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Fluid mechanics
CHAPTER 3.
both internal and external flows, however it is most commonly referred to in the
study of external flows which we shall cover next.
Prandtl showed that many viscous flow problems may be analysed by dividing
the flow into two regions: a thin region adjacent to the solid boundary in which
the effect of viscosity is important (the boundary layer) and an outer region in
which the effect of viscosity is negligible and the fluid may be treated as
inviscid. The boundary layer concept permitted the theoretical analysis of many
viscous flow problems that previously had been considered impossible - and
thus founded the modern era of fluid mechanics.
The most straightforward example with which to introduce the concept of the
boundary layer is the flow of a fluid over a stationary plate.
U
u(y)
y
u(y)
x
Laminar
Transition
30
Turbulent
The flow over the plate thus separates into three distinct regions:
As the fluid impinges on the plate the fluid particles in direct contact with the
wall assume the same velocity as the wall itself - this is the no-slip condition. If
the flat plate is stationary then the velocity of the fluid adjacent to the wall is
zero. This stationary element of fluid will, in turn, retard the adjacent particles
in the bulk fluid above - this is viscosity in action, slowing the fluid down near
the wall. The effect of viscosity sets up a velocity gradient in the fluid and
hence a shear stress according to the equation
du
dy
As the flow moves along the plate the viscous effects in the fluid propagate
further into the bulk fluid and the boundary layer thickness grows. Under most
conditions, the boundary layer is initially laminar, that is the flow behaves as a
series of ordered layers, or laminae, flowing over one another.
of transition depends on the ratio between viscous and inertial forces in the
boundary layer and so, unsurprisingly, the Reynolds number is significant when
characterising boundary layer flow. For experiments on flat plates, and under a
zero pressure gradient, values of Re 3900 (the Reynolds number here is
based on the boundary layer thickness ) are common for the transition point.
However this value should be treated only as a very rough guide. Generally
speaking, there is no unique value for Re at which transition from laminar to
turbulent flow will occur - among the factors that effect the onset of turbulence
are:
(i) Pressure gradient
(ii) Surface roughness
(iii) Heat transfer
(iv) Body forces
(v) Free stream disturbances
One of the most important factors above is the effect of the pressure gradient.
So far we have looked at an ideal flat plate with a zero pressure gradient,
however for most practical engineering problems, such as flow over a bluff
body or an aerofoil, pressure gradients greatly affect the nature of the boundary
layer.
32
Region 1
Region 2
Region 3
<0
=0
>0
U
Backflow
33
therefore bring to rest a fluid in the vicinity of the wall. On bringing a fluid to
rest we reach what is known as the point of separation. Just downstream from
the point of separation the flow nearest to the wall is reversed. Here, the low
energy fluid in the separated region is forced back upstream by the increased
pressure downstream.
However
separation does not always necessarily occur if p x > 0 , this depends on local
flow conditions.
We may now apply these concepts to a simple problem such as the flow over a
sphere:
Wake
Boundary
Layer
Point of
separation
For the sphere, a favourable pressure gradient exists over the front section and
so the boundary layer "sticks" to the wall of the sphere. As we progress over
the top of the sphere the pressure gradient changes to an adverse pressure
gradient.
u(y)=0.99U
y
u(y)
x
i.e.
y =
when
u ( y ) = 0.99U
Obviously this definition is rather arbitrary - why choose 99%? - also this
boundary layer thickness is very difficult to measure accurately. To remove
these problems, the concept of the boundary layer displacement thickness was
introduced.
35
U
Equal
area
u(y)
U-u(y)
Inviscid (uniform)
flow
Boundary
layer flow
U = (U u )dy
0
= 1
u
dy
Practically, one should truncate this integral at a suitable limit. Normally this is
chosen to be , and so
= 1
u
u
dy 1 dy
0
U
U
u = u (U u )dy
2
u u
1 dy
0U
U
The boundary layer displacement and momentum thickness may appear rather
abstract. They are however far easier to evaluate accurately from experimental
data when compared to the boundary layer thickness . Therefore and are
far more commonly used when studying boundary layer properties.
boundary layers by use of the velocity power law discussed in Section 2.2.3.
We shall look briefly in the next section at how we compute velocity profiles
within the boundary layer region, the theoretical analysis of drag is however
rather complex and beyond the scope of this course. Instead, when studying
drag, we shall focus on empirical methods.
37
u=
Uy
or
where is the boundary layer thickness. This assumes that the theory for two
parallel plates, one of which is moving with a velocity U is valid here also. The
equation above does of course predict a linear velocity profile however this is
not always a good approximation for actual laminar boundary layer profiles.
Instead cubic, parabolic, or even sinusoidal velocity profiles have been
suggested as a better fit for an external laminar boundary layer.
For turbulent boundary layers the power law velocity relation discussed in
Chapter 2 provides an adequate correlation:
1
y n
=
U
u
38
1
Laminar (linear)
Laminar (parabolic)
Turbulent n=7
0
uU
Note here that both linear and parabolic profiles are shown for laminar flow (the
parabolic profile generally provides a better fit for actual data). It is evident
here that, as seen in the previous chapter, the turbulent profile is much fuller
(more blunt) than the laminar profile.
On flowing over a solid body, a viscous fluid will exert a net force on that body.
