ES 39

Fluid Mechanics
Indie G. Dapin
Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
College of Engineering
Central Mindanao University
 Intro to
Fluid Mechanics
Fluid Classification and Fluid Properties
Definition
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.
Categories:
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 - 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.
Aerodynamics - deals with the flow of gases (especially air) over bodies such
as aircraft, rockets, and automobiles at high or low speeds.
Meteorology, Oceanography, and Hydrology - deal with naturally occurring
flows.
 Types of fluids
Fluid - a substance in the liquid or gas phase, and even plasma at very
high temperature
Fluids

Ideal Fluids Real Fluids

• hypothetical fluids that have no viscosity (no • have viscosity (with friction)
friction) • compressible
• incompressible (their volume cannot change under • resist deformation and have internal friction.
pressure). • Non-uniform velocity distribution when flowing
• Have uniform velocity when flowing • All fluids we encounter in everyday life
• a useful concept for simplifying fluid mechanics
problems (in theoretical models and simulations).
Types of fluids
Non-Newtonian
Real Fluids
Fluids

• viscosity can change depending on the applied shear stress.

• Has unique flow properties:
➢ Shear-thinning fluids: become less viscous as the shear stress
Newtonian Fluids increases. (e.g., ketchup, honey, and blood)
➢ Shear-thickening fluids: become more viscous as the shear stress
• have a constant viscosity,
increases. (e.g., cornstarch mixed with water and some
regardless of the applied shear
suspensions). Include pseudoplastic and dilatant fluids
stress (force causing
deformation) ➢ Bingham plastic fluids: require a yield stress to begin flowing.
• the resistance to flow is Once the yield stress is exceeded, the fluid behaves like a
proportional to the rate of Newtonian fluid. (e.g., toothpaste and mayonnaise)
shear.
➢ Thixotropic fluids: become less viscous over time when at rest but
• e.g., water and air, gases,
regain their viscosity when sheared. (e.g., some paints and mud)
steam, alcohol, gasoline, acid
solutions, etc.
Principles and
concepts
The normal stress and
shear stress at the surface
of a fluid element.
• For fluids at rest, the
shear stress is zero, and
pressure is the only
normal stress.
Principles and
concepts
Principles and concepts

The arrangement of atoms in different phases: (a) molecules are at a relatively

fixed position in a solid, (b) groups of molecules move about each other in the
liquid phase, and (c) individual molecules move about at random in the gas
phase.
Classification of fluid flows
Viscous versus Inviscid
Regions of Flow

Internal versus External External flow over a

Flow tennis ball, and
the turbulent wake
region behind.
Classification of fluid flows
Compressible versus Laminar versus Turbulent
Incompressible Flow Flow
Classification of fluid flows
Natural (or Unforced) A girl in a swimming suit, the rise of lighter, warmer air adjacent to
her body indicates that humans and warm-blooded animals are
versus Forced Flow surrounded by thermal plumes of rising warm air.

Steady versus Comparison of instantaneous

snapshot of an unsteady flow,
Unsteady Flow and long exposure picture of the
same flow.

One-, Two-, and

Three-Dimensional
Flows
Fluid
Properties
• Property - Any characteristic of a system
• Some properties:
pressure P, temperature T, volume V, and
mass m, viscosity, thermal conductivity,
modulus of elasticity, thermal expansion
coefficient, electric resistivity, velocity
and elevation.
Fluid Properties
Key properties of fluids include:
1. Density
2. Viscosity
3. Surface Tension
4. Compressibility
5. Vapor Pressure
6. Etc.
Density (𝜌)
• is defined as mass per unit volume of a fluid.
𝑚 𝑘𝑔
𝜌 = ; ൗ𝑚3
𝑉
Where:
Approximate room-temperature densities of
m = mass & V = volume common fluids
Units:
𝑠𝑙𝑢𝑔
English : ൗ𝑓𝑡 3 ;
𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚
Metric : ൗ𝑐𝑚3
𝑘𝑔
SI : ൗ𝑚3

• The reciprocal of density is

specific volume
1 𝑉
(𝑣 = = ),
𝜌 𝑚
which is the volume occupied by a unit mass of fluid
Specific gravity (SG) [or relative density]

