INTRODUCTION TO FLUID

MECHANICS
2
Objectives
Understand the basic concepts of Fluid Mechanics.
Recognize the various types of fluid flow problems
encountered in practice.
Learn the history of Fluid Mechanics.
Understand the vapor pressure and its role in the
occurrence of cavitation.
Have a working knowledge of viscosity and the
consequences of the frictional effects it causes in
fluid flow.
Calculate the capillary rises and drops due to the
surface tension effects.
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THE NO-SLIP CONDITION
The development of a velocity
profile due to the no-slip condition
as a fluid flows over a blunt nose.
A fluid flowing over a stationary
surface comes to a complete stop at
the surface because of the no-slip
condition.
Flow separation during flow over a curved surface.
Boundary layer: The flow
region adjacent to the wall in
which the viscous effects
(and thus the velocity
gradients) are significant.
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CLASSIFICATION OF FLUID FLOWS
Viscous versus Inviscid Regions of Flow
Viscous flows: Flows in which the frictional effects are significant.
Inviscid flow regions: In many flows of practical interest, there are regions
(typically regions not close to solid surfaces) where viscous forces are
negligibly small compared to inertial or pressure forces.
The flow of an originally
uniform fluid stream
over a flat plate, and
the regions of viscous
flow (next to the plate
on both sides) and
inviscid flow (away from
the plate).
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Internal versus External Flow
External flow over a tennis ball, and the
turbulent wake region behind.
External flow: The flow of an unbounded fluid over a surface such
as a plate, a wire, or a pipe.
Internal flow: The flow in a pipe or duct if the fluid is completely
bounded by solid surfaces.
Water flow in a pipe is
internal flow, and
airflow over a ball is
external flow .
The flow of liquids in a
duct is called open-
channel flow if the duct
is only partially filled
with the liquid and
there is a free surface.
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Compressible versus Incompressible Flow
Incompressible flow: If the
density of flowing fluid remains
nearly constant throughout (e.g.,
liquid flow).
Compressible flow: If the density
of fluid changes during flow (e.g.,
high-speed gas flow)
When analyzing rockets, spacecraft,
and other systems that involve high-
speed gas flows, the flow speed is
often expressed by Mach number
Schlieren image of a small model of
the space shuttle orbiter being tested at
Mach 3 in the supersonic wind tunnel
of the Penn State Gas Dynamics Lab.
Several oblique shocks are seen in the
air surrounding the spacecraft.
Ma = 1 Sonic flow
Ma < 1 Subsonic flow
Ma > 1 Supersonic flow
Ma >> 1 Hypersonic flow
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Laminar versus Turbulent Flow
Laminar flow: The highly
ordered fluid motion
characterized by smooth
layers of fluid. The flow of
high-viscosity fluids such as
oils at low velocities is
typically laminar.
Turbulent flow: The highly
disordered fluid motion that
typically occurs at high
velocities and is
characterized by velocity
fluctuations. The flow of low-
viscosity fluids such as air at
high velocities is typically
turbulent.
Transitional flow: A flow
that alternates between
being laminar and turbulent.
Laminar, transitional, and turbulent flows.
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Natural (or Unforced)
versus Forced Flow
Forced flow: A fluid is forced
to flow over a surface or in a
pipe by external means such
as a pump or a fan.
Natural flow: Fluid motion is
due to natural means such as
the buoyancy effect, which
manifests itself as the rise of
warmer (and thus lighter) fluid
and the fall of cooler (and thus
denser) fluid.
In this schlieren image of a girl in a
swimming suit, the rise of lighter, warmer air
adjacent to her body indicates that humans
and warm-blooded animals are surrounded
by thermal plumes of rising warm air.
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Steady versus Unsteady Flow
The term steady implies no change at
a point with time.
The opposite of steady is unsteady.
The term uniform implies no change
with location over a specified region.
The term periodic refers to the kind of
unsteady flow in which the flow
oscillates about a steady mean.
Many devices such as turbines,
compressors, boilers, condensers,
and heat exchangers operate for long
periods of time under the same
conditions, and they are classified as
steady-flow devices.
Oscillating wake of a blunt-based airfoil
at Mach number 0.6. Photo (a) is an
instantaneous image, while photo (b) is
a long-exposure (time-averaged) image.
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One-, Two-, and Three-Dimensional Flows
A flow field is best characterized by its
velocity distribution.
A flow is said to be one-, two-, or three-
dimensional if the flow velocity varies in
one, two, or three dimensions, respectively.
However, the variation of velocity in certain
directions can be small relative to the
variation in other directions and can be
ignored.
The development of the velocity profile in a circular pipe. V = V(r, z) and thus the
flow is two-dimensional in the entrance region, and becomes one-dimensional
downstream when the velocity profile fully develops and remains unchanged in
the flow direction, V = V(r).
Flow over a car antenna is
approximately two-dimensional
except near the top and bottom of
the antenna.
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF FLUID MECHANICS
Segment of Pergamon pipeline. Each
clay pipe section was 13 to 18 cm in
diameter.
A mine hoist powered by
a reversible water wheel.
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The Wright brothers take flight at Kitty Hawk.
The Oklahoma Wind Power Center
near Woodward consists of 68
turbines, 1.5 MW each.
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VAPOR PRESSURE AND CAVITATION
Saturation temperature T
sat
: The
temperature at which a pure substance
changes phase at a given pressure.
Saturation pressure P
sat
: The pressure
at which a pure substance changes
phase at a given temperature.
