Fluid mechanics

MEE1004
Module 1
Fluids vs. Solids
 For a solid the strain is a function of the applied
stress (providing that the elastic limit has not been
reached). For a fluid, the rate of strain is
proportional to the applied stress.
 The strain in a solid is independent of the time over
which the force is applied and (if the elastic limit is
not reached) the deformation disappears when the
force is removed. A fluid continues to flow for as
long as the force is applied and will not recover its
original form when the force is removed.
 Definition of Fluid
 A fluid is a substance that deforms continuously irrespective
of the magnitude of shear force applied .
 Gases and Liquids

‘ Man’s desire for knowledge of fluid phenomena began with his problems of
water supply, irrigation, navigation, and waterpower ’ .
What is fluid mechanics?

 Branch of science which deals with the behavior of the fluid.

 Fluid statics – study of fluids at rest
 Fluid kinematics – in motion without force
 Fluid dynamics - in motion with force
 Properties of Fluids
 Characteristics of a continuous fluid which are independent of the
motion of the fluid are called basic properties of the fluid.
1.Mass density or density(ρ):

Density = mass per

volume

Preferred length
scale
 units: kg/m3 , Dimensions: ML-3
 Density is an extremely important property of matter. The
density of a material can be considered continuous except at
the molecular level.
 Density can also be thought of as the constant that relates mass
to volume. This makes it easy to convert between the two.
 r is proportional to the number of molecules in a unit volume
of the fluid.
 So r of a fluid depends up on the temperature and pressure.
 r decreases with increase in temperature
 r increases with increase in pressure
 Typical values of r water at 4°C is 1000 kg/m3
Mercury = 13546 Air = 1.23 Paraffin Oil = 800 kg/m3
2. Specific weight or weight density (w)
 It is the weight which a fluid possesses per unit
volume

w= rg
where g is the acceleration due to gravity
 units: N/m3 Dimensions: ML-2T-2
 It depends on g and r

 Since g varies from place to place w also vary

 w also varies with temperature and pressure

3. Specific volume

 It is the volume of the fluid per unit mass. ie. It is the

reciprocal of the density (units: m3/kg)
 For liquids the mass density, the specific weight and
specific volume vary only slightly with variation of
temperature and pressure(since the molecules are
arranged compactly)

 For gases these properties vary greatly with variation

of either temperature, or pressure, or both(since the
molecular spacing in gases changes considerably on
account of pressure and temperature)
4. Specific gravity
 For liquids, it is the ratio of density of a liquid at actual
conditions to the density of pure water at 101 kN/m2 , and at
4°C.
 The specific gravity of a gas is the ratio of its density to that of
either hydrogen or air at some specified temperature or
pressure.
 However, there is no general standard; so the conditions must
be stated while referring to the specific gravity of a gas.
 Specific gravity is used instead of density to tabulate data for
different materials. Using the specific gravity, the density in
any set of units may be found by picking the reference density
in the desired units.
 Typical values: Water = 1, Mercury = 13.5, Paraffin Oil =0.8.
Problems
1. Calculate the specific gravity, density and specific weight of one
litre of a liquid which weighs 7 N.

Answer: s = 0.7135, density = 713.5 kg/m3 , w = 7000 N/m3

2. Calculate density, specific weight and weight of 1 litre of petrol

specfic gravity = 0.7

Answer: density = 700 kg/m3

3. Determine the density, specific gravity, and mass of the air in a

room whose dimensions are ------------at 100 kPa and ----°C
Answer:1.17, 0.000117, 140kg
Compressibility and Bulk Modulus
Compressibility and Bulk Modulus
 Compressibility of any substance is the measure of its change
in volume under the action of external forces.
 The normal compressive stress on any fluid element at rest is
known as hydrostatic pressure p and arises as a result of
innumerable molecular collisions in the entire fluid.
 The compressibility of a liquid is expressed by its bulk
modulus of elasticity.

