Application of

fluid
mechanics in
civil
engineering

Ignacio Diaz Maria Ivette

Eliel Guardian Palm
Ana Lucia Zeña Portilla
Sernaque Zubiate Martin Alexander
SANTO TORIBIO DE MOGROVEJO CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY | 2021
Content
1. GOALS:.................................................................................................................................2
1.1. General objective:........................................................................................................2
1.2. Specific objectives:.......................................................................................................2
2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK:................................................................................................2
2.1. Definition......................................................................................................................2
2.2. Historical evolution.......................................................................................................3
2.3. Properties of fluids.......................................................................................................4
2.3.1. Primary properties................................................................................................5
2.3.2. Secondary properties............................................................................................5
2.4. Importance of the study of fluid mechanics.................................................................6
2.5. Applications of fluid mechanics in civil engineering.....................................................6
2.5.1. Hydraulics.............................................................................................................6

Index of figures:
Figure1: Scientists and technicians who contributed to the development of fluid mechanics....4
Figure2: Hydrostatics is one of the applications of fluid mechanics.............................................8
Figure3: Graphical explanation of fluid mechanics.......................................................................8
 Application of fluid mechanics in civil
engineering
1. GOALS:
1.1. General objective:
Know the applications of fluid mechanics in Civil Engineering and
Environmental Engineering.

1.2. Specific objectives:

- To understand the evolution and importance of fluid mechanics in the
construction of civil works.
- Understand the different properties that govern fluid statics.

2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK:

2.1. Definition
Fluid mechanics is part of physics and as such, it is a science specialized in the
study of the behavior of fluids at rest and in motion. But what is a fluid? A fluid is
defined as a substance that changes shape relatively easily. Fluids include liquids that
change shape but do not change volume and gases that change shape and volume
easily.
There is another more detailed definition, fluidity is understood as the
characteristic of constant deformation under the action of a force tangent to the plane
of application, however small it may be.
Fluid mechanics is part of the curriculum of most engineering firms because it
provides the basic knowledge and tools necessary to design and evaluate equipment
and processes in technical fields including fluid transport, power generation,
environmental control, transportation vehicles, hydraulic structure, etc. These relate
to the properties of fluids and their characteristics; the physical laws that govern their
behavior; the mathematical expressions of these laws; and the various methods that
can be used to solve problems.
Classical fluid mechanics is divided mainly into hydrostatics and fluid dynamics:
hydrostatics studies the laws and conditions that govern the equilibrium of static
fluids, taking into account the forces to which they are subjected; fluid dynamics
studies the laws of fluid motion, the forces involved in this motion and their
interaction with solids.
Given the complexity of the research topic, fluid dynamics is subdivided
according to the physical properties of the fluid or the type of method used to solve
the problem.
Viscous flow is the study of real flow, since taking into consideration the
viscosity of the fluid produces viscous forces.
 Turbulent flow is characterized by the fact that the fluid particles have a
random three-dimensional movement that adds to the main movement, thus
producing speed fluctuations.
  In an incompressible flow, density variations are not taken into account for the
calculation of the flow field. Low velocity flows of liquids and some gases fall into this
category.
Computational fluid dynamics uses numerical methods to solve the differential
equations that govern fluid flow, since they are impossible to solve analytically due to
their complexity.
Gasodynamics, also known as gas dynamics, is the general study of subsonic
and hypersonic compressible flows with or without heat transfer processes.
On our planet there are two very important fluids for life: water and air. For
this reason, fluid mechanics or fluid mechanics can be divided into hydromechanics, if
the fluid being studied is water, or aeromechanics if working with air.
Hydrostatics is the study of water and other incompressible fluids under static
conditions, while hydrodynamics deals with water and other incompressible fluids in
motion. Aerostatics studies the equilibrium conditions of bodies immersed in air under
static conditions and aerodynamics deals with the forces produced by air flows on
bodies or structures immersed in it and the design of land and air vehicles.

