of deformation was
established. Fig: Deformation of a Solid Body

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Distinction between Solid and Fluid

Solid Fluid
 More Compact Structure  Less Compact Structure
 Attractive Forces between the  Attractive Forces between the
molecules are larger therefore molecules are smaller therefore
more closely packed more loosely packed
 Solids can resist tangential  Fluids cannot resist tangential
stresses in static condition stresses in static condition.
 Whenever a solid is subjected to  Whenever a fluid is subjected to
shear stress shear stress
 It undergoes a definite  No fixed deformation
deformation α or breaks
 Continuous deformation takes
 α is proportional to shear stress place until the shear stress is
upto some limiting condition applied

 Solid may regain partly or fully its  A fluid can never regain its original
original shape when the tangential shape, once it has been distorted
stress is removed by the shear stress

HISTORY OF FLUID MECHANICS

From 283 to 133 BC, in Hellenistic city

of Pergamon in present-day Turkey,
built a series of pressurized lead and
clay pipelines up to 45 km long that
operated at pressures exceeding 1.7
MPa (180 m of head)
Segment of Pergamon pipeline. Each clay
pipe section was 13 to 18 cm in diameter.
A mine hoist powered by a
reversible water wheel. 6

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HISTORY OF FLUID MECHANICS

Osborne Reynolds’ original apparatus for demonstrating the onset of turbulence in

pipes, being operated by John Lienhard at the University of Manchester in 1975.

HISTORY OF FLUID MECHANICS

The Wright brothers take flight at Kitty Hawk.

Old and new wind turbine technologies

north of Woodward, OK. The modern
turbines have 1.6 MW capacities.
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Application Areas of Fluid Mechanics

Fluid dynamics is used extensively in the

design of artificial hearts. Shown here is the
Penn State Electric Total Artificial Heart. 9

Application Areas of Fluid Mechanics

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Application Areas of Fluid Mechanics

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Definition of Stress
Consider a small area 𝛿𝐴 on the surface of a body. The force acting on this area is 𝛿𝐹
This force can be resolved into two perpendicular components
1. The component of force acting normal to the area called normal force and is denoted
by 𝛿𝐹
2. The component of force acting along the plane of area is called tangential force and
is denoted by 𝛿𝐹

When they are expressed as force per unit area

they are called normal stress and tangential
stress respectively. The tangential stress is
also called shear stress.

The normal stress

𝛿𝐹
𝜎 = lim
→ 𝛿𝐴
And shear stress
𝛿𝐹 Fig: Normal and Tangential Forces
𝜏 = lim on a surface
→ 𝛿𝐴

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Concept of Continuum
 The concept of continuum is a kind of idealization of the continuous description of
matter where the properties of the matter are considered as continuous functions of
space variables.
 Although any matter is composed of several molecules, the concept of continuum
assumes a continuous distribution of mass within the matter or system with no empty
space, instead of the actual conglomeration of separate molecules.
 Describing a fluid flow quantitatively makes it necessary to assume that flow variables
(pressure, velocity etc.) and fluid properties vary continuously from one point to
another.
 Mathematical description of flow on this basis have proved to be reliable and treatment
of fluid medium as a continuum has firmly become established. For example density at
a point is normally defined as
Here, ∆𝑉 is the volume of the fluid element and m is the mass.
𝜌 = lim
∆ → ∆

 If ∆𝑉 is very large 𝜌 is affected by the inhomogeneities in the fluid medium. Considering

another extreme if ∆𝑉 is very small, random movement of atoms (or molecules) would
change their number at different times.
 In the continuum approximation point density is defined at the smallest magnitude of
∆𝑉, before statistical fluctuations become significant. This is called continuum limit and
is denoted by ∆𝑉 .
𝜌 = lim
∆ →∆ ∆
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Concept of Continuum
 One of the factors considered important in determining the validity of continuum model is molecular
density. It is the distance between the molecules which is characterized by mean free path (λ). It is
calculated by finding statistical average distance the molecules travel between two successive
collisions. If the mean free path is very small as compared with some characteristic length in the flow
domain (i.e., the molecular density is very high) then the gas can be treated as a continuous medium. If
the mean free path is large in comparison to some characteristic length, the gas cannot be considered
continuous and it should be analyzed by the molecular theory.

 A dimensionless parameter known as Knudsen number, K n = λ / L, where λ is the mean free path and
L is the characteristic length. It describes the degree of departure from continuum.

Usually when K n> 0.01, the concept of continuum does not hold good.
Beyond this critical range of Knudsen number, the flows are known as
slip flow (0.01 < K n < 0.1),
transition flow (0.1 < K n < 10) and
free-molecule flow (Kn > 10).

 However, for the flow regimes considered in this course , K n is always less than 0.01 and it is usual to
say that the fluid is a continuum.

 Other factor which checks the validity of continuum is the elapsed time between collisions. The time
should be small enough so that the random statistical description of molecular activity holds good.

 In continuum approach, fluid properties such as density, viscosity, thermal conductivity, temperature,
etc. can be expressed as continuous functions of space and time.

