BEng Tech (CE), Hydraulics 2A 19 February 2024

WEEK 1
Fluid properties

Fluid properties
• Mass and Weight.
• Density.
• Specific Weight.
• Specific Gravity(Relative Density).
• Viscosity.
• Pressure.
• Temperature.
• Compressibility, Elasticity, Capillarity, Surface
tension, Vapour pressure, etc.

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The seven SI base units of measurements in
engineering
Measurements Units Symbol
Length Meters m
Mass Kilogram kg
Time Second s
Temperature Kelvin K
Electrical current Ampere A
Amount of Mole mol
Substance
luminous intensity Candela cd

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BEng Tech (CE), Hydraulics 2A 19 February 2024

Mass Density, ρ
• Density, ρ, is mass per unit volume.
M
=


- Density units = kg/m3

• Density of water normally taken as,
 = 1000kg / m3
• Density is assumed as constant in liquids (e.g.
water).

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Specific weight, ɣ

• Specific weight,  , is weight per unit volume.

W Mg Mg  
= = = = g
 M M

• Units of specific weight, N/m3.

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Specific Gravity

• Sometimes known as relative density.

• Specific gravity (SG) of a liquid is the ratio of the
fluid density to the density of water.
• Also defined as ratio of a specific weight of a given
fluid to the specific weight of water
• Value of SG is dimensionless.
 fluid  fluid  g  fluid
SG = = =
 water  water  g  water

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Density of water varying with temperature
(Davis, 2010)
Temperature, T Density, ρ Specific Weight, ɣ Specific
(oC) (kg/m3) (N/m3) Gravity, SG
0 (ice) 917 8996 0.917
0 (liquid water) 999 9800 0.999

4 1000 9810 1.0

10 999 9800 0.999
20 998 9790 0.998
30 996 9771 0.996
40 992 9732 0.992
50 988 9692 0.988
60 983 9643 0.983
70 978 9594 0.978
80 972 9535 0.972
90 965 9467 0.965
100 958 9398 0.958

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Viscosity in fluids
• A measure of fluid's resistance to shear
stress.
• Ideal fluids
➢No friction and no viscosity.
➢Practical applications: many flows
approximate frictionless flow away from solid
boundaries.
• Real fluids.
➢Tangential or shearing forces always develop
where there is motion relative to solid body.
➢Thus, fluid friction is created.
➢Friction forces gives rise to a fluid property
called viscosity.
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Viscosity in fluids
… Continue
• Variation with temperature:
➢ Liquids: viscosity decreases as temperature increases
➢ Gases: viscosity increases as temperature increases
• For non-linear profile, shear stress,

du  N / m2 Ns
•  = units: =
du
=
s −1
= 2
m
dy dy

Where: du/dy = the slope of the velocity profile at position y,

μ = coefficient of viscosity, absolute viscosity,
dynamic viscosity, or simply viscosity.
• Newtonian fluid: μ is constant
➢ Air, water are Newtonian fluids
• Non-Newtonian fluids: μ varies with velocity gradient (du/dy).
➢ Paints, printer's ink, gels, emulsions are Non-Newtonian fluids.

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Viscosity in laminar flow

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Kinematic viscosity

• Ratio of absolute viscosity to density


 =


• Appears in many problems in fluids.

• Called kinematic viscosity because it involves no force (dynamic)
dimensions.
• Units: Ns (kg  m / s )s 2

 m2 = m2 = m2
= =
 kg kg s
m3 m3

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Fluid properties
• Mass and Weight.
• Density.
• Specific Weight.
• Specific Gravity(Relative Density).
• Viscosity.
• Pressure.
• Temperature.
• Compressibility, Elasticity, Capillarity, Surface
tension, Vapour pressure, etc.

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BEng Tech (CE), Hydraulics 2A 19 February 2024

Pressure
• Compression stress at a point in a static fluid.
• In a fluid, pressure increases with depth.
• Expressed in either:
➢Pressure intensity, P = gh
➢Pressure head, P
h=
g
• Units of Pressure.
➢Newton per metre square ( N m 2 )
➢Pascal, (Pa ) 1Pa = 1 N m 2
➢Metres (m)
➢Bar, (bar ) 1bar = 10m = 105 N m 2

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Forms of pressure

• Pressure can either be:

➢Atmospheric pressure.
➢Gauge pressure.
➢Absolute pressure.