2.2. Historical evolution

Modern fluid mechanics was born with Ludwig Prandtl, who in 1904 developed
the synthesis between practical hydraulics and theoretical hydrodynamics by
introducing the boundary layer theory.

Several brilliant mathematicians of the 18th century, Bernouilli, Clairaut,

D'Alembert, Lagrange and Euler, had developed, with the help of differential and
integral calculus, a perfect hydrodynamic synthesis; but they had not obtained
practical results nor explained certain phenomena observed in reality. On the other
hand, hydraulic technicians had developed a multitude of empirical formulas and
experiments to solve the problems that hydraulic constructions presented, without
worrying about finding any theoretical basis for them.

Prandtl's contribution was precisely to achieve the unification of both

tendencies to mark the beginning of a new science with a theoretical basis and
experimental support. The table presented is a concise synthesis of the scientists and
technicians who contributed to the development of fluid mechanics.

NAME INPUT

Archimedes (287-221 BC) Laws of flotation.

Leonardo da Vinci (1542- Continuity equation. Sketches of hydraulic and

1519) flying machines.
 Galileo Galilei Fundamentals of hydrostatics

Exit through a hole. Measurement of atmospheric

Torricelli (1608-1647)
pressure.

Pascal (1623-1662) Pascal's law.

Newton (1642-1726) Law of dynamic viscosity.

Bernoulli (1700-1782) Bernoulli's theorem.

Euler (1707-1783) Differential equations of motion of ideal flow.

D'Alembert (1717-1783) Differential equation of continuity.

Chézy (1718-1798) Water circulation in canals and pipes.

Darcy Pressure movement in pipes

Lagrange (1736-1813) Potential function and current function

Venturi (1746-1822) Liquid output through holes and nozzles.

Poiseuille (1799-1869) Capillary resistance equation.

Weisbach (1806-1871) Pipe strength formula.

Navier (1785-1836) and

Differential equations of motion of viscous fluids.
Stokes (1819-1903)

Reynolds (1842-1912) Laminar and turbulent flow regimes.

Prandtl (1868-1945) Boundary layer theory.

Blasius Solution for laminar boundary layer.

Von Karman Solution for turbulent boundary layer.

Figure1: Scientists and technicians who contributed to the development of fluid mechanics

2.3. Properties of fluids

They are those physical magnitudes whose value defines the state in which it is found.

There are two types of properties in fluids:

2.3.1.Primary properties

 Pressure: It is a scalar physical magnitude that measures the force in a

perpendicular direction per unit of surface, and is used to characterize how a
certain resulting force is applied to a surface.
 Density: Density is a physical property of matter that describes the
degree of compactness of a substance and describes how tightly packed the atoms
of an element or the molecules of a compound are; the closer together the
individual particles of a substance are, the denser it becomes.
  Temperature: Physical property that refers to the common notions of
heat or absence of heat. It is one of the most used magnitudes to describe the
state of the atmosphere.
 Internal energy: The internal energy of a system is identified as the
energy relative to the random and disordered motion of the molecules. This
energy in a system includes potential and kinetic energy.
 Enthalpy: It is an extensive property (it depends on the quantity of
matter present) that can be used to obtain the heat absorbed or released by a
chemical reaction.
 Entropy: It is a property that has to do with the amount of matter in a
body, which refers to a region of space and can basically be treated as a substance.
 Specific heats: Specific heat is the property that allows us to measure
the amount of energy that a substance is capable of storing.
 Cohesive force: The particles of a substance are held together by
various intermolecular (or cohesive) forces, which prevent each one from going its
own way. These forces are stronger in solids, less so in liquids, and very weak in
gases.
 Specific weight: It is the ratio between the weight of a quantity of a
substance and its volume, measured according to the International System in
Newtons per cubic meter (N/m3).

2.3.2.Secondary properties

They characterize the specific behavior of fluids.