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Fluid Properties
Property Symbol Definition Unit
The density p of a fluid is its mass per unit volume . If a fluid
element enclosing a point P has a volume Δ and mass Δm, then
density (ρ) at point P is written as
𝜌 = lim
∆ →∆ ∆
Density 𝜌 kg/m3
However, in a medium where
continuum model is valid one
can write
𝜌 = lim =
∆ → ∆

Specific The specific weight is the weight of fluid per unit volume.
𝛾 The specific weight is given by 𝛾 = 𝜌 × 𝑔 N/m3
Weight
Specific The specific volume of a fluid is the volume occupied by unit
𝑣 mass of fluid. 𝑣 = 1⁄𝜌 m3/kg
Volume
Weight density density of fluid
S=
Weight density density of standard fluid
Specific For liquids, it is the ratio of density of a liquid at actual conditions
S ---
Gravity to the density of pure water at 101 kN/m2 , and at 4°C.
However, there is no general standard; so the conditions must be
stated while referring to the specific gravity of a gas. 15

Viscosity ( μ )
 Viscosity is a fluid property whose effect is understood when the fluid is in motion.
 In a flow of fluid, when the fluid elements move with different velocities, each element will feel
some resistance due to fluid friction within the elements.
 Therefore, shear stresses can be identified between the fluid elements with different velocities.
 The relationship between the shear stress and the velocity field was given by Sir Isaac Newton.

Consider a flow (as

shown in Fig.) in
which all fluid
particles are moving
in the same direction
in such a way that
the fluid layers move
parallel with different
velocities.

Fig: Parallel flow of a fluid Fig: Two adjacent layers of a moving fluid.
 The upper layer, which is moving faster, tries to draw the lower slowly moving layer along with it by
means of a force F along the direction of flow on this layer. Similarly, the lower layer tries to retard
the upper one, according to Newton's third law, with an equal and opposite force F on it.
 Such a fluid flow where x-direction velocities, for example, change with y-coordinate is called shear
flow of the fluid.
 Thus, the dragging effect of one layer on the other is experienced by a tangential force F on the
respective layers. If F acts over an area of contact A, then the shear stress 𝜏 is defined as
𝜏 = 𝐹 ⁄𝐴 16

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Viscosity ( μ )
 Newton postulated that 𝜏 is proportional to the quantity Δu/Δy where Δy is the distance of
separation of the two layers and Δu is the difference in their velocities.
 In the limiting case of , Δu / Δy equals du/dy, the velocity gradient at a point in a direction
perpendicular to the direction of the motion of the layer.
 According to Newton 𝜏 and du/dy bears the relation

𝑑𝑢
𝜏=𝜇
𝑑𝑦

 Equation defining the viscosity of a fluid, is known as Newton's law of viscosity.

 Common fluids, viz. water, air, mercury obey Newton's law of viscosity and are
known as Newtonian fluids.
 Other classes of fluids, viz. paints, different polymer solution, blood do not obey
the typical linear relationship, of τ and du/dy and are known as non-Newtonian
fluids.
 In non-newtonian fluids viscosity itself may be a function of deformation rate.
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Causes of Viscosity
 The causes of viscosity in a fluid are possibly attributed to two factors:
1) intermolecular force of cohesion
2) molecular momentum exchange
 Due to strong cohesive forces between the molecules, any layer in a moving fluid tries to drag the
adjacent layer to move with an equal speed and thus produces the effect of viscosity as discussed
earlier. Since cohesion decreases with temperature, the liquid viscosity does likewise

Movement of fluid
molecules between
two adjacent moving
layers

 Molecules from layer aa in course of continous thermal agitation migrate into layer bb

 Momentum from the migrant molecules from layer aa is stored by molecules of layer bb by way of
collision

 Thus layer bb as a whole is speeded up

 Molecules from the lower layer bb arrive at aa and tend to retard the layer aa

 Every such migration of molecules causes forces of acceleration or deceleration to drag the
layers so as to oppose the differences in velocity between the layers and produce the effect of
viscosity.
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Units of Viscosity
The units of viscosity will obtained putting the dimensions of quantities in Eqs.

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Units of Viscosity

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Kinematic Viscosity

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Variation of Viscosity with Temperature

 In fluid mechanics and heat transfer, the ratio of dynamic viscosity to
density appears frequently. For convenience, this ratio is given the
name kinematic viscosity 𝜈 and is expressed as 𝜈 = 𝜇⁄𝜚.
 In general, the viscosity of a fluid depends on both temperature and
pressure, although the dependence on pressure is rather weak.
 For liquids, both the dynamic and kinematic viscosities are practically
independent of pressure, and any small variation with pressure is
usually disregarded, except at extremely high pressures.
 For gases, this is also the case for dynamic viscosity (at low to
moderate pressures), but not for kinematic viscosity since the density of
a gas is proportional to its pressure.
 The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of its “resistance to deformation.” Viscosity is due to the
internal frictional force that develops between different layers of fluids as they are forced to
move relative to each other. Viscosity is caused by the cohesive forces between the molecules
in liquids and by the molecular collisions in gases, and it varies greatly with temperature.
 The viscosity of liquids decreases with temperature, whereas the viscosity of gases increases
with temperature. This is because in a liquid the molecules possess more energy at higher
temperatures, and they can oppose the large cohesive intermolecular forces more strongly. As a
result, the energized liquid molecules can move more freely.
 In a gas, on the other hand, the intermolecular forces are negligible, and the gas molecules at
high temperatures move randomly at higher velocities. This results in more molecular collisions
per unit volume per unit time and therefore in greater resistance to flow. The viscosity of a fluid is
directly related to the pumping power needed to transport a fluid in a pipe or to move a body
(such as a car in air or a submarine in the sea) through a fluid.
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Variation of Viscosity with Temperature

The kinetic theory of gases predicts the viscosity of gases to be
proportional to the square root of temperature. That is, 𝜇 = 𝑇 . This
prediction is confirmed by practical observations, but deviations for
different gases need to be accounted for by incorporating some
correction factors. The viscosity of gases is expressed as a function of
temperature by the Sutherland correlation (from The U.S. Standard
Atmosphere) as:
For Liquids: The viscosity is approximated as
⁄
𝜇 = 𝑎10
where again 𝑇 is absolute temp. and a, b, and c are experimentally
determined constants.
For water, using the values 𝑎 = 2.414 × 10 𝑁. 𝑠⁄𝑚 , 𝑏 = 247.8 𝐾, &
𝑐 = 140 𝐾 results in less than 2.5 percent error in viscosity in the
temperature range of 0°C to 370°C

For Gases:
⁄
𝑎𝑇
𝜇=
1+𝑏 𝑇

Where, 𝑇 is absolute temp. and a and b

are experimentally determined constants.
For air, the values of these constants are
𝑎 = 1.458 × 10 𝑏 = 110.4 𝐾
. .
at atmospheric conditions.
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Types of Fluid
 The abscissa represents the behavior of ideal fluids
since for the ideal fluids the resistance to shearing
deformation rate is always zero, and hence they exhibit
zero shear stress under any condition of flow.
 The ordinate represents the ideal solid for there is no
deformation rate under any loading condition.
Ideal Fluid
 Consider a hypothetical fluid having a zero viscosity
𝜇 = 0 . Such a fluid is called an ideal fluid and the
resulting motion is called as ideal or inviscid flow.
 In an ideal flow, there is no existence of shear force
because of vanishing viscosity.
𝑑𝑢
𝜏=𝜇 =0 since μ = 0
𝑑𝑦
Real Fluid
 A fluid, which posses viscosity is known as real fluid. All the fluid, in actual practice is real fluid.
 All the fluids in reality have viscosity (μ > 0) and hence they are termed as real fluid and their motion
is known as viscous flow.
 fluids, an accurate analysis of flow field away from a Under certain situations of very high velocity
flow of viscous solid surface can be made from the ideal flow theory.
Newtonian Fluid
 A real fluid, in which shear stress is directly proportional to rate of shear strain (or velocity gradient),
is known as a Newtonian Fluid.
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Non-Newtonian Fluids
 There are certain fluids where the linear relationship between the shear stress and the deformation
rate (velocity gradient in parallel flow) as expressed by the 𝜏 = 𝜇 is not valid. For these fluids the
viscosity varies with rate of deformation.
 Due to the deviation from Newton's law of viscosity they are commonly termed as non-Newtonian
fluids. Figure shows the class of fluid for which this relationship is nonlinear.
 The Newtonian fluids behave according to the law that shear stress is linearly proportional to velocity
gradient or rate of shear strain 𝜏 = 𝜇 . Thus for these fluids, the plot of shear stress against velocity
gradient is a straight line through the origin. The slope of the line determines the viscosity.
 The non-Newtonian fluids are further classified as pseudo-plastic, dilatant and Bingham plastic.
 However, the mathematical model for describing the mechanistic behavior of a variety of commonly
used non-Newtonian fluids is the Power-Law model which is also known as Ostwald-de Waele
model (the name is after the scientist who proposed it). According to Ostwald-de Waele model
where m is known as the flow consistency index and
𝑑𝑢 𝑑𝑢 n is the flow behavior index.
𝜏=𝑚 Hence viscosity for the Power-law fluids (as per Power
𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑦
Law model) can be described as:
 When n = 1, 𝑚 = 𝜇, the model identically satisfies Newtonian model as a special case.
 When n < 1, the model is valid for pseudoplastic fluids, such as blood, milk etc.
 When n > 1, the model is valid for dilatant fluids, such as sugar in water, aqueous suspension of
rice starch etc.
 There are some substances which require a yield stress for the deformation rate (i.e. the flow) to be
established, and hence their constitutive equations do not pass through the origin thus violating the
basic definition of a fluid. They are termed as Bingham plastic. For an ideal Bingham plastic, the
shear stress- deformation rate relationship is linear.
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Numerical
Problem: 1.1

