Fluid mechanics

Introduction
Fluid mechanics is the study of motions and forces in fluids since the nature and flow of most
materials handled in process industries is in fluid form. An understanding of the principles
governing the flow characteristics of these materials gives a chemical engineer/ process design
engineer a familiarity to the techniques to be used in designing storage and transportation
equipment of these materials. The concepts in fluid mechanics find wide application in the fields
of hydraulic design, aerodynamics, meteorology, particle dynamics, hydrology, reservoir
mechanics, multiphase flow et al.

A fluid may be defined as a substance that doesn‘t permanently resist distortion and hence will
change its shape. For this definition, gases, liquids and vapours are considered to have the
characteristics of fluids and to obey many of the same laws.

From the properties of fluids, the most that are required by a process/chemical engineer in an
assay or characterisation for calculations are:

 Density
 Viscosity
 Surface tension
The study of fluid mechanics is subdivided into two main disciplines and we shall only deal
withthose areas of interest to processes in the coming lectures:
Fluid Statics–this deals with fluids under mechanical equilibrium as such they are under
no net motion
Fluid dynamics–this deals with fluids under motion.
This unit will be delivered through lectures and case study analysis of practical industrial
flowphenomena. As such the assessment will be on assignments (or small projects
whereossible),
tests and examinations following the criterion stipulated by International University of East
Africa University.

The Outline to be followed is:

General Concepts
Fluid Statics
Fluid Flow Phenomena
Basic Equations in Fluid Flow
Flow of incompressible fluids in Conduits
Transportation and Metering of fluids
Flow Past Immersed Bodies
Agitation and Mixing of Liquids
 GENERAL CONCEPTS
Recap on Dimensions and Dimensional Analysis
Mass, length and time are commonly used primary units, other units being derived from them.
Their dimensions are written as M, L and T respectively. Sometimes force is used as a primary
unit. In the SI system of units, the primary units are the kilogram kg, the metre m, and the second
s, however there needs to be a form to convert from one unit to another and this is made possible
by using conversion tables.
Problems are frequently encountered in fluid flow and other engineering work that involve
several variables. Engineers are generally interested in developing functional relationships
(equations) between these variables. When these variables can be grouped together in such a
manner that they can be used to predict the performance of similar pieces of equipment,
independent of the scale or size of the operations, something very valuable has been
accomplished.
Consider, for example, the problem of establishing a method of calculating the power
requirements for mixing liquids in open tanks. The obvious variables would be the depth of
liquid in the tank, the density and viscosity of the liquid, the speed of the agitator, the geometry
of the agitator, and the diameter of the tank. There are therefore six variables that affect the
power, or a total of seven terms that must be considered. To generate a general equation to
describe power variation with these variables, a series of tanks having different diameters would
have to be set up in order to gather data for various values of each variable.
Assuming that ten different values of each of six variables were imposed on the process, 10 6
runs would be required. Obviously, a mathematical method for handling several variables that
requires considerably less than one million runs to establish a design method must be available.
In fact, such a method is available and it is defined as dimensional analysis.

Application of Fluid Mechanics

Hydraulicdesign
Aerodynamics
Hydrology
Reservoirmechanics
Multiphaseflow analysis and design
Particledynamics
 Classification and Properties of Fluids

i. Viscosity

This is the measure of a fluid‘s resistance to flow. Fluids can be classified based on their
viscosity. An imaginary fluid of zero viscosity is called a Pascalfluid. The flow of a Pascal fluid
is termed inviscid (or non-viscous) flow. Viscous fluids are classified based on their
rheological (viscous) properties. These are detailed below:

1. Newtonian fluids, as described in the previous chapter, obey Newton‘s law of viscosity (i.e.,
the fluid shear stress is linearly proportional to the velocity gradient). All gases are considered
Newtonian fluids. Newtonian liquid examples are water, benzene, ethyl alcohol, hexane and
sugar solutions. All liquids of a simple chemical formula are normally considered Newtonian
fluids.

2. Non-Newtonian fluids do not obey Newton‘s law of viscosity. Generally they are complex
mixtures (e.g., polymer solutions, slurries, and so on).

Non-Newtonian fluids are classified into three types:

a. Time-independent fluids are fluids in which the viscous properties do not vary with time.

b. Time-dependent fluids are fluids in which the viscous properties vary with time.

c. Visco-elastic or memory fluids are fluids with elastic properties that allow them to ―spring
back‖ after the release of a shear force. Examples include egg-white and rubber cement.

Shear stress vs. Rate of shear strain dv/dy. Each of these lines can be represented by
theequation

where A, B and n are constants. For Newtonian fluids A = 0, B =and n = 1.

Additional details on the first two classes of fluids follow.

3. Time-independent, non-Newtonian fluids are further classified into three types.

a. Pseudoplastic or shear thinning fluids are characterized by a fluid resistance decrease with
increasing stress (eg, polymers).
b. Dilatant or shear thickening fluids increase resistance with increasing velocity gradient or
applied stress. These are uncommon, but an example is quicksand.

c. Bingham plastics are fluids that resist a small shearing stress. At low shear stress these fluids
do not move. At high shear the fluids move.

The fluid just starts moving when sufficient stress is applied. This stress is termed the yield
stress. When the applied stress exceeds the yield stress, the Bingham plastic flows. Examples are
toothpaste, jelly, and bread-dough.

4. Time-dependent, non-Newtonian fluids are further classified into two types.

a. Rheopectic fluids are characterized by an increasing viscosity with time.

b. Thixotropic fluids have a decreasing viscosity with time.

ii. Temperature:

All fluid properties are dependent upon temperature. For most fluids the viscosity is the property
that is most sensitive to temperature changes.

(a) Liquids

For liquids, as the temperature increases, the degree of molecular motion increases, reducing the
short-range attractive forces between molecules and lowering the viscosity. For many liquids,
this temperature dependence can be represented reasonably well by the Arrhenius equation
below;

( ⁄ )

.
.

b. Gases

The viscosity of a gas increases with increasing temperature. This is because gas molecules are
much farther apart, so the short-range attractive forces are very small. However, as the
temperature is increased, the molecular kinetic energy increases, resulting in a greater exchange
of momentum between the molecules and consequently a higher viscosity. The viscosity of gases
is not as sensitive to temperature as that of liquids, however, and can often be represented by the
equation:

where the temperatures are in degrees Rankine and TB is the boiling point of the gas.

iii. Density:

The density of both liquids and gases decreases with increasing temperature, and the density of
gases is much more sensitive to temperature than that of liquids.

The specific gravity of hydrocarbon liquids at 60oF is also often represented by the API gravity:

For gases, if the temperature is well above the critical temperature andthe pressure is below
thecritical pressure, the ideal gas law usually applies: