Fluid Mechanics

AN INTRODUCTION

Fluid
(a
(a substance that
that deforms
deforms
continuously
continuously when
subjected to shear stress)
stress)
[1]
[1]

Mechanics
(a branch
branch of physical
science that deals
deals with
with
energy and forces and
their effect on material
material
[2]
[2]
bodies)
bodies)

Fluid Mechanics
(branch of
mechanics which
deals with
Behaviour of fluid
under action of
forces either at rest
or in motion)

Significance of Fluid Mechanics

Analysis of Fluid Flow is essential in numerous daily encounters, e.g.
Designing of aeroplanes.
Designing irrigation canals, dams, and water supply systems.
Designing turbines, heat exchangers, and fluid cooling systems.
Designing of Air -Conditioning System.

Branches