FLUID MECHANICS 1

CHAPTER 1:
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF FLUID
PRESENTATION OUTLINE

• Introduction to fluid
mechanics.
• Applications of fluid
mechanics
• Dimension, Dimensional
Homogeneity and Units
• System of units
• Properties of fluid
Learning Objective
After completing this chapter, student should be able to:-

1. Determine the dimensions and units of physical

2. Identify the key fluid properties used in the analysis

of fluid behaviour

3. Calculate common fluid properties given given

appropriate information

4. Explain of fluid properties

Introduction
Mechanics: The oldest physical science that
deals with both stationary and moving bodies
under the influence of forces.
Statics: The branch of mechanics that
deals with bodies at rest.
Dynamics: The branch that deals with
bodies in motion.
Fluid mechanics: The science that deals with
the behavior of fluids at rest (fluid statics) or in
motion (fluid dynamics), and the interaction of
fluids with solids or other fluids at the
boundaries.
Fluid dynamics: Fluid mechanics is also
referred to as fluid dynamics by considering Fluid mechanics deals with
fluids at rest as a special case of motion with liquids and gases in motion or
zero velocity. at rest.
Hydrodynamics: The study of the motion of fluids that can be
approximated as incompressible (such as liquids, especially water,
and gases at low speeds).
Hydraulics: A subcategory of hydrodynamics, which deals with
liquid flows in pipes and open channels.
Gas dynamics: Deals with the flow of fluids that undergo
significant density changes, such as the flow of gases through
nozzles at high speeds.
Aerodynamics: Deals with the flow of gases (especially air) over
bodies such as aircraft, rockets, and automobiles at high or low
speeds.
Meteorology, oceanography, and hydrology: Deal with naturally
occurring flows.
What is a Fluid?
Fluid: A substance in the liquid or gas
phase.
A solid can resist an applied shear
stress by deforming.
A fluid deforms continuously under the
influence of a shear stress, no matter
how small.
In solids, stress is proportional to
strain, but in fluids, stress is Deformation of a rubber block
proportional to strain rate. placed between two parallel plates
When a constant shear force is under the influence of a shear force.
The shear stress shown is that on
applied, a solid eventually stops
the rubber—an equal but opposite
deforming at some fixed strain angle, shear stress acts on the upper plate.
whereas a fluid never stops deforming
and approaches a constant rate of
strain.
Stress: Force per unit area.
Normal stress: The normal
component of a force acting on a
surface per unit area.
Shear stress: The tangential
component of a force acting on a
surface per unit area.
Pressure: The normal stress in a
fluid at rest.
Zero shear stress: A fluid at rest is
at a state of zero shear stress.
When the walls are removed or a The normal stress and shear stress
liquid container is tilted, a shear at the surface of a fluid element.
develops as the liquid moves to For fluids at rest, the shear stress is
zero and pressure is the only
re-establish a horizontal free normal stress.
surface.
In a liquid, groups of molecules can move relative to each other,
but the volume remains relatively constant because of the strong
cohesive forces between the molecules. As a result, a liquid
takes the shape of the container it is in, and it forms a free
surface in a larger container in a gravitational field.
A gas expands until it encounters the walls of the container and
fills the entire available space. This is because the gas
molecules are widely spaced, and the cohesive forces between
them are very small. Unlike liquids, a gas in an open container
cannot form a free surface.

Unlike a liquid, a gas does not

form a free surface, and it
expands to fill the entire
available space.
Intermolecular bonds are strongest in solids and weakest in gases.
Solid: The molecules in a solid are arranged in a pattern that is
repeated throughout.
Liquid: In liquids molecules can rotate and translate freely.
Gas: In the gas phase, the molecules are far apart from each other, and
molecular ordering is nonexistent.

The arrangement of atoms in different phases: (a) molecules are at relatively

fixed positions in a solid, (b) groups of molecules move about each other in
the liquid phase, and (c) individual molecules move about at random in the
gas phase.
Application Areas of Fluid Mechanics

Power Plant

Fluid dynamics is used extensively

in the design of artificial hearts. Natural flows
Shown here is the Penn State
Electric Total Artificial Heart.
Boats

Human Body

Aircrafts

Cars
Wind Turbines

Industrial Applications

Piping and Plumbing system

Dimensions, Dimensional Homogeneity
and Units

Fluid mechanics will be

dealing with a variety of
fluid characteristics.