• the ratio of the density of a substance to the density of some

standard substance at a specified temperature
• For liquid and solid (usually water at 4°C, for which 𝜌𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 =
1000 𝑘𝑔ൗ𝑚3 ).
𝜌𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑
𝑆𝐺 = 𝜌
𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟

• Gas specific gravity is defined as the ratio of the density of

the gas to the density of air at 1 atm pressure at 60°F

𝜌𝑔𝑎𝑠
𝑆𝐺 =
𝜌𝑎𝑖𝑟
Specific Weight (𝛾𝑆 ) [or weight density]

• The weight of a unit volume of a substance

𝛾𝑆 = 𝜌𝑔
Where g is the gravitational acceleration (9.80665 m/s² or 32.1740 ft/s²)

Units:
English : ൗ𝑓𝑡 3 ;
𝑙𝑏

SI : 𝑁Τ
𝑚3
Ideal-gas Equation of State
𝑃𝑉 = 𝑚𝑅𝑇; 𝑃 = 𝜌𝑅𝑇
where:
P = absolute pressure of gas, 𝑃𝑎
R = gas constant, 𝐽ൗ𝑘𝑔 °𝐾
For Air:
R = 287 𝐽ൗ𝑘𝑔 °𝐾

R = 1716 𝑙𝑏 𝑓𝑡ൗ𝑠𝑙𝑢𝑔 °𝑅

T = absolute temperature
°𝐾 = ℃ + 273
°𝑅 = ℉ + 460
Problems
1. A reservoir of glycerin has a mass of 1200 kg and a volume of
0.952 cu. meters. Find its (a) weight (b) specific weight, (c)
density, and specific gravity.
2. The specific gravity of a certain oil is 0.82; calculate the specific
weight in 𝑙𝑏/𝑓𝑡 3 and 𝑘𝑁/𝑚3 .
3. A liter of water wights about 9.75N. Compute its mass in
kilograms
Vapor Pressure and Cavitation
• At a given temperature, the pressure at
which a pure substance changes phase is
called the saturation pressure.
• For phase-change processes between the
liquid and vapor phases of a pure
substance, the saturation pressure is
The vapor pressure (saturation
commonly called the vapor pressure Pv. pressure) of a pure substance (e.g.,
water) is the pressure exerted by its
• Vapor pressure increases with vapor molecules when the system is
temperature. Thus, a substance at higher in phase equilibrium with its liquid
molecules at a given temperature.
pressure boils at higher temperatures.
• Some liquids, such as propane, butane, ammonia, and Freon, have
significant vapor pressure at normal temperatures. Liquids near their
boiling point or that vaporize easily are said to be volatile liquids. Other
liquids such as mercury, have insignificant vapor pressures at the same
temperature. Liquids with low vapor pressure are used in accurate
barometers.

• The tendency toward vaporization is dependent on the temperature of the

liquid. Boiling occurs when the liquid temperature is increased to the
point that the vapor pressure is equal to the local ambient (surrounding)
pressure Thus, a liquid's boiling temperature depends on the local
ambient pressure, as well as the liquid's tendency to vaporize.
Cavitation
• Vapor bubbles that form in the low-pressure
regions in a liquid (a phenomenon called
cavitation) collapse as they are swept away from
the low-pressure regions, generating highly
destructive, extremely high-pressure waves.A

Cavitation damage on a 16-mm

by 23-mm aluminum sample
tested at 60 m/s for 2.5 hours.
The sample was located at the
cavity collapse region
downstream of a cavity generator
specifically designed to produce
high damage potential.
Coefficient of Compressibility (𝜷)
• Compressibility is the fractional change in the volume of the fluid
per unit change in pressure in a constant temperature process
∆𝑉 𝑑𝑉ൗ
− 𝑉
𝛽= = − 𝑉
∆𝑃 𝑑𝑃

• Bulk modulus of elasticity, K, of the fluid

It expresses the compressibility of the fluid. It is the ratio of the change in
unit pressure to the corresponding volum change per unit volume.
K is the reciprocal of β.
Viscosity (𝜇)
• A property of the fluid that determines the amount of its
resistance to shear forces. Simply, viscosity is a measure of a
fluid's resistance to flow.
Dynamic or Absolute Viscosity (𝜇)
𝐴𝑈 𝐹 𝐴𝑈
𝐹∝ 𝑦 or 𝐴 ∝ 𝑦
𝑈 𝑑𝑉
= (for very small values of U and y)
𝑦 𝑑𝑦
𝐹
= τ = 𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠
𝐴
𝑑𝑉 𝑑𝑉
τ∝ 𝑑𝑦 or τ = 𝑘 𝑑𝑦
(where the constant of proportionality k as called the dynamic or absolute viscosity denoted as 𝜇)
τ
𝜇 = 𝑑𝑉 Where:
ൗ𝑑𝑦 τ = shear stress, in 𝑙𝑏/𝑓𝑡 2 or Pa
𝜇 =absolute viscosity, in 𝑙𝑏 · s/𝑓𝑡 2 (poises) or 𝑃𝑎 · 𝑠
y = distance between the plates in ft or m
U = velocity (V) in 𝑓𝑡/𝑠 or 𝑚/𝑠
Kinematic Viscosity (𝜈)
The ratio of the dynamic
viscosity of the fluid to its
density

𝜇
𝜈= ρ
Surface Tension (𝜎)
The membrane of "skin" that seems to form on the free
surface of a fluid is due to the intermolecular cohesive
forces, and is known as surface tension.

Surface tension is the reason that insects are able to sit

on water and a needle is able to float on it. Surface
tension also causes bubbles and droplets to take on a
spherical shape, since any other shape would have
more surface area per unit volume.
Surface Tension (𝜎)
Consider:
Stretching a liquid film with a U-shaped wire, and the
forces acting on the movable wire of length b.
Then a force balance on the movable wire gives 𝐹 = 2𝑏𝜎𝑠 ,
and thus the surface tension can be expressed as
𝐹
𝜎= (N/m; lb/ft)
2𝑏

Pressure inside a Droplet of Liquid:

4𝜎 Where: P = gauge pressure

𝑃= 𝑑 d = diameter of the droplet
𝜎 = surface tension
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 strength of the capillary effect is
quantified by the contact (or wetting)
The curved free surface of a liquid in a angle ∅ , defined as the angle that the
tangent to the liquid surface makes
capillary tube is called the meniscus. with the solid surface at the point of
contact.
Capillarity (Capillary action)
Capillarity (Capillary action) is the name given to
the behavior of the liquid in a thin-bore tube.
The rise or fall or a fluid in a capillary tube is
caused by surface tension and depends on the
relative magnitudes of the cohesion of the liquid
and the adhesion of the liquid to the walls of the
containing vessel.

Liquids rise in tubes they wet (adhesion >

4𝜎 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
cohesion) and fall in tubes they do not wet ℎ=
𝛾𝑑
(cohesion > adhesion).
Where: h = capillary rise or depression
Capillary is important when using tubes smaller 𝛾 = specific weight
than about 3/8 inch (9.5 mm) in diameter. 𝜃 = contact angle
𝜎 = surface tension
Problems
1. What pressure is required to reduce the volume of water by 0.6%, given that bulk
modulus of elasticity is 2.2 GPa?

2. If the viscosity of water at 70°𝐶 is 0.00402 poise and its specific gravity is 0.978, determine
its absolute viscosity in 𝑃𝑎·𝑠 and its kinematic viscosity in 𝑚2 /𝑠.

3. Two large plane surfaces are 25 mm apart and the space between them is filled with a
liquid viscosity 𝜇 = 0.958 𝑃𝑎·𝑠. Assuming the velocity gradient to be a straight line, what force
is required to pull a very thin palate of 0.37 𝑚2 area at a constant speed of 0.3 m/s if the
plate is 8.44 mm from one of the surface?
Problems
1. A cylinder of 125 mm radius rotates concentrically inside a fixed
cylinder of 130 mm radius. Both cylinders are 300 mm long.
Determine the viscosity of the liquid that fills the space between
the cylinders if a torque of 0.88 N-m is required to maintain an
angular velocity of 2𝜋 radians/sec. Assume the velocity gradient
to be a straight line

2. An 18-kg slab slides down a 15° inclined plane on a 3-mm-thick

film of oil with viscosity 𝜇 = 0.0814 Pa-sec. If the contact area is
0.3 𝑚2 , find the terminal velocity of the slab. Neglect air
resistance.

3. Estimate the capillary depression for mercury in a glass capillary

tube 2 mm in diameter. Use 𝜎 = 0.514 𝑁/𝑚 and 𝜃 = 140°.
END