FLUID MECHANICS
Much of what we value in life is
fluid: a breath of fresh air; the
water we drink, swim in, and
bathe in; the blood in our veins.
What exactly is a fluid?
Can we understand fluids with the
laws already presented, or will
new laws emerge from the study?
We have dealt with many situations in
which fluids are static.
But by their very definition, fluids flow.
Examples:
a column of smoke rises from a camp
fire,
water streams from a fire hose,
blood courses through your veins.
Why does rising smoke curl and twist?
How does a nozzle increase the speed
of water emerging from a hose?
How does the body regulate blood
flow?
The physics of fluids in motion – fluid
dynamics – will allow us to answer
these and many other questions
Analyze the pictures below. A kilogram of hay and
a kilogram of stone which have the same mass.
Explain why does the hay make a bigger pile.
NATURE OF MATTER
A gas is a form of matter whose molecules are
very far from each other; hence, it is compressible.
Because the gas molecules are very far from one
another, the attractive forces between them are
weak.
The molecules of a liquid are much closer together
than those of a gas. This makes a liquid practically
incompressible.
Since liquid molecules are closer, the attractive
forces between them are much stronger than
those between the particles of a gas.
Liquids and gases follow the shapes
of their containers.
Since particles of liquids and gases
have greater freedom of movement
enabling them to flow, they are
often referred to as fluids.
DENSITY AND SPECIFIC GRAVITY
Given a set of different kinds of materials, how will you
determine which is less dense?
Different forms of matter have different densities.
From everyday experience you recognize that materials
have different masses.
You know that some solid objects float on water, while
others sink.
Those that float are less dense than those materials that
sink.
Different materials with equal volumes do not
necessarily have the same mass.
The one which has the smallest mass is the least dense.
The mass of a unit volume of an object is called
its density which can be expressed in the form:
Example:
The rock has a mass of 6g and a volume of 3cm³ .
What is the density of the rock?
Given: m – 6g
v – 3cm³
Find: ρ-?
Solution:
ρ = m/v
ρ = 6g/3cm³
ρ = 2g/cm³
While density measures mass per unit
in volume, specific gravity is the ratio
of the density of substance to the
density of a standard.
Specific gravity = density of substance
density of standard
For solids and liquids, water is used as a
standard. Its density is 1.00g/cm³ at 4°C or
39°F.
For gases, air is considered as the standard
having the density of 1.29 g/L at standard
temperature and pressure.
Since specific gravity is a ratio, it has no units.
If the specific gravity of an object is less than
1, it floats.
On the other hand if its specific gravity is
greater than one, it sinks.
Example:
Find the specific gravity of mercury with the density
of 13.6x10³ kg/m³.
Given: ρ of mercury – 13.6x10³ kg/m³
ρ of water – 1.0x10³ kg/m³
Specific gravity = density of substance
density of standard
= 13.6x10³ kg/m³/1.0x10³kg/m³
= 13.6
Practice:
1. What is the density of a 150g solid
with the following measurement in
cm, L = 5, W =3, H = 2
2. The specific gravity of aluminum is
2.7. Find its density in kg/m3.
PRESSURE
You have no doubt heard the word pressure
being used in relation to blood (high or low
blood pressure) and in relation to the
weather (high- and low-pressure weather
systems).
These are only two of many examples of
pressures in fluids.
Pressure is defined as the magnitude of a
force acting perpendicular to a surface
divided by the area of the surface.
P= F/A
where:
P – pressure
F – force applied
A – area that is perpendicular to the force
The SI unit for pressure is the pascal (Pa), where
1Pa = 1N/m2
Units and Conversion Factors for Pressure
1 Pa= 1 N/m² 1atm = 760 mmHg
1 Pa = 9.8692 x10-⁶ atm 1 atm = 101325 Pa
1 mmHg = .00131579atm 1atm = 760torr
1mmHg = 1torr
Note: Atmospheric pressure (atm) is a
common used unit for pressure and is
define as the average air pressure at sea
level
PRESSURE VS. DEPTH RELATION
If your ears have ever popped on a plane flight or
ached during a deep dive in a swimming pool, you
have experienced the effect of pressure in fluid.
Consider a beaker which contains water at a
height h.
If you double the height of water (thus doubling
its weight), the pressure against the bottom of the
beaker becomes twice as great.
Therefore it can be stated that: Pressure is directly
proportional to the height and density of fluid
The relation between pressure, height, and
density in fluids can be shown mathematically as:
P = ρgh
The equation indicates that the pressure exerted
by the liquid is proportional to its height and
density.
This means that the higher the column of the
liquid, the greater is its pressure and denser the
liquid is; the greater is the pressure.
Example:
Calculate the pressure of water at the bottom of a
swimming pool which is 1.8m deep.
Given: h = 1.8m, ρ of water = 1.0g/cm³,
Find: P=?
Solution:
P = ρgh
= (1.0g/cm³) (1,000,000cm³/1m³)
(1kg/1,000g) (9.8m/s²) (1.8m)
P = 17,640 N/m² or Pa
Practice:
1. Consider a physics book with mass of 1.2 kg. and
its front cover measures 22 cm by 24 cm with a
thickness of 3.5 cm. Calculate the pressure it
exerts on a table when lying
a. flat and
b. on its spine
2. Calculate the pressure exerted by the boy, 60 kg,
standing on both feet on the floor with a floor of
240 cm². If the boy balances on one foot,
determine the new pressure.
