BASIC FLUID MECHANICS

DR.SATISH KUMAR
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

NIT JAMSHEDPUR

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 Fluid Mechanics
• Fluid mechanics is that branch
of science which deals with
the behavior of fluids (liquid
&gasses) at rest and motion.
• Basically a study of the:
– Physically behavior of fluids
and fluid systems , and of
the laws governing this
behavior.
– Action of forces on fluid
and of the resulting flow

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pattern.
 FLUID

Fluid is defined as one which under continuously applied

tangential stress, starts deforming continuously as long as
shear stress is applied. In other words, it can flow
continuously as a result of shearing action. This
includes any liquid or gas.

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What is a Fluid?
Fluid: A substance in the liquid or
gas phase.
A solid can resist an applied shear
stress by deforming.
A fluid deforms continuously under
the influence of a shear stress, no
matter how small.
In solids, stress is proportional to
strain, but in fluids, stress is
proportional to strain rate.
Deformation of a rubber block placed
When a constant shear force is
applied, a solid eventually stops between two parallel plates under the
deforming at some fixed strain influence of a shear force. The shear
angle, whereas a fluid never stops stress shown is that on the rubber—

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deforming and approaches a an equal but opposite shear stress
constant rate of strain. acts on the upper plate.

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Stress: Force per unit area.
Normal stress: The normal
component of a force acting on a
surface per unit area.
Shear stress: The tangential
component of a force acting on a
surface per unit area.
Pressure: The normal stress in a fluid
at rest.
Zero shear stress: A fluid at rest is at
a state of zero shear stress.
When the walls are removed or a
liquid container is tilted, a shear
develops as the liquid moves to re-

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establish a horizontal free surface. 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.
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In a liquid, groups of molecules can move relative to each other, but the
volume remains relatively constant because of the strong cohesive forces
between the molecules. As a result, a liquid takes the shape of the container it
is in, and it forms a free surface in a larger container in a gravitational field.
A gas expands until it encounters the walls of the container and fills the entire
available space. This is because the gas molecules are widely spaced, and the
cohesive forces between them are very small. Unlike liquids, a gas in an open
container cannot form a free surface.

Unlike a liquid, a gas

does not form a

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free surface, and it
expands to fill the
entire available space.
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Intermolecular bonds are strongest in solids and weakest in gases.
Solid: The molecules in a solid are arranged in a pattern that is repeated
throughout.
Liquid: In liquids molecules can rotate and translate freely.
Gas: In the gas phase, the molecules are far apart from each other, and molecular
ordering is nonexistent.

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The arrangement of atoms in different phases: (a) molecules are at relatively fixed
positions 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.
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Gas and vapor are often used as synonymous words.
Gas: The vapor phase of a substance is customarily called a gas when it is
above the critical temperature.
Vapor: Usually implies that the current phase is not far from a state of
condensation.

Macroscopic or classical approach: Does

not require a knowledge of the behavior
of individual molecules and provides a
direct and easy way to analyze
engineering problems.
Microscopic or statistical approach: Based
on the average behavior of large groups
of individual molecules.

On a microscopic scale, pressure is

determined by the interaction of

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individual gas molecules. However,
we can measure the pressure on a
macroscopic scale with a pressure
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 Fluid Flow
• The tendency of continuous deformation of
fluid is called fluidity.
• The act of continuous deformation is called
flow .
• Flow means that the constituent fluid
particles continuously change their positions
relative to one another.

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Application Areas of Fluid Mechanics

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Fluid dynamics is used extensively in
the design of artificial hearts. Shown
here is the Penn State Electric Total
Artificial Heart. 10
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 Fluids

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 Vehicles
Aircraft Surface ships

High-speed rail Submarines

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 Environment
Air pollution River hydraulics

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 Physiology and Medicine
Blood pump Ventricular assist device

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 Sports & Recreation
Water sports Cycling Offshore racing

Auto racing Surfing

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 History
Faces of Fluid Mechanics

Archimedes Newton Leibniz Bernoulli Euler

(C. 287-212 BC) (1642-1727) (1646-1716) (1667-1748) (1707-1783)

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Navier Stokes Reynolds Prandtl Taylor
(1785-1836) (1819-1903) (1842-1912) (1875-1953) (1886-1975)
 PROPERTIES OF FLUID
Mass Density
The density of a liquid may be defined the mass per unit volume at standard temperature
and pressure. Its units are

Weight Density
The weight density is defined as the weight per unit volume at the standard temperarue and
pressure.