Where dV and dP are the changes in the volume and pressure

respectively, and V is the initial volume
 The negative sign because increase in pressure would

decrease the volume

 Since dV/V is dimensionless, K is expressed in the units of
pressure

 Values of K for liquids are very high as compared with those of

gases (except at very high pressures). Therefore, liquids are
usually termed as incompressible fluids though, in fact, no
substance is theoretically incompressible with a value of E as ∞.
 The bulk modulus of elasticity for water and air at atmospheric
pressure are approximately 2 x 106 kN/m 2 and 101 kN/m 2
respectively.
 It indicates that air is about 20,000 times more compressible
than water. Hence water can be treated as incompressible.
 Compressible flow and compressible fluid
 For gases another characteristic parameter, known as
compressibility α, is usually defined , it is the reciprocal of K
Example

 If K = 2.2 GPa is the bulk modulus of elasticity of

water, what pressure is required to reduce a
volume by 0.6 percent ?

(ANS: 13.2 MPa)

3.Viscosity
 Viscosity is the property of a fluid, due to cohesion and
interaction between molecules, which offers resistance to shear
deformation.
 Different fluids deform at different rates under the same shear
stress.

 Therefore, shear stresses can be identified between the fluid

elements with different velocities.
Newton’s law of viscosity

 Thus, the dragging effect of one layer on the other is

experienced by a tangential force F on the respective layers. If F
acts over an area of contact A, then the shear stress τ is defined
as
τ = F/A
 Newton postulated that τ is proportional to the quantity Δu/Δy
where Δy is the distance of separation of the two layers and Δu
is the difference in their velocities.
 In the limiting case of , Δu /Δy equals du/dy, the velocity
gradient at a point in a direction perpendicular to the direction
of the motion of the layer.
 According to Newton τ and du/dy bears the relation

Where µ is the "coefficient of dynamic viscosity"

Coefficient of Dynamic Viscosity

 It is defined as the shear force, per unit area, (or shear stress ),
required to drag one layer of fluid with unit velocity past
another layer a unit distance away.

 Units: Ns/m2, or Pa.s or kg/ms

 µ is often expressed in Poise, P, where 10 P = 1 kg/ms
Kinematic viscosity
 Kinematic Viscosity, , is defined as the ratio of dynamic
viscosity to mass density.
u= m/r
 Units: m2/s Dimensions: L2T-1

 u is often expressed in Stokes, St

where 104 St = 1m2/s
Causes of Viscosity in Fluids
 The causes of viscosity in a fluid are possibly attributed to two
factors:
 (i) intermolecular force of cohesion

 (ii) molecular momentum exchange

 For Newtonian fluids, the coefficient of viscosity depends

strongly on temperature but varies very little with pressure.
 For liquids, molecular motion is less significant than the forces
of cohesion, thus viscosity of liquids decrease with increase in
temperature.
 For gases, molecular motion is more significant than the
cohesive forces, thus viscosity of gases increase with increase
in temperature.
 Change of Viscosity of Water and Air under 1 atm