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Numerical
Problem: 1.2

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Numerical
Problem: 1.3

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Numerical
Problem: 1.4

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Numerical
Problem: 1.5

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Numerical
Problem: 1.6

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Numerical
Problem: 1.7

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Surface Tension
It is often observed that
 a drop of blood forms a hump on a horizontal glass;
 a drop of mercury forms a near-perfect sphere and can be rolled just
like a steel ball over a smooth surface;
 water droplets from rain or dew hang from branches or leaves of trees;
 a liquid fuel injected into an engine forms a mist of spherical droplets;
 water dripping from a leaky faucet falls as spherical droplets;
 a soap bubble released into the air forms a spherical shape;
 and water beads up into small drops on flower petals.
You also may have observed, with amusement, that some insects can land
on water or even walk on water and that small steel needles can float on
water. These phenomena are again made possible by surface tension that
balances the weights of these objects.
 In these and other observances, liquid droplets behave like small
spherical balloons filled with the liquid, and the surface of the liquid
acts like a stretched elastic membrane under tension.
 The pulling force that causes this tension acts parallel to the surface
and is due to the attractive forces between the molecules of the liquid.
 The magnitude of this force per unit length is called surface tension
𝜎 and is usually expressed in the unit N/m (or lbf/ft in English units).
 This effect is also called surface energy and is expressed in the
equivalent unit of N.m/m2 or J/m2.
 In this case, 𝜎 represents the stretching work that needs to be
done to increase the surface area of the liquid by a unit amount.
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Surface Tension
 The surface tension varies greatly from substance to substance,
and with temperature for a given substance, as shown in Table.
At 20°C, for example, the surface tension is 0.073 N/m for water
and 0.440 N/m for mercury surrounded by atmospheric air.
 Mercury droplets form spherical balls that can be rolled like a
solid ball on a surface without wetting the surface. The surface
tension of a liquid, in general, decreases with temperature and
becomes zero at the critical point (and thus there is no distinct
liquid–vapor interface at temperatures above the critical point).
The effect of pressure on surface tension is usually negligible.
 The surface tension of a substance can be changed
considerably by impurities. Therefore, certain chemicals, called
surfactants, can be added to a liquid to decrease its surface
tension.
 For example, soaps and detergents lower the surface tension of
water and enable it to penetrate through the small openings
between fibers for more effective washing.
 We speak of surface tension for liquids only at liquid–liquid or liquid–gas interfaces. Therefore, it is
important to specify the adjacent liquid or gas when specifying surface tension.
 Also, surface tension determines the size of the liquid droplets that form. A droplet that keeps growing
by the addition of more mass will break down when the surface tension can no longer hold it together.
 Thus surface tension is defined as the tensile force acting on the surface of a liquid in contact with a
gas or on the surface between two immiscible liquids such that the contact surface behaves like a
membrane under tension.
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Surface Tension
A curved interface indicates a pressure difference (or “pressure jump”) across the interface with
pressure being higher on the concave side. The excess pressure ∆𝑃 inside a droplet or bubble above
the atmospheric pressure, for example, can be determined by considering the free-body diagram of half
a droplet or bubble. Noting that surface tension acts along the circumference and the pressure acts on
the area, horizontal force balances for the droplet and the bubble give
For Liquid droplet,
2𝜋𝑅 𝜎 = (𝜋𝑅 )∆𝑃
∆𝑃 =𝑃 −𝑃 = =
For Hollow bubbles,
2 2𝜋𝑅 𝜎 = (𝜋𝑅 )∆𝑃
4𝜎 8𝜎
∆𝑃 =𝑃 −𝑃 = =
𝑅 𝐷
For Liquid Jet,

2 × 𝐿 𝜎 = (𝐿 × 𝐷)∆𝑃
∆𝑃 =𝑃 −𝑃 =

where Pi and Po are the pressures inside and outside the

droplet or bubble, respectively. When the droplet or bubble
is in the atmosphere, Po is simply atmospheric pressure.
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Surface Tension
The excess pressure in a droplet (or bubble) also can be determined by considering a differential
increase in the radius of the droplet due to the addition of a differential amount of mass and interpreting
the surface tension as the increase in the surface energy per unit area. Then the increase in the surface
energy of the droplet during this differential expansion process becomes

δW = 𝜎 × 𝑑𝐴 = 𝜎 × 𝑑 4𝜋𝑅 = 8 𝜋𝑅𝜎 𝑑R
The expansion work done during this differential process is determined by multiplying the
force by distance to obtain

δW = 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 × 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 = 𝐹 𝑑𝑅 = ∆𝑃𝐴 𝑑𝑅 = 4𝜋𝑅 ∆𝑃𝑑𝑅

Equating the two expressions above gives

2𝜎
∆𝑃 =
𝑅

which is the same relation obtained before.

Note that the excess pressure in a droplet or bubble is inversely proportional to the radius.

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Numerical
Problem: 1.8

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Numerical
Problem: 1.9

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Numerical
Problem: 1.10

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Capillary Effect
 Another interesting consequence of surface tension is the capillary effect, which is the rise or fall of
a liquid in a small-diameter tube inserted into the liquid.
 Such narrow tubes or confined flow channels are called capillaries.
 The rise of kerosene through a cotton wick inserted into the reservoir of a kerosene lamp is due to
this effect.
 The capillary effect is also partially responsible for the rise of water to the top of tall trees.
 The curved free surface of a liquid in a capillary tube is called the meniscus.
It is commonly observed that water in a glass container curves up slightly at the edges where it touches
the glass surface; but the opposite occurs for mercury: it curves down at the edges. This effect is
usually expressed by saying that water wets the glass (by sticking to it) while mercury does not. The
strength of the capillary effect is quantified by the contact (or wetting) angle ∅, defined as the angle that
the tangent to the liquid surface makes with the solid surface at the point of contact. The surface tension
force acts along this tangent line toward the solid surface. A liquid is said to wet the surface when ∅ <
90° and not to wet the surface when ∅ > 90°. In atmospheric air, the contact angle of water (and most
other organic liquids) with glass is nearly zero, ∅ ≈ 90°.
Therefore, the surface tension force acts upward on
water in a glass tube along the circumference, tending
to pull the water up. As a result, water rises in the tube
until the weight of the liquid in the tube above the liquid
level of the reservoir balances the surface tension
force. The contact angle is 130° for mercury–glass and
26° for kerosene–glass in air. Note that the contact
angle, in general, is different in different environments
(such as another gas or liquid in place of air).