Specific Volume
It is defined as volume per unit mass of fluid.

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 SPECIFIC GRAVITY
The specific gravity (or relative density) can be defined in two ways:
Definition 1: A ratio of the density of a liquid to the density of
water at standard temperature and pressure (STP)
(20C, 1 atm), or
Definition 2: A ratio of the specific weight of a liquid to the
specific weight of water at standard temperature
and pressure (STP) (20C, 1 atm),

 liquid  liquid
SG  
 water @ STP  water @ STP

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Unit: dimensionless.
 Example
A reservoir of oil has a mass of 825 kg. The reservoir has a volume
of 0.917 m3. Compute the density, specific weight, and specific
gravity of the oil.

Solution:
mass m 825
 oil     900 kg / m 3
volume  0.917
weight mg
 oil    g  900 x 9.81  8829 N / m 3
volume 

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 900
SG o il  o il
  0 .9
 w @ STP 1000
 Viscosity
• Viscosity, , is a measure of resistance to fluid
flow as a result of intermolecular cohesion. In
other words, viscosity can be seen as internal
friction to fluid motion which can then lead to
energy loss.
• Different fluids deform at different rates under
the same shear stress. The ease with which a fluid
pours is an indication of its viscosity. Fluid with a
high viscosity such as syrup deforms more slowly
than fluid with a low viscosity such as water. The
viscosity is also known as dynamic viscosity.
 Units: N.s/m2 or kg/m/s

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 Typical values:
Water = 1.14x10-3 kg/m/s; Air = 1.78x10-5
kg/m/s
Newtonian and Non-Newtonian Fluid
obey refer
Fluid Newton’s law Newtonian fluids
of viscosity

Newton’s’ law of viscosity is given by; Example:

Air
du Water
 Oil
Gasoline
dy Alcohol
Kerosene
 = shear stress Benzene
 = viscosity of fluid Glycerine
du/dy = shear rate, rate of strain or velocity gradient

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• The viscosity  is a function only of the condition of the fluid, particularly its
temperature.
• The magnitude of the velocity gradient (du/dy) has no effect on the magnitude of .
 VISCOSITY

Units of viscosity:

In S.I. Units:
In M.K.S. Units:

The unit of viscosity in C.G.S. is also called poise

and

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100 centi poise = 1poise

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 VISCOSITY
Kinematic Viscosity
Kinematic viscosity is defined as the ratio between the dynamic viscosity and density of
fluid. It is denoted by ν.

ν= viscosity/density

Units of Kinematic viscosity:

In SI Units:
In CGS units the kinematic viscosity is also known as stoke

𝟒 𝟐

and

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100 centistoke = 1 stoke

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 Newtonian and Non-Newtonian Fluid
Do not obey

Fluid Newton’s law Non- Newtonian

of viscosity fluids

• The viscosity of the non-Newtonian fluid is dependent on the

velocity gradient as well as the condition of the fluid.

Newtonian Fluids
 a linear relationship between shear stress and the velocity gradient (rate
of shear),
 the slope is constant
 the viscosity is constant

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non-Newtonian fluids
 slope of the curves for non-Newtonian fluids varies
 TYPES OF FLUIDS
Newtonian fluids: these fluids follow Newton’s viscosity.
For such fluids viscosity does not change with rate of
deformation.

For e.g. Water, kerosene, air etc

Non-Newtonian fluids: Fluids which do not follow the linear relationship between
shear stress and rate of deformation are termed as Non-Newtonian fluids.