http://www.nptel.iitm.ac.in/courses/Webcourse-contents/IIT-KANPUR/FLUID-
MECHANICS/ui/Course_home-1.htm
Ideal Fluid
 Consider a hypothetical fluid having a zero viscosity (μ = 0).
Such a fluid is called an ideal fluid and the resulting motion is
called as ideal or inviscid flow.
 In an ideal flow, there is no existence of shear force because of
vanishing viscosity.
 All the fluids in reality have viscosity (μ > 0) and hence they
are termed as real fluid and their motion is known as viscous
flow.
 Under certain situations of very high velocity flow of viscous
fluids, an accurate analysis of flow field away from a solid
surface can be made from the ideal flow theory.
Newtonian fluids
 Among fluids there can be wide differences in behavior under
stress
 Fluids obeying Newton's law where value of m is constant are
known as Newtonian fluids.
 If m is constant the shear stress is linearly dependent on
velocity gradient.
 This is true for most common fluids viz. water, air, mercury
 Thus for these fluids, the plot of shear stress against velocity
gradient is a straight line through the origin. The slope of the
line determines the viscosity.
Non-Newtonian fluids
 fluids where the linear relationship between the shear stress and
the deformation rate is not valid is known as non Newtonian
fluids.
 The fluids, viz. paints, different polymer solution, blood do not
obey the typical linear relationship are known as non-Newtonian
fluids.
 For non-Newtonian fluids the value of m is not constant and it
varies with rate of deformation.
 No general model can describe the constitutive equation of all
kinds of non-Newtonian fluids
 The mathematical model for describing the mechanistic behavior
of a variety of commonly used non-Newtonian fluids is Power-
Law model
For power law model(Ostwald –de Waele model),

m - flow consistency index & n - flow behavior index

 is known Apparent viscosity or Effective viscosity

 There are several categories of these fluids and are based on
the relationship between shear stress and the velocity gradient
(rate of shear strain) in the fluid.
 When n=1, m equals µ, the model identically satisfies
Newtonian model as a special case
 When n<1, the model is valid for Pseudoplastic fluids (Eg:
paints)
 When n>1, model valid for Dilatant fluids,(Eg: sugar in
water, salt in water)
 The fluids which require a yield stress for the deformation rate
to be established, is known as Bingham plastic(Eg: paste)
Example
 A plate 0.025 mm distant from a fixed plate,
moves at 60 cm/s and requires a force of 2 N/m2
to maintain this speed. Determine the fluid
viscosity between the plates.

 Ans: 8.33×10-5 Ns/m2

Example

 Ans: 11.7 poise

Example
 A 25 mm diameter shaft is pulled through a cylindrical bearing
as shown in fig. The lubricant that fills the 0.3 mm gap
between the shaft and the bearing is an oil having a kinetic
viscosity of 8×10-4 m2/s and a specific gravity of 0.91.
Determine the force P required to pull the shaft at a velocity of
3 m/s. Assume the velocity distribution in the gap is linear.

 Ans: 286 N
Surface Tension
 Surface tension, (s), is a property of a liquid surface
 The phenomenon of surface tension arises due to the two kinds
of intermolecular forces
 Cohesion

 Adhesion

 Mechanical work is performed in creating a free surface or in

increasing the area of the surface
 Thus a surface requires mechanical energy for its formation
and the existence of a free surface implies the presence of
stored mechanical energy known as free surface energy
 Any system tries to attain the condition of stable equilibrium
with its potential energy as minimum
Surface Tension
Surface Tension
Surface Tension
Surface Tension
 Thus a quantity of liquid will adjust its shape until its surface
area and consequently its free surface energy is a minimum
 The magnitude of surface tension is defined as the tensile force
acting across imaginary short and straight elemental line
divided by the length of the line
 It describes the strength of the surface interactions.
 Units: N/m Dimensions: MT-2
 Young’s equation
 Pressure(∆P) Gradient Across the interface

where σ is the surface tension , R1 and R2 are radii of curvature

of the element constituting the surface
 Special cases: (1) Spherical liquid droplet, ∆P = 2σ/R

(2) Cylindrical liquid jet, ∆P = σ/R

(3) Spherical bubble, ∆P = 4σ/R

 Surface tension is the driving force for water beading on a
waxy surface and free droplets of liquid assuming a spherical
shape.
 It decreases slightly with increasing temperature.
 The surface tension of water in contact with air at 20°C is
about 0.073 N/m.
 Surface tension can be reduced by adding surface active
agents (surfactants) to the liquid.
Example
 What is the pressure within a 1 mm diameter
spherical droplet of water relative to the atmospheric
pressure outside? Assume surface tension for water to
be 0.073 N/m.