It is necessary to develop
a system for describing
these characteristics :-

Quantitatively

Qualitatively
QUANTITATIVELY :

Aspect serves to identify the nature of fluid

such as length, time, stress and velocity.

QUALITATIVELY :

Aspect provides a numerical measure of the

characteristic. Quantitative requires both a
number and a standard. Such standards are
called “unit”.
Primary quantity :
L : Length

T : Time

M : Mass

θ: Temperature

Secondary quantity :
2
L : Area

-1
LT : Velocity
-3
ML : Density
Example :
V =Vo + at
Where V is a uniformly acceleration body


LT −1 = LT −1 −2
+ LT T

All theoretically derived equations are “dimensionally

homogeneous”. The dimension of the left side of the
equation must be the same as those on the right side,
and all additive separate terms must have the same
dimensions.
 UNIT

3 major systems that are commonly used in engineering.

1. British Gravitational (BG) System :
Length Foot (ft)
Time – second (s)

Force – pound (lb) Temperature – Fahrenheit (oF)
2. International System (SI)
Length – meter (m)
Time – second (s)

Mass – kilogram (kg)
Temperature – Kelvin (K)
The relation of Kelvin and Celsius is; K = °C + 273.15
3. English Engineering (EE) System :
Length – foot (ft)
Time – second (s)

Mass – pound mass (lbm)
Force – pound (lb or lbf)
Temperature – Rankine (oR)
Activity 1.1
A liquid flows through an orifice located
in the side of a tank as shown on the
right side. A commonly used the
equation for determining the volume
rate of flow, Q through the orifice is

Q = 0.61A⎷2gh
figE01_01a(

where, A is the area, g is the

acceleration and h is the height of
liquid

figE01_01b(
 Dimension of various terms:-

Q = volume/time = L3T-1

A = Area = L2

g = acceleration of gravity = LT-2

h = Height = L

L3T-1 = (0.61)(L2)(⎷2)(LT-2)1/2(L)1/2

L3T-1 = (0.61)(⎷2) (L3T-1)

According to information found in hydraulic book,
the energy loss per unit weight of fluid flowing
through a nozzle connected to hose can be
estimated as

h = (0.04 to 0.09) (D/d) V /2g

4 2
h = (0.04 to 0.09) (D/d) V /2g
4 2
Properties of Fluids
Density

Density is mass per unit volume;

Specific volume

Specific volume is Typical values at atmospheric condition;

¬ Water = 1000 kgm-3
volume per unit ¬ Mercury = 13546 kgm-3
mass ¬ Air = 1.23 kgm-3
¬ Paraffin Oil = 800 kgm-3
 fig01_02'
Density of water as a function of temperature
Specific Weight

The weight of a unit volume of a substance

Specific of Gravity

Defined as the ratio of the density of the

fluid to the density of water at some
specified temperature

3
Density of water (H2O) = 1000 kg/m
 Density!
Ideal-gas equation of state: The simplest and best-
known equation of state for substances in the gas
phase.

Ru: The universal gas constant

The thermodynamic temperature scale in the SI is the Kelvin scale.

In the English system, it is the Rankine scale.

Air behaves as an ideal gas, even at
very high speeds. In this schlieren
image, a bullet traveling at about the
speed of sound bursts through both
sides of a balloon, forming two
expanding shock waves. The
turbulent wake of the bullet is also
visible.
An ideal gas is a hypothetical substance
that obeys the relation Pv = RT.
The ideal-gas relation closely
approximates the P-v-T behavior of real
gases at low densities.
At low pressures and high temperatures,
the density of a gas decreases and the gas
behaves like an ideal gas.
In the range of practical interest, many
familiar gases such as air, nitrogen,
oxygen, hydrogen, helium, argon, neon,
and krypton and even heavier gases such
as carbon dioxide can be treated as ideal
gases with negligible error.
Dense gases such as water vapor in steam
power plants and refrigerant vapor in
refrigerators, however, should not be
treated as ideal gases since they usually
exist at a state near saturation.
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Summary of lessons