For e.g. Solutions or suspensions, mud flows, polymer solutions, blood etc. these fluids
are generally complex mixtures and are studied under rheology a science of deformation
of flow.

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Plastic fluids: In the case of a plastic substance which is non-Newtonian an initial yield
stress is to be exceeded to cause a continuous deformation.

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 TYPES OF FLUIDS
• A generalized Power-law model can describe both
Newtonian and Non-Newtonian fluid as following:
n
 du 
  A  B
 dy 
(i) When n = 1, B = 0, it is Newtonian fluid.
(ii) When n > 1, the fluid is dilatants, i.e., quicksand, butter,
printing ink.
(iii) When n < 1, the fluid is pseudo plastic, i.e., gelatin, blood,
milk, paper pulp, etc.
(iv) When n = 1, B ≠ 0, the fluid is Bingham plastic, i.e., sewage

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sludge, drilling muds,etc.
 TYPES OF FLUIDS
Ideal Plastic (Bingham plastic): ideal
fluid has a definite yield stress and a constant
linear relation between shear stress and the rate
of angular deformation.

Ideal Fluid: An ideal fluid is one which is

incompressible and has zero viscosity.

Ideal fluid
Newtonian fluid
Ideal plastic

Non- Newtonian fluids

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 Variation of viscosity with temperature
• In the case of gases, increased temperature makes the
molecular movement more vigorous and increases molecular
mixing so that the viscosity increases.
• In the case of a liquid, as its temperature increases molecules
separate from each other, decreasing the attraction between
them, and so the viscosity decreases.

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 EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE
ON VISCOSITY
Viscosity is effected by temperature. The viscosity of liquids decreases but that
of gases increases with the increase in temperature.

This is due to the reason that in liquids the shear stress is due to the inter
moleculer cohesion which decreases with increase of temperature.

The viscosity under ordinary conditions is not appreciably affected by the

changes in pressure. However the viscosity of some oils has been found to be
increase with increase in pressure.

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 COMPRESSIBILITY AND BILK MODULUS
Compressibility is the reciprocal of bulk modulus of
elasticity, K which is defined as the ratio of compressive
stress to volumetric strain.

Consider a cylinder fitted with a piston and let pressure is

increased to p+dp, the volume of gas decreases from V to V
– dV V olum etric strain = - d V -ve sign means the volume
decreases with increase of pressure
V
Increase of pressure dp  dp
Bulk modulus, K = =  V
Volumetric strain dV dV
-

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V
1
Compressibility=
K
 Relationship between K and p
(i) For Isothermal Process. (pV=constant)
K= p

(i) For Adiabatic Process. (pVγ=constant)

K=  p

Where K is Bulk Modulus and γ is Ratio of Specific heats.

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 SURFACE TENSION
Surface Tension
Cohesion: Cohesion means intermolecular attraction between molecules of the same
liquid. It enables a liquid to resist small amount of tensile stresses. Cohesion is a tendency
of the liquid to remain as one assemblage of particles.

Surface tension is due to cohesion between particles at free surface.

Adhesion: Adhesion means attraction between the molecules of a liquid and the
molecules of a solid boundary surface in contact with liquid. This property enables a
liquid to stick to another body.

Capillary action is due to both cohesion and adhesion.

Surface tension: is caused by the force of cohesion at the free surface. A liquid molecule

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in the interior of the liquid of the liquid mass is surrounded by other molecules all around
and is in equilibrium. At the free surface of the liquid there are no liquid molecules above
the surface to balance the force of the molecules below it.

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 Surface Tension
 The pressure inside a drop of fluid can be calculated using a free-
body diagram of a spherical shape of radius R cut in half, as shown in
Fig. 1.7, and the force developed around the edge of the cut sphere is
2R.

 This force must be balance with the difference between the internal
pressure pi and the external pressure pe acting on the circular area of
the cut. Thus,
2R = pR2
p = pi –pe =

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2
p= R