This force is made up of the wall shear stresses w and the pressure force p (it is
this pressure force that we indirectly discussed when looking at pressure
gradients). For example, if we consider the (gauge) pressure and the shear
stress distribution over an aerofoil we find, typically, the following type of
behaviour:
p<0
Pressure
p>0
Shear Stress
U
39
The total drag force acting on the aerofoil is a summation of the pressure force
and the shear stress. Of course, to fully compute both sets of forces we should
need to know in detail both the local pressure and the shear stress distribution at
all points around the aerofoil. We have already seen that in the presence of an
adverse pressure gradient (present here over most of the upper surface of the
aerofoil) flow may separate and very complex flow patterns may develop. Thus
calculating pressure and shear forces theoretically, even for very simple objects,
is usually prohibitive.
3.4.1 Drag
The drag force is the component of the force acting on a body which acts
parallel to the direction of motion:
U
Drag Force FD
The drag force consists of pressure and shear forces acting on the surface of the
object. The magnitude of the drag force tends to depend strongly on the shape
of the object. The drag force for any body immersed in an incompressible flow
is given by
1
FD = C D U 2 A
2
where CD is known as the drag coefficient and is obtained from experimental
measurements. Of course we may write also that
CD =
FD
1
2
40
U 2 A
The number "1 2 " is inserted to form the familiar dynamic pressure.
Thus to find the drag force acting on a body we need only identify CD for that
particular body. Of course it should be remembered that the nature of the flow
over the immersed body will depend heavily on the Reynolds number and so CD
is not a constant. Instead we should be careful to identify the correct value for
CD for a given Reynolds number. Some drag coefficient for a few objects are
given below:
Shape
Semicircular
shell
Semicircular
cylinder
D
D
Reference Area
A
(b = length)
Rectangle
Reynolds
Number
A = bD
2.3
1.1
Re = 2 10 4
A = bD
2.15
1.15
Re > 104
a
D
Drag Coefficient
A = bD
Sold
Hemisphere
A=
Thin Disk
A=
CD
1.9
2.5
2.9
2.2
1.6
1.3
Re = 105
D2
1.17
0.42
Re > 104
D2
1.17
Re > 103
a/d
0.1
0.5
0.65
1.0
2.0
3.0
Note here that the objects listed above have sharp edges and in most cases the
drag coefficients may be listed as constant for a range of Reynolds numbers.
This is because the separation point is fixed by the geometry of the sharp edge
41
100
CD
10
0.1
-1
10
10
10
10
Re
At very low Reynolds numbers (Re<1) there is no fluid separation from the
sphere; the wake is laminar and the drag is predominantly composed of friction
drag in a laminar boundary layer. Stokes was able to show, theoretically, that in
this region
CD =
24
Re
In the region 103 < Re < 2 105 the drag coefficient curve is relatively flat and
the point of separation of the flow is just upstream of the sphere midsection. At
a value of Re 2 105 a sudden reduction in drag occurs. This is caused by the
point of separation suddenly moving downstream of the sphere midsection and
42
so the size of the wake decreases. The point of separation moves from just
upstream to just downstream of the sphere midsection because the boundary
layer changes abruptly from being laminar to being turbulent. A turbulent
boundary layer possess more momentum than does a laminar boundary layer
and so is greater able to resist the adverse pressure gradient.
A detailed knowledge of the likely flow patterns over a body may therefore
provide clues as how to best minimise drag. Work in this area normally relies
on delaying the onset of separation by streamlining the body shape.
The
43
3.4.2 Lift
Lift is the component of force acting perpendicular to the fluid motion. The lift
force is defined in the same way as the drag force, i.e.
1
FL = C L U 2 Ap
2
or
CL =
FL
1
U 2 Ap
2
where Ap is the (planform) area projected at right angles to the flow. For an
aerofoil the projected area Ap depends on the angle of attack , and so the lift
force changes with . An example of the coefficient of lift, plotted for an
aerofoil, is given below:
CL
Here, one can clearly see where the wing stalls and the coefficient of lift drops
off rapidly.
44
0.6 m
0.6 m
U = r
therefore
U = 0.6
60 2
= 3.77 m/s
60
0.12
Torque
Power
Q2.
A dragster weighing 700 kg achieves a speed of 380 km/hr after travelling 0.5
km. Immediately after passing through the timing lights the driver opens the
drag chute. The area of the chute is 2.5 m2 and it has a constant drag coefficient
of C D = 1.2 . If the air and the rolling resistance of the car may be neglected
(i.e. the chute dominates the drag) find the time required for the machine to
decelerate to 150 km/hr.
[Take air = 1.2 kg/m 3 ]
If we draw a free body diagram of the car:
FD
u
y
x
ui = 380 km//hr
u f = 150 km//hr
du
dt
now
1
FD = C D u 2 A
2
and so
1
du
CD u 2 A = m
2
dt
This expression must now be integrated, which may be accomplished after first
separating the variables, i.e.
46
uf
1
C D A dt = m du
2
o
ui u
2
thus
uf
1
C D At = m
2
u ui
1
C D At =
2m
t=
t=
uf
1
ui
2m 1 1
CD A u f ui
1
1
3600
1.2 1.2 2.5 150,000 380,000
2 700
t = 5.65 seconds
Q3.
The laminar and turbulent velocity profiles derived in Chapter 2 may be applied
also to the study of the boundary layer profiles discussed here in Chapter 3.
(i) Taking a simple linear velocity profile for laminar flow, evaluate the ratio
47
y2
y y
y3
=
= 1 dy =
2 2 2 0 6
thus
= 0.1667
(ii) Evaluate for a 1 7 power law profile (i.e. n=7) used to represent
turbulent flow:
1
u y 7
=
U
1
2
17
y 7 y 7
y
y 7
= 1 dy = 1 2 dy
0
0 7
7
8
9
7 y 87 7 y 97
7 7
7 7 7 7
=
= 1
=
2
1
2
8 7 9 7
8 7 9 7
8 9
0
= 0.097
48