41

Capillary Effect
 The phenomenon of capillary effect can be explained microscopically by considering cohesive forces
(the forces between like molecules, such as water and water) and adhesive forces (the forces between
unlike molecules, such as water and glass).
 The liquid molecules at the solid–liquid interface are subjected to both cohesive forces by other liquid
molecules and adhesive forces by the molecules of the solid.
 The relative magnitudes of these forces determine whether a liquid wets a solid surface or not.
Obviously, the water molecules are more strongly attracted to the glass molecules than they are to other
water molecules, and thus water tends to rise along the glass surface.
 The opposite occurs for mercury, which causes the liquid surface near the glass wall to be suppressed
The magnitude of the capillary rise in a circular tube can be
determined from a force balance on the cylindrical liquid
column of height h in the tube. The bottom of the liquid
column is at the same level as the free surface of the
reservoir, and thus the pressure there must be atmospheric
pressure. This balances the atmospheric pressure acting at
the top surface, and thus these two effects cancel each
other. The weight of the liquid column is approximately

𝑊 = 𝑚𝑔 = 𝜌𝑉𝑔 = 𝜌𝑔 𝜋𝑅 ℎ
Equating the vertical component of the surface tension force
to the weight gives

𝑊=𝐹 𝜌𝑔 𝜋𝑅 ℎ = 2 𝜋𝑅𝜎 cos ∅

Solving for h gives the capillary rise to be

Capillary rise: 2𝜎 𝑐𝑜𝑠 ∅ 4𝜎 𝑐𝑜𝑠 ∅

ℎ= =
𝜌𝑔𝑅 𝜌𝑔𝐷 42

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Capillary Effect
 This relation is also valid for nonwetting liquids (such as mercury in glass) and gives capillary drop.
 In this case, ∅ >90°and thus cos ∅ < 0 , which makes h negative.
 Therefore, a negative value of capillary rise corresponds to a capillary drop.
 Note that the capillary rise is inversely proportional to the radius of the tube. Therefore, the thinner
the tube is, the greater the rise (or fall) of the liquid in the tube.
 In practice, the capillary effect is usually negligible in tubes whose diameter is greater than 1 cm.
 The capillary rise is also inversely proportional to the density of the liquid, as expected. Therefore,
lighter liquids experience greater capillary rises.
 Finally, it should be kept in mind that is derived for constant-diameter tubes and should not be used
for tubes of variable cross section.

43

Numerical
Problem: 1.11

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Numerical
Problem: 1.12

45

Numerical
Problem: 1.13

46

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Numerical
Problem: 1.14

47

Vapour pressure
 It is well-established that temperature and pressure are dependent properties for pure
substances during phase-change processes.
 At a given pressure, the temperature at which a pure substance changes phase is called the
saturation temperature Tsat.
 Likewise, at a given temperature, the pressure at which a pure substance changes phase is
called the saturation pressure Psat.
 At an absolute pressure of 1 standard atmosphere (1 atm or 101.325 kPa), for example, the
saturation temperature of water is 100°C. Conversely, at a temperature of 100°C, the
saturation pressure of water is 1 atm.
 The vapor pressure Pv of a pure substance is defined as the pressure exerted by its vapor in
phase equilibrium with its liquid at a given temperature.
 Pv is a property of the pure substance, and turns out to be identical to the saturation pressure
Psat of the liquid (Pv = Psat).
 Partial pressure is defined as the pressure of a gas or vapor in a mixture with other gases.
 For example, atmospheric air is a mixture of dry air and water vapor.
 So atmospheric pressure is the sum of the partial pressure of dry air and the partial pressure
of water vapor. The partial pressure of water vapor constitutes a small fraction (usually under
3 %) of the atmospheric pressure since air is mostly nitrogen and oxygen.

48

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Vapour pressure
 The partial pressure of a vapor must be less than or equal
to the vapor pressure if there is no liquid present.
However, when both vapor and liquid are present and the
system is in phase equilibrium.
 The partial pressure of the vapor must equal the vapor
pressure, and the system is said to be saturated.
 The rate of evaporation from open water bodies such as
lakes is controlled by the difference between the vapor
pressure and the partial pressure.
 For phase-change processes between the liquid and
vapor phases of a pure substance, the saturation pressure
and the vapor pressure are equivalent since the vapor is
pure.
 Vapor pressure increases with temperature. Thus, a
substance at higher temperatures boils at higher
pressures.
 For example, water boils at 134°C in a pressure cooker
operating at 3 atm absolute pressure, but it boils at 93°C
in an ordinary pan at a 2000-m elevation, where the
atmospheric pressure is 0.8 atm.

49

Cavitation
 The reason for our interest in vapor pressure is the possibility of the
liquid pressure in liquid-flow systems dropping below the vapor pressure
at some locations, and the resulting unplanned vaporization.

 For example, water at 10°C will flash into vapor and form bubbles at
locations (such as the tip regions of impellers or suction sides of pumps)
where the pressure drops below 1.23 kPa.

 The vapor bubbles (called cavitation bubbles since they form “cavities”
in the liquid) collapse as they are swept away from the low pressure
regions, generating highly destructive, extremely high-pressure waves. Fig: Cavitation damage on a
16-mm by 23-mm aluminum
 This phenomenon, which is a common cause for drop in performance sample tested at 60 m/s for
and even the erosion of impeller blades, is called cavitation, and it is an 2.5 h. The sample was
important consideration in the design of hydraulic turbines and pumps. located at the cavity collapse
region downstream of a
 Cavitation must be avoided (or at least minimized) in flow systems since
cavity generator specifically
it reduces performance, generates annoying vibrations and noise, and
designed to produce high
causes damage to equipment.
damage potential.
 The pressure spikes resulting from the large number of bubbles
collapsing near a solid surface over a long period of time may cause
erosion, surface pitting, fatigue failure, and the eventual destruction of
the components or machinery.

 The presence of cavitation in a flow system can be sensed by its

characteristic tumbling sound.

