CHEE 275

Properties of Fluids

Name: Salim Al Shanfari

ID: 201201566

Properties of Fluids
The properties outlines below are general properties of
fluids which are of interest in engineering. The symbol
usually used to represent the property is specified
together with some typical values in SI units for common
fluids. Values under specific conditions (temperature,
pressure etc.) can be readily found in many reference
books. The dimensions of each unit is also give in the MLT
system (see later in the section on dimensional analysis
for more details about dimensions
1. Density
The density of a substance is the quantity of matter
contained in a unit volume of the substance. It can be
expressed in three different ways.
1. Mass Density
Mass Density, , is defined as the mass of
substance per unit volume.
Units: Kilograms per cubic metre,

(or

Dimensions:
Typical values:
Water = 1000
1.23

, Mercury = 13546

, Paraffin Oil = 800

(at pressure =1.013

288.15 K.)

Air =

.
and Temperature =

Specific Gravity (Relative Density)

Specific Gravity - SG - is a dimensionless unit defined as
the ratio of the density of a substance to the density of
water - at a specified temperature, and can be expressed
as
SG = substance / H2O

(3)

where
SG = Specific Gravity of the substance
substance = density of the fluid or substance (kg/m3)
H2O = density of water - normally at temperature 4 oC
(kg/m3)
It is common to use the density of water at 4 oC (39oF) as a
reference since water at this point has its highest density
of 1000 kg/m3 or 62.4 lb/ft3.
Specific Gravity - SG - is dimensionless and has the same
value in the SI system and the imperial English system

(BG). Water is normally also used as reference when

calculating the specific gravity for solids.

Specific Weight
Specific Weight is defined as weight per unit volume.
Weight is a force.
What is weight and what is mass? - the difference
between weight and mass
Specific Weight can be expressed as
=g

(2)

where
= specific weight (N/m3, lb/ft3)
= density (kg/m3, slugs/ft3)
g = acceleration of gravity (9.807 m/s2, 32.174 ft/s2)
The SI units for specific weight are N/m3. The imperial
units are lb/ft3.
Local acceleration g is (under normal conditions) 9.807
m/s2 in SI units and 32.174 ft/s2 in imperial units.
Example - Specific Weight Water
The density of water is 1000 kg/m3 at 4 oC (39 oF). The
specific weight in SI units is
= (1000 kg/m3) (9.81 m/s2)

= 9810 (N/m3)
= 9.81 (kN/m3)
The density of water is 1.940 slugs/ft3 at 39 oF (4 oC). The
specific weight in Imperial units is
= (1.940 slugs/ft3) (32.174 ft/s2)
= 62.4 (lb/ft3)

Viscosity
Informally, viscosity is the quantity that describes a fluid's
resistance to flow. Fluids resist the relative motion of
immersed objects through them as well as to the motion
.of layers with differing velocities within them
Formally, viscosity (represented by the symbol "eta") is
the ratio of the shearing stress (/A) to thevelocity
.gradient (vx/z or dvx/dz) in a fluid
FF

vx

or

dvx

dz

The more usual form of this relationship, called Newton's

equation, states that the resulting shear of a fluid is
directly proportional to the force applied and inversely
proportional to its viscosity. The similarity to Newton's
.second law of motion ( = ma) should be apparent
FF

vx

or

dvx

dz

FF

or

dv
dt

The SI unit of viscosity is the pascal second [Pa s], which

has no special name. Despite its self-proclaimed title as an
international system, the International System of Units has
had very little international impact on viscosity. The pascal
second is rarely used in scientific and technical writing
today. The most common unit of viscosity is
the dyne second per square centimeter [dyne s/cm2],
which is given the name poise [P] after the French
physiologist Jean Poiseuille (17991869). Ten poise equal
one pascal second [Pa s] making the centipoise [cP]
.and millipascal second [mPa s] identical
1 Pa s = 10 P
1,000 mPa s = 10 P
1 mPa s = 0.01 P
1 mPa s = 1 cP
There are actually two quantities that are called viscosity.
The
quantity
defined
above
is
sometimes
called dynamic viscosity, absolute viscosity,
or simple viscosity to distinguish it from the other
quantity, but is usually just called viscosity. The other
quantity called kinematic viscosity (represented by the
Greek letter "nu") is the ratio of the viscosity of a fluid to
.its density
=