(ANS: 292 N/m2)

Example
 The surface tension of water in contact with air at
20ºC is 0.0725 N/m. The pressure inside a droplet
of water is to be 0.02 N/cm2 greater than the
outside pressure. Calculate the the diameter of the
droplet of the water

 Ans 1.45 mm
 Capillarity
 The interplay of the forces of cohesion and adhesion explains
the phenomenon of capillarity
 These adhesion and cohesion properties result in the
phenomenon of capillarity by which a liquid either rises or
falls in a tube dipped into the liquid depending upon whether
the force of adhesion is more than that of cohesion or not
 For pure water in contact with air in a clean glass tube, the
capillary rise takes place with θ = 0
 Mercury causes capillary depression with an angle of contact
of about 130º in a clean glass in contact with air
 h varies inversely with D

 An appreciable capillary rise or depression is observed in

tubes of small diameter only
Example
 Calculate the capillary rise in a glass tube of 2.5
mm diameter when immersed vertically in a)
water and b) mercury. Take σ = 0.0725 N/m for
water and 0.52 N/m for Hg in contact with air.
The specific garvity for mercury is given as 13.6
and contact angle is 130°

 Ans a) h = 1.18cm, b) h = -0.4 cm

 INTRODUCTION
• Fluid statics: Deals with problems associated with fluids at rest.
• The fluid can be either gaseous or liquid.
• Fluid statics is generally referred to as hydrostatics when the fluid is a
liquid and as aerostatics when the fluid is a gas.
• In fluid statics, there is no relative motion between adjacent fluid
layers, and thus there are no shear (tangential) stresses in the fluid
trying to deform it.
• The only stress we deal with in fluid statics is the normal stress, which
is the pressure, and the variation of pressure is due only to the weight
of the fluid.
• The topic of fluid statics has significance only in gravity fields.
• The design of many engineering systems such as water dams and
liquid storage tanks requires the determination of the forces acting on
the surfaces using fluid statics.

46
 Pressure

 Fluid elements
 Two types of forces exist on fluid elements
 Body forces (Eg: Gravitational force)

 Surface forces

 Surface force has two components

 Normal Force

 Shear Force

 The shear force is zero for any fluid element at rest and hence
the only surface force on a fluid element is the normal
component.
Forces in fluids

 Forces in fluids are more complicated than

forces in solids because fluids can change
shape.
Pressure

 A force applied to a fluid creates pressure.

 Pressure acts in all directions, not just the
direction of the applied force.
 Units of pressure

 The units of pressure

are force divided by
area.
 One psi is one pound
per square inch.
 Units of pressure

 The S.I. unit of force

is the pascal.
 One pascal (unit of
force) is one newton
of force per square
meter of area (N/m2).
Pressure

 On the microscopic
level, pressure comes
from collisions between
atoms.
 Every surface can
experience a force from
the constant impact of
trillions of atoms.
 This force is what we
measure as pressure.
Pressure

 If your car tires are

inflated to 35 pounds per
square inch (35 psi),
then a force of 35
pounds acts on every
square inch of area
inside the tire.
 Pascal's Law of Hydrostatics - Pressure at
any point is the same in all directions.
Fluid Statics
 Rate of increase of pressure in a vertical direction is equal to
the weight density – Hydrostatic law.
Example

A hydraulic press has

a ram of 30 cm
diameter and a
plunger of 4.5 cm
diameter. Find the
weight lifted by the
hydraulic press when
the force applied at
the plunger is 500 N.
 Scales of Pressure Measurement
 Pressure is usually expressed with reference to either absolute zero
pressure (a complete vacuum)or local atmospheric pressure.

 The absolute pressure

 The absolute pressure
 Vacuum Pressure

At sea-level, the international standard atmosphere has been chosen as

Patm = 101.32 kN/m2
Pressure measurement

 Barometer
 Manometers
 Simple Manometers
 Piezometers
 U-tube Manometers
 Differential Manometers
 Mechanical pressure gauges
Manometer

Pa

Pb

Pa = 750 mm Hg
Manometer

Pa
lower
pressure

height

Pa = 750 mm Hg
h =- 130 mm
lower
pressure
620 mm Hg
Manometer

Pa
higher
pressure

height

Pa = 750 mm Hg
h =+ 130 mm
higher
pressure
880 mm Hg
Simple manometers
Example
Differential Manometer
Example
Module 2
Fluid Statics
 Rate of increase of pressure in a vertical direction is equal to
the weight density – Hydrostatic law.

Force AB – Force CD + Weight = 0

HYDROSTATIC FORCES ON
SUBMERGED PLANE
SURFACES

A plate, such as a gate valve in a dam,

the wall of a liquid storage tank, or the
Hoover
hull of a ship at rest, is subjected to
Dam.
fluid pressure distributed over its
surface when exposed to a liquid.
On a plane surface, the hydrostatic
forces form a system of parallel forces,
and we often need to determine the
magnitude of the force and its point of
application, which is called the center
of pressure.

When analyzing hydrostatic forces on

submerged surfaces, the atmospheric
pressure can be subtracted for simplicity
when it acts on both sides of the structure.
76
Hydrostatic force acting on the top
surface of a submerged vertical
rectangular plate.

77
Total pressure

dF = p x dA
Moment of surface area = A x hbar
Centre of pressure

 F x h* = dF x h = den x g x h x b x dh x h
 I0 = Moment of inertia of the surface about
free surface of liquid
 IG = Moment of inertia of area
 I0 = IG+A(hbar)2
The centroid and the centroidal moments of inertia
for some common geometries.

80
Hydrostatic force acting
on the top surface of a
submerged horizontal
rectangular plate.

81
HYDROSTATIC FORCES ON SUBMERGED
CURVED SURFACES

Determination of the hydrostatic force acting on a submerged curved surface.

83

When a curved surface is above the liquid,
the weight of the liquid and the vertical
component of the hydrostatic force act in
the opposite directions.
The hydrostatic force acting on a
circular surface always passes
through the center of the circle since
the pressure forces are normal to
the surface and they all pass
through the center.
84
Example
Example
Example
Example
BUOYANCY AND STABILITY

89
Buoyancy

Force acting down FD= rgV1

from

Buoyancy = FU-FD
=rg(V2-V1)=rgV
V: volume occupied by the object

Force acting up FU = rgV2

from
Archimedes’ principle

 after the Greek mathematician Archimedes

(287–212 BC), and is expressed as:
The buoyant force acting on a body
immersed in a fluid is equal to the weight
of the fluid displaced by the body, and it
acts upward through the centroid of the
displaced volume.

91
 A solid body dropped
into a fluid will sink,
float, or remain at rest
at any point in the fluid,
depending on its
density relative to the
density of the fluid.

92
The altitude of a hot air
balloon is controlled by the
temperature difference
between the air inside and
outside the balloon, since
warm air is less dense than
cold air. When the balloon
is neither rising nor falling,
the upward buoyant force
exactly balances the
downward weight.

93
Stability of Immersed and Floating Bodies

For floating bodies such as ships,

stability is an important
consideration for safety.

94
An immersed neutrally buoyant body is
(a) stable if the center of gravity G is directly below the center
of buoyancy B of the body,
(b) neutrally stable if G and B are coincident, and
(c) unstable if G is directly above B.

95
A floating body is stable if the body is bottom-heavy and thus the center of
gravity G is above the centroid B of the body, or if the metacenter M is above
point G. However, the body is unstable if point M is below point G.
Metacentric height GM: The distance between the center of gravity G
and the metacenter M—the intersection point of the lines of action of
the buoyant force through the body before and after rotation.
The length of the metacentric height GM above G is a measure of the
stability: the larger it is, the more stable is the floating body.
96
Example
Example