 Viscosity: Viscosity is an important property of liquids that describes

the liquid's resistance to flow and is related to internal friction in the liquid.
 Thermal conductivity: Represents the heat transmission capacity of
fluids, that is, to transfer the kinetic energy of the particles to other adjacent ones
with which it is in contact.
 Surface Tension: It is the amount of energy needed to increase the
surface of a liquid per unit area, but it can be understood as the resistance that
fluids, especially liquids, present when increasing their surface area.
 Diffusion coefficient: It is the ease with which a specific solute moves in
a given solvent, depending on the size of the solute, the viscosity of the solvent,
the temperature of the mixture and the nature of the substances.

2.4. Importance of the study of fluid mechanics

Fluid mechanics is of great importance to engineering, as it allows us to
describe the movement of fluids through pipes, which are vital for pumping and fluid
transport systems.

The study of fluid mechanics can help us both to understand the complexity
of the natural environment and to improve the world we have created.

Most of the study of fluids occurs under geometric configurations, whose

structure is flat plates, circular conduits and other simple geometries, although with
the advance of computational fluid mechanics it has become possible to study and
apply numerical methods to arbitrary geometric bodies that contain liquid or gaseous
fluids, thus allowing a great contribution in the construction of civil works in civil
engineering.
2.5. Applications of fluid mechanics in civil engineering
The application of fluid mechanics is closely related to hydraulics in the case
of civil engineering. Hydraulic work or hydraulic infrastructure is understood to be a
construction, in the field of civil engineering, where the dominant element has to do
with water. It is also applied in fluid transport processes since it provides the physical
basis for the transport of mass, heat and momentum in the environment.

One of the greatest applications of fluid mechanics in civil engineering is when

working with urban hydraulics, which has to do with the supply of drinking water,
wastewater treatment, sewerage and of course pollution control.

Constitutive relations describe the macroscopic properties of fluid motion. For

example, Newton's Law of Viscosity, and Fourier's Law of Heat Transfer.

These applications range from the distribution of water for both irrigation and
human consumption, as well as waste disposal, electricity production, and the
transportation of fluids that include not only water but also oil and gasoline.

2.5.1.Hydraulics

The study of hydraulics is of great importance for the civil engineer, since it
provides this professional with comprehensive training that allows him to solve various
problems, such as the design of works that are components of evacuation systems,
storm drainage (bridges and sewers) and supply.

This plans, designs and builds engineering solutions to the problems of surface,
underground and maritime water resources that emerge in the natural environment or
in the artificial use of said resources.

Because water is present in all activities developed by man, it is

understandable that Hydraulics has so many areas of application. Some of these areas
are:

 Hydrometry

Design and use of instruments used in the laboratory and in the field.
Data collection and analysis methods. Measurement of parameters such as
speed, flow, level, temperature, salinity and sediment transport.

 Experimental hydraulics and physical modelling

Modeling of three-dimensional, turbulent and unsteady flows using laboratory

equipment and reduced-scale physical models. Main application in the design of
hydraulic structures and their effects on the fluid medium and cause.

 Computational hydraulics

Modeling of hydrodynamic processes using numerical models. Applications in

dam failure, tidal flow, contaminant dispersion.

 Environmental hydraulics
 Studies the work of the impact of engineering works on natural ecosystems,
water quality and environmental protection. Water resources management. Water
planning and management taking into account political, legal, environmental and
sustainable development aspects. Resolution of conflicts between water uses and
users.

 Maritime hydraulics

In cities near the sea, fluid mechanics allows civil engineers to design shoreline
protections, breakwater ports, estuaries and various offshore structures that protect
the coasts.

 River Hydraulics

It studies and controls river processes, sediment transport, river morphology,

slope stability, channelling and riverbank protection.

 Urban hydraulics

One of the greatest applications of fluid mechanics in civil engineering is when

working with urban hydraulics, which has to do with the supply of drinking water,
wastewater treatment, sewerage and of course pollution control.

Figure2: Hydrostatics is one of the applications of fluid mechanics.