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Atmospheric pressure
• Defined as the weight of the atmosphere exerting
on the Earth’s surface.
• Atmospheric pressure is also called barometric
Pressure.
• Maximum at sea level (approx. 101.3 kPa).
• Atmospheric pressures varies:
➢with elevation (altitude).
➢with changes in meteorological conditions.
• Atmospheric pressure decreases with altitude.
• Barometer is used to measure atmospheric
pressure.

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BEng Tech (CE), Hydraulics 2A 19 February 2024

Gauge Pressure
• Pressure reading with atmospheric pressure taken as
datum. Sometimes called Hydrostatic Pressure.
Pgauge = gh Pressure
gauge

• Gauge pressure can be either positive or negative.

• Gauge pressures:
➢Positive: if above atmospheric.
➢Negative: if below atmospheric.
• If Pgauge < Patm, we call it a vacuum pressure, its gauge
value = how much below atmospheric.
• Common way of measuring pressure in Water/Civil
Engineering.
• Use gauge pressure for most problems related to liquids
(eg water).

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Absolute Pressure
• Absolute pressure is measured with respect
to the absolute zero pressure (perfect
vacuum).
• Absolute = Atmospheric + Gauge
Pabs = Patm + Pgauge

• Absolute pressure values are all positive.

• Use absolute pressure for most problems
involving gases and vapour (e.g. in
cavitation).
• Thus, the pressure at a point in a fluid can
be expressed as Absolute or Gauge
pressure.

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Principles behind pressure in fluids

• Pressure varies with depth and is
independent of the shape of the
container.
• In a continuous mass of the same static
fluid, pressure is the same on the same
horizontal plane.
• Fluids will always move from higher
pressure to lower pressure.
• Pressure is perpendicular to the surface
onto which it is acting.
• In a fluid at rest, pressure at a point is the
same in all directions, (Pascal’s Law).

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Pressure variation with depth

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Pressure variation with depth

… Continue

P = ρgh

P = ρgh

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Pressure variation with depth

… Continue
• For constant density fluids, and taking the free
surface pressure as zero, P = gh .
• Thus, Pressure is related to the height, h, of a
fluid column.
• Normally referred to as the Pressure Head.
• Thus, in a liquid at rest, an increase in the
elevation (z) means a decreases in pressure
head, and vice versa.

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BEng Tech (CE), Hydraulics 2A 19 February 2024

Pressure is the same on the same horizontal plane

• Pressure is the same everywhere at the
same level.
• Pressure is the same everywhere at the
same level.
• Principle holds when liquid is continuous.

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Pressure Measurement Devices

• Barometer.
• Pressure gauge .
• Piezometer column.
• Manometer.

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Mercury Barometer
• Used to measure atmospheric pressure.
• Uses mercury that has very low vapour pressure.
• Mercury is used because it is the heaviest
common liquid.
• Water barometer would be impractical.
• Pressure at O,
Po = gy + Pvapour = Patm

With negligible vapour pressure,

Patm = gy

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BEng Tech (CE), Hydraulics 2A 19 February 2024

Mercury Barometer
… Continue

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Bourdon Pressure Gauge

• Measures the difference between

absolute and atmospheric pressure.
• In pipes, pressure is typically measured at
centre line.

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Piezometer column

• Measures moderate pressures of liquids.

• Sufficiently long tube where fluid rises is
needed.
• Level of accuracy is high but not practical.
• Most commonly used in labs.
• Can only be used for liquids.
• Height in tube is
P P
h= =
 g

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BEng Tech (CE), Hydraulics 2A 19 February 2024

Piezometer column Not a

… Continue piezometer but
a pitot tube

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Piezometer column
… Continue

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Manometer
• Can be simple manometer or
differential manometer.
• Can be used for both liquids and
gases.
• When the manometer fluid is mercury
(SG = 13.6), the differential
manometer is suitable for measuring
large pressure differences.
• For smaller pressure differences, use
oil (e.g., SG = 1.6, SG = 0.8).

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Tutorials
• Try some problems in the Text-book.

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Thank you!

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