Kinematic viscosity
Kinematic viscosity is a measure of the resistive flow of a
fluid under the influence of gravity. It is frequently
measured using a device called a capillary viscometer
basically a graduated can with a narrow tube at the
bottom. When two fluids of equal volume are placed in
identical capillary viscometers and allowed to flow under
the influence of gravity, a viscous fluid takes longer than a
less viscous fluid to flow through the tube. Capillary
viscometers will be discussed in more detail later in this
.section
The SI unit of kinematic viscosity is the square meter per
second [m2/s], which has no special name. This unit is so
large that it is rarely used. A more common unit of
kinematic viscosity is the square centimeter per
second [cm2/s], which is given the name stokes [St] after
the
Irish
mathematician
and
physicist George Stokes (18191903). One square meter
.per second is equal to ten thousand stokes
1 cm2/s = 1 St
1 m2/s = 10,000 cm2/s

1 m2/s = 10,000 St
Even this unit is a bit too large, so the most common unit
is probably the square millimeter per second[mm2/s]
or the centistokes [cSt]. One square meter per second is
.equal to one million centistokes
1 mm2/s = 1 cSt
1 m2/s = 1,000,000 mm2/s
1 m2/s = 1,000,000 cSt
The stokes is a rare example of a word in the English
language where the singular and plural forms are identical
1 fish, 2 fish, red fish, blue fish; 1 stokes, 2 stokes,
no stokes, many stokes

Surface tension
The property of the surface of a liquid that allows it to
resist an external force, due to the cohesive nature of its
molecules.
The cohesive forces between liquid molecules are
responsible for the phenomenon known as surface
tension. The molecules at the surface of a glass of water
do not have other water molecules on all sides of them
and consequently they cohere more strongly to those
directly associated with them (in this case, next to and
below them, but not above). It is not really true that a
"skin" forms on the water surface; the stronger cohesion
between the water molecules as opposed to the attraction
of the water molecules to the air makes it more difficult to
move an object through the surface than to move it when
.it is completely submersed. (Source: GSU)
Cohesion and Surface Tension

The cohesive forces between molecules in a liquid are

shared with all neighboring molecules. Those on the
surface have no neighboring molecules above and, thus,
exhibit stronger attractive forces upon their nearest
neighbors on and below the surface. Surface tension could
be defined as the property of the surface of a liquid that
allows it to resist an external force, due to the cohesive
.nature of the water molecules
Surface tension at a molecular level

Water molecules want to cling to each other. At the

surface, however, there are fewer water molecules to cling
to since there is air above (thus, no water molecules). This
results in a stronger bond between those molecules that
actually do come in contact with one another, and a layer
of strongly bonded water (see diagram). This surface layer
(held together by surface tension) creates a considerable
barrier between the atmosphere and the water. In fact,
other than mercury, water has the greatest surface
tension of any liquid. (Source: Lakes of Missouri)

Within a body of a liquid, a molecule will not experience a

net force because the forces by the neighboring molecules
all cancel out (diagram). However for a molecule on the
surface of the liquid, there will be a net inward force since
there will be no attractive force acting from above. This
inward net force causes the molecules on the surface to
contract and to resist being stretched or broken. Thus the
surface is under tension, which is probably where the
name "surface tension" came from. (Source: Woodrow
.Wilson Foundation)
Due to the surface tension, small objects will "float" on the
surface of a fluid, as long as the object cannot break
through and separate the top layer of water molecules.
When an object is on the surface of the fluid, the surface
.under tension will behave like an elastic membrane

Capillarity action
Capillary action is the tendency of a liquid to rise in narrow
tubes or to be drawn into small openings such as those
between grains of a rock. Capillary action, also known as

capillarity, is a result of the intermolecular attraction

within the liquid and solid materials. A familiar example of
capillary action is the tendency of a dry paper towel to
absorb a liquid by drawing it into the narrow openings
.between the fibers
The mutual attractive force that exists between like
molecules of a particular liquid is called cohesion. This
force is responsible for holding a raindrop together as a
single unit. Cohesion produces the phenomenon known as
surface tension, which may allow objects that are more
dense than the liquid to be supported on the surface of
the liquid without sinking. When an attractive force exists
between two unlike materials, such as a liquid and a solid
container, the attractive force is known as adhesion.
Adhesion is the force that causes water to stick to the
inside of a glass. If the adhesive force between the liquid
and solid is greater than the cohesive force within the
liquid, the liquid is said to wet the surface and the surface
of the liquid near the edge of the container will curve
upward. In cases where the cohesive force is greater than
adhesion, the liquid is said to be no wetting and the liquid

surface will curve downward near the edge of the

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