Lecture In Fluid Mechanics

LECTURE NO. 1 FLUID MECHANICS

Fluid Mechanics
Fluid Mechanics- branch of Mechanics which deals with the behavior of fluids at rest and
in motion.
Properties of Fluids

Mass Density
Mass density is defined as the ratio of mass to volume.

mass of fluid
volume
Mass density has units of kilograms per cubic meter (kg/m 3) or pounds-mass per cubic foot
(lbm/ft3). The mass density of water at 4C is 1000 kg/m 3 (62.4 lbm/ft3).The mass density of air at
20C and standard atmospheric pressure is 1.2 kg/m 3 (0.075 lbm/ft3), and it changes significantly
with temperature and pressure. Mass density, often simply called density, is represented by the
Greek symbol (rho).

Specific Weight or Unit Weight ,

The gravitational force per unit volume of fluid, or simply the weight per unit volume, is defined as
specific weight. It is given the Greek symbol (gamma). Water at 20C has a specific weight of 9790 N/m 3
(or 62.4 lbf/ft3 ). In contrast, the specific weight of air at 20C and standard atmospheric pressure is 11.8
N/m3. Specific weight and density are related by.

weight of fluid
volume

=g
For gases:

p
RT

Where:
p= absolute value of gas Pa
R= gas constant

For air:

joule
kgk

R=287

J
kgk = 1716 lb-ft / slug R

T= abs. temp.

Specific Gravity, S
Prepared by : Engr. Aser N. Dino
Instructor III

Lecture In Fluid Mechanics

The ratio of the specific weight of a given fluid to the specific weight of water at the standard condition.

w=

fluid fluid
=
water water

Viscosity,
Viscosity (also called dynamic viscosity, or absolute viscosity) is a measure of a fluid's resistance to
deformation under shear stress. For example, crude oil has a higher resistance to shear than does water.
Crude oil will pour more slowly than water from an identical beaker held at the same angle. This relative
slowness of the oil implies a low speed or rate of strain. The symbol used to represent viscosity is
(mu). To understand the physics of viscosity, it is useful to refer back to solid mechanics and the concepts
of shear stress and shear strain. Shear stress, , tau, is the ratio of force/area on a surface when the force is
aligned parallel to the area. Shear strain is a change in an interior angle of a cubical element, (, that was
originally a right angle. The shear stress on a material element in solid mechanics is proportional to the
strain, and the constant of proportionality is the shear modulus:

( shear stress )=( shear modulus ) x (strain)

In fluid flow, however, the shear stress on a fluid element is proportional to the rate (speed) of strain, and
the constant of proportionality is the viscosity:

( shear stress )=( viscosity ) x (rate strain )

And;

dV
dy

=shear stress

Surface Tension
The surface tension of a liquid is the work that must be done to bring enough molecules from
inside the liquid to the surface to form a unit area of that surface in ft-lb./ft2 or N-m/m2.
Pressure inside the droplet if liquid:
4
p=
d
= surface tension in N/m
d= diameter of the droplet in m.
p= gage pressure in pascal

Prepared by : Engr. Aser N. Dino

Instructor III