Vapor pressure (P
v
): The pressure
exerted by its vapor in phase equilibrium
with its liquid at a given temperature. It is
identical to the saturation pressure P
sat
of
the liquid (P
v
= P
sat
).
Partial pressure: The pressure of a gas
or vapor in a mixture with other gases.
For example, atmospheric air is a mixture
of dry air and water vapor, and
atmospheric pressure is the sum of the
partial pressure of dry air and the partial
pressure of water vapor.
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There is a possibility of the liquid
pressure in liquid-flow systems
dropping below the vapor
pressure at some locations, and
the resulting unplanned
vaporization.
The vapor bubbles (called
cavitation bubbles since they
form cavities in the liquid)
collapse as they are swept away
from the low-pressure regions,
generating highly destructive,
extremely high-pressure waves.
This phenomenon, which is a
common cause for drop in
performance and even the
erosion of impeller blades, is
called cavitation, and it is an
important consideration in the
design of hydraulic turbines and
pumps.
Cavitation damage on a 16-mm by
23-mm aluminum sample tested at
60 m/s for 2.5 h. The sample was
located at the cavity collapse
region downstream of a cavity
generator specifically designed to
produce high damage potential.
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COMPRESSIBILITY AND SPEED OF SOUND
Speed of sound (sonic speed): The speed at which an infinitesimally small
pressure wave travels through a medium.
Propagation of a small
pressure wave along a duct.
Control volume moving with the
small pressure wave along a duct.
For an ideal gas
For any fluid
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The speed of sound changes with
temperature and varies with the fluid.
Gas Constant
R = 0.287 kJ/kgK for air
R = 2.0769 kJ/kgK for helium
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VISCOSITY
Viscosity: A property that represents the internal resistance of a fluid to
motion or the fluidity.
Drag force: The force a flowing fluid exerts on a body in the flow
direction. The magnitude of this force depends, in part, on viscosity
A fluid moving relative to
a body exerts a drag
force on the body, partly
because of friction
caused by viscosity.
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The behavior of a fluid in
laminar flow between two
parallel plates when the
upper plate moves with a
constant velocity.
Fluids for which the rate of deformation is
proportional to the shear stress are called
Newtonian fluids.
Shear stress
Shear force
dynamic viscosity
kg/m s or N s/m
2
or Pa s
1 poise = 0.1 Pa s
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The rate of deformation (velocity gradient)
of a Newtonian fluid is proportional to
shear stress, and the constant of
proportionality is the viscosity.
Variation of shear stress with the
rate of deformation for
Newtonian and non-Newtonian
fluids (the slope of a curve at a
point is the apparent viscosity of
the fluid at that point).
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Kinematic viscosity,
m
2
/s or stoke (1 stoke = 1 cm
2
/s)
The viscosity of liquids decreases and the
viscosity of gases increases with temperature.
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This equation can be used to calculate the viscosity of a
fluid by measuring torque at a specified angular velocity.
Therefore, two concentric cylinders can be used as a
viscometer, a device that measures viscosity.
L length of the cylinder
number of revolutions per unit time
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SURFACE TENSION AND
CAPILLARY EFFECT
Some consequences of
surface tension.
Liquid droplets behave like small
balloons filled with the liquid on a solid
surface, and the surface of the liquid
acts like a stretched elastic membrane
under tension.
The pulling force that causes this
tension acts parallel to the surface and
is due to the attractive forces between
the molecules of the liquid.
The magnitude of this force per unit
length is called surface tension (or
coefficient of surface tension) and is
usually expressed in the unit N/m.
This effect is also called surface
energy [per unit area] and is expressed
in the equivalent unit of N m/m
2
.
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Attractive forces acting on a liquid
molecule at the surface and deep
inside the liquid.
Stretching a liquid film with a U-
shaped wire, and the forces acting
on the movable wire of length b.
Surface tension: The work done per unit increase in the surface area of the liquid.
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The free-body
diagram of half a
droplet or air
bubble and half
a soap bubble.
25
Capillary Effect
Capillary effect: The rise or fall of a liquid in a small-diameter tube inserted into the
liquid.
Capillaries: Such narrow tubes or confined flow channels.
The capillary effect is partially responsible for the rise of water to the top of tall trees.
Meniscus: The curved free surface of a liquid in a capillary tube.
The contact angle for wetting and
nonwetting fluids.
The meniscus of colored water in a
4-mm-inner-diameter glass tube.
Note that the edge of the meniscus
meets the wall of the capillary tube
at a very small contact angle.
The strength of the capillary effect is
quantified by the contact (or wetting)
angle, defined as the angle that the
tangent to the liquid surface makes with
the solid surface at the point of contact.
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The capillary rise of water and the
capillary fall of mercury in a small-
diameter glass tube.
The forces acting on a liquid column
that has risen in a tube due to the
capillary effect.
Capillary rise is inversely proportional to the
radius of the tube and density of the liquid.
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Summary
The No-Slip Condition
Classification of Fluid Flows
Viscous versus Inviscid Regions of Flow
Internal versus External Flow
Compressible versus Incompressible Flow
Laminar versus Turbulent Flow
Natural (or Unforced) versus Forced Flow
Steady versus Unsteady Flow
One-, Two-, and Three-Dimensional Flows
A Brief History of Fluid Mechanics
Vapor Pressure and Cavitation
Compressibility and Speed of Sound
Viscosity
Surface Tension and Capillary Effect