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Coefficient of Compressibility
 We know from experience that the volume (or density) of a fluid changes with a change in its
temperature or pressure.
 Fluids usually expand as they are heated or depressurized and contract as they are cooled or
pressurized.
 But the amount of volume change is different for different fluids, and we need to define properties that
relate volume changes to the changes in pressure and temperature.
 Two such properties are the bulk modulus of elasticity k and the coefficient of volume expansion β.
 That is, fluids act like elastic solids with respect to pressure.
 Therefore, in an analogous manner to Young’s modulus of elasticity for solids, it is appropriate to
define a coefficient of compressibility (𝑘) (also called the bulk modulus of compressibility or bulk
modulus of elasticity) for fluids as
𝜕𝑃 𝜕𝑃 It can also be expressed ∆𝑃 ∆𝑃 T= Constant
𝑘 = −𝑣 =𝜌 approximately in terms 𝑘≅− ≅
𝜕𝑣 𝜕𝜌 of finite changes as ∆𝑣 ⁄𝑣 ∆𝜌⁄𝜌
 Noting that ∆𝑣⁄𝑣 & ∆𝜌⁄𝜌 is dimensionless, k must have the dimension of pressure (Pa or psi).
 Also, the coefficient of compressibility represents the change in pressure corresponding to a fractional
change in volume or density of the fluid while the temperature remains constant.
 A large value of k indicates that a large change in pressure is needed to cause a small fractional
change in volume, and thus a fluid with a large k is essentially incompressible.
 This is typical for liquids, and explains why liquids are usually considered to be incompressible.
 For example, the pressure of water at normal atmospheric conditions must be raised to 210 atm to
compress it 1 percent, corresponding to a coefficient of compressibility value of k = 21,000 atm.

51

Isothermal Compressibility
 Small density changes in liquids can still cause interesting phenomena in piping systems.
 The water hammer characterized by a sound that resembles the sound produced when a pipe is
“hammered.”
 This occurs when a liquid in a piping network encounters an abrupt flow restriction (such as a closing
valve) and is locally compressed.
 The acoustic waves produced strike the pipe surfaces, bends, and valves as they propagate and
reflect along the pipe, causing the pipe to vibrate and produce the familiar sound.
 Note that volume and pressure are inversely proportional (volume decreases as pressure is increased
and thus ∂P/∂v is a negative quantity), and the negative sign in the definition ensures that k is a
positive quantity.
 Also, differentiating 𝜌 = 1⁄𝑣 gives 𝜕𝜌 = − 𝜕𝑣 ⁄𝑣 , which can be rearranged as

𝜕𝜌 𝜕𝑣
=−
𝜌 𝑣
 The inverse of the coefficient of compressibility is called the isothermal compressibility α and is
expressed as

1 1 𝜕𝑣 1 𝜕𝜌
𝛼= =− = (1/Pa)
𝑘 𝑣 𝜕𝑃 𝜌 𝜕𝑃

 The isothermal compressibility of a fluid represents the fractional change in volume or density
corresponding to a unit change in pressure.

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Coefficient of Volume Expansion

 The density of a fluid, in general, depends more strongly on
temperature than it does on pressure.
 The variation of density with temperature is responsible for
numerous natural phenomena such as winds, currents in oceans,
rise of plumes in chimneys, the operation of hot-air balloons, heat
transfer by natural convection, and even the rise of hot air and thus
the phrase “heat rises”.
 To quantify these effects, we need a property that represents the
variation of the density of a fluid with temperature at constant
pressure.
 The property that provides that information is the coefficient of
volume expansion (or volume expansivity) β, defined as

𝜕𝑣 1 𝜕𝜌
𝛽=𝑣 =− (1/K)
𝜕𝑇 𝜌 𝜕𝑇
It can also be expressed approximately in terms of finite changes as

∆𝑣 ⁄𝑣 ∆𝜌⁄𝜌
𝛽≈ ≈− At constant P
∆𝑇 ∆𝑇
Fig: The coefficient of volume
 A large value of β for a fluid means a large change in density with expansion is a measure of the
temperature, and the product β & T represents the fraction of change in volume of a substance
volume change of a fluid that corresponds to a temperature with temp at constant pressure.
change of at ∆𝑇 constant pressure.
53

Units and Dimensions

 Any physical quantity can be characterized by dimensions. The magnitudes assigned to the
dimensions are called units.

 Some basic dimensions such as mass m, length L, time t, and temperature T are selected as primary
or fundamental dimensions.

 while others such as velocity V, energy E, and volume V are expressed in terms of the primary
dimensions and are called secondary dimensions, or derived dimensions.

 A number of unit systems have been developed over the years.

 Despite strong efforts in the scientific and engineering community to unify the world with a single unit
system, two sets of units are still in common use today:

 The English system, which is also known as the United States Customary System (USCS),

 The metric SI, which is also known as the International System.

 The SI is a simple and logical system based on a decimal relationship between the various units.

 It is being used for scientific and engineering work in most of the industrialized nations, including
England.

 The English system, however, has no apparent systematic numerical base, and various units in this
system are related to each other rather arbitrarily (12 in =1 ft, 1 mile = 5280 ft etc.), which makes it
confusing and difficult to learn.

 The United States is the only industrialized country that has not yet fully converted to the metric
system.

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Units and Dimensions

 The systematic efforts to develop a universally
acceptable system of units dates back to 1790
when the French National Assembly charged
the French Academy of Sciences to come up
with such a unit system.

 An early version of the metric system was soon

developed in France, but it did not find universal
acceptance until 1875 when The Metric
Convention Treaty was prepared and signed by
17 nations, including the United States.

 In this international treaty, meter and gram were

established as the metric units for length and
mass, respectively, and a General Conference
of Weights and Measures (CGPM) was
established that was to meet every six years.
 In 1960, the CGPM produced the SI, which was based on six fundamental quantities, and their units
were adopted in 1954 at the Tenth General Conference of Weights and Measures:

 meter (m) for length, kilogram (kg) for mass, second (s) for time, ampere (A) for electric current,
degree Kelvin (°K) for temperature, and candela (cd) for luminous intensity (amount of light).

 In 1971, the CGPM added a seventh fundamental quantity and unit: mole (mol) for the amount of
matter.

55

Pressure
 Pressure is defined as a normal force exerted by a fluid per unit area.
 Units of pressure are N/m2, which is called a pascal (Pa).
 Since the unit Pa is too small for pressures encountered in practice, kilopascal (1 kPa = 103 Pa) and
megapascal (1 MPa = 106 Pa) are commonly used.
 Other units include bar, atm, kgf/cm2, lbf/in2=psi.
 Actual pressure at a give point is called the absolute pressure and it is measured relative to absolute
vacuum (i.e., absolute zero pressure).
 Pressure above atmospheric pressure are called gauge pressure.
 The difference between the abs. pressure and the local atm. pressure is called the gauge pressure.
 Pressure below atmospheric pressure are called vacuum pressure

𝑃 =𝑃 −𝑃
𝑃 =𝑃 −𝑃

Some basic pressure gages

56

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Pressure at a Point in Fluid / Pascal’s Law

 Pressure at any point in a fluid is the same in all directions.
 Pressure has a magnitude, but not a specific direction, and thus it is a scalar quantity.
 This can be demonstrated by considering a small wedge-shaped fluid element of unit
length (into the page) in equilibrium, as shown in Fig.
 The mean pressures at the three surfaces are P1, P2, and P3, and the force acting on a
surface is the product of mean pressure and the surface area.
 From Newton’s second law, a force balance in the x- and z-directions gives

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 = 0 𝑃 ∆𝑧 − 𝑃 . 𝑙. 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 = 0 (1)

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 = 0 𝑃 ∆𝑥 − 𝑃 . 𝑙. 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 − 𝜌𝑔∆𝑥∆𝑧 = 0 (2)

where, 𝑊 = 𝑚𝑔 = 𝜌𝑔∆𝑥∆𝑧 & ∆𝑧 = 𝑙. 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃, ∆𝑥= 𝑙. 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃

1
𝑃 −𝑃 =0 𝑃 − 𝑃 − 𝜌𝑔∆𝑧 = 0
2
The last term in Eq. drops out as ∆𝑧 → 0 and the wedge
becomes infinitesimal, and thus the fluid element shrinks to a
point. Then combining the results of these two relations gives

𝑃 =𝑃 =𝑃 =𝑃
regardless of the angle θ, Thus we conclude that the pressure
at a point in a fluid has the same magnitude in all directions.
57

Pressure Variation with Depth

 It will come as no surprise to you that pressure in a fluid at rest
does not change in the horizontal direction.
 This can be shown easily by considering a thin horizontal layer of
fluid and doing a force balance in any horizontal direction.
 But, this is not the case in the vertical direction in a gravity field.
 Pressure in a fluid increases with depth because more fluid rests
on deeper layers, and the effect of this “extra weight” on a deeper
layer is balanced by an increase in pressure.
 To obtain a relation for the variation of pressure with depth,
consider a rectangular fluid element of height ∆𝑧, length ∆𝑥, and
unit depth (into the page) in equilibrium, as shown in Fig. 2.
Assuming the density of the fluid 𝜌 to be constant, a force balance
in the vertical z-direction gives

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 = 0 𝑃 ∆𝑥 − 𝑃 ∆𝑥 − 𝜌𝑔∆𝑥∆𝑧 = 0
where, 𝑊 = 𝑚𝑔 = 𝜌𝑔∆𝑥∆𝑧
Dividing by ∆𝑥 and rearranging gives ∆
∆𝑃 = 𝑃 − 𝑃 = 𝜌𝑔∆𝑧 = 𝛾 . ∆𝑧
=𝛾
∆
 Where, 𝛾 = 𝜌𝑔 is the specific weight of the fluid.
 Thus, it is conclude that the pressure difference between two
points in a constant density fluid is proportional to the vertical
distance ∆𝑧 between the points and the density 𝜌 of the fluid.
 In other words, pressure in a fluid increases linearly with depth.
 For a given fluid, the vertical distance ∆𝑧 is sometimes used as a
measure of pressure, and it is called the pressure head. 58

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Pressure Variation with Depth

 A consequence of the pressure in a fluid remaining constant in the horizontal direction is that the
pressure applied to a confined fluid increases the pressure throughout by the same amount. This is
called Pascal’s law, after Blaise Pascal (1623–1662).
 Pressure in a fluid at rest is independent of the shape of the container
 Pressure is the same at all points on a horizontal plane in a given fluid.
 Pascal also knew that the force applied by a fluid is proportional to the
surface area.
 He realized that two hydraulic cylinders of different areas could be
connected, and the larger could be used to exert a proportionally 𝑃 =𝑃
greater force than that applied to the smaller.
 “Pascal’s machine” has been the source of many inventions that are a
part of our daily lives such as hydraulic brakes and lifts.

𝑃 =𝑃
The Dutch mathematician Simon Stevin (1548–1620)
published in 1586 the principle illustrated in Fig 𝐹 𝐹
=
𝐴 𝐴

𝐹 𝐴
=
𝐹 𝐴

59

Numerical
Problem: 1.15

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Numerical
Problem: 1.17

61

Measurement of Pressure
 An elevation change of Δz in a fluid at rest corresponds to ΔP/ρg,
which suggests that a fluid column can be used to measure pressure
differences. A device based on this principle is called a manometer.
 It is commonly used to measure small and moderate pressure
differences.
 A manometer mainly consists of a glass or plastic U-tube containing
one or more fluids such as mercury, water, alcohol, or oil.
 To keep the size of the manometer to a manageable level, heavy
fluids, mercury are used if large pressure differences are anticipated.
 The diameter of the tube should be large enough (more than a few
millimeters) to ensure that the surface tension effect and thus the
capillary rise is negligible.
𝑃 =𝑃 𝑃 =𝑃 + 𝜌𝑔ℎ
The pressure of a fluid is measured by the following devices:
1) Manometers: Manometers are defined as the devices used for
measuring the pressure at a point in a fluid by balancing the column
of fluid by the same or another column of the fluid. They are classified
a) Simple Manometers,
b) Differential Manometers.
2) Mechanical Gauges: Mechanical gauges are defined as the devices
used for measuring the pressure by balancing the fluid column by the
spring or dead weight. The commonly used mechanical pressure
gauges are
a) Diaphragm pressure gauge,
b) Bourdon tube pressure gauge, Various types of Bourdon tubes
c) Dead-weight pressure gauge, and used to measure pressure
d) Bellows pressure gauge. 62

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Simple Manometer

𝑃 =𝜌×𝑔×ℎ Gauge pressure

𝑃 =𝑃 + 𝜌𝑔ℎ Absolute pressure

63

Simple Manometer

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Simple Manometer
 Manometers are devices in which columns of a suitable liquid are used to measure the difference in
pressure between two points or between a certain point and the atmosphere.
 Manometer is needed for measuring large gauge pressures. It is basically the modified form of the
piezometric tube. A common type manometer is like a transparent "U-tube" as shown in Fig.
 One of the ends is connected to a pipe or a container having a fluid (A) whose pressure is to be
measured while the other end is open to atmosphere.
 The lower part of the U-tube contains a liquid immiscible with the fluid A and is of greater density than
that of A. This fluid is called the manometric fluid.
 The pressures at two points P and Q in a horizontal plane within the continuous expanse of same fluid
(the liquid B in this case) must be equal. Then equating the pressures at P and Q in terms of the
heights of the fluids above those points, with the aid of the fundamental equation of hydrostatics.
A simple manometer to A simple manometer to
measure gauge pressure measure Vacuum pressure
where p1 is the
absolute pressure
of the fluid A in the
pipe or container
at its centre line,
and patm is the
local atmospheric
pressure.

𝑃 + 𝜌 .𝑔 𝑦 + 𝑥 = 𝑃 + 𝜌 𝑔𝑥 𝑃 + 𝜌 𝑔𝑦 + 𝜌 𝑔𝑥 = 𝑃

𝑃 −𝑃 = 𝜌 − 𝜌 𝑔𝑥 − 𝜌 𝑔𝑦 𝑃 −𝑃 = − 𝜌 𝑦+𝜌 𝑥 g
65

Simple Manometer

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Simple Manometer

67

Simple Manometer

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Numerical
Problem: 1.18

69

Numerical
Problem: 1.19

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Numerical
Problem: 1.20 The water in a tank is pressurized by air, and the pressure is measured by a multifluid
manometer as shown in Fig. The tank is located on a mountain at an altitude of 1400 m where the
atmospheric pressure is 85.6 kPa. Determine the air pressure in the tank if h1 = 0.1 m, h2 = 0.2 m, and
h3 = 0.35 m. Take the densities of water, oil, and mercury to be 1000 kg/m3, 850 kg/m3, and 13,600
kg/m3, respectively.

Assumption:
The air pressure in the tank is
uniform (i.e., its variation with
elevation is negligible due to
its low density), and thus we
can determine the pressure at
the air–water interface.

71

Numerical
Problem: 1.21

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Differential Manometer

73

Differential Manometer

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Differential Manometer

75

Numerical
Problem: 1.22

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Numerical

77

Numerical
Problem: 1.23

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Numerical
Problem: 1.24

79

The Barometer
 Barometer is used to determine the local atmospheric pressure.
 Mercury is employed in the barometer because its density is
sufficiently high for a relative short column to be obtained.
 It has very small vapour pressure at normal temperature.
 High density scales down the pressure head(h) to represent same
magnitude of pressure in a tube of smaller height.
 Even if the air is completely absent, a perfect vacuum at the top of
the tube is never possible.
 The space would be occupied by the mercury vapour and the
pressure would equal to the vapour pressure of mercury at its
existing temperature.
 This almost vacuum condition above the mercury in the barometer
is known as Torricellian vacuum.
 The pressure at A equal to that at B which is the atmospheric
pressure patm since A and B lie on the same horizontal plane. 𝑃 =𝑃 = 𝑃 + 𝜌𝑔ℎ
The vapour pressure of mercury pv, can normally be neglected in comparison to patm.
At 20oC, Pv is only 0.16 patm, where patm =1.0132 X105 Pa at sea level. Then we get from Eq.

𝑃 1.013 × 10 𝑁⁄𝑚
ℎ= = = 0.752𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝐻𝑔
𝜌𝑔 13560 𝑘𝑔⁄𝑚 × 9.81 𝑁⁄𝑘𝑔
For accuracy, small corrections are necessary to allow for the variation of ρ with temperature, the thermal
expansion of the scale (usually made of brass). and surface tension effects. If water was used instead of
mercury, the corresponding height of the column would be about 10.4 m provided that a perfect vacuum
could be achieved above the water. However, the vapour pressure of water at ordinary temperature is
appreciable and so the actual height at, say, 15°C would be about 180 mm less than this value.
Moreover. with a tube smaller in diameter than about 15 mm, surface tension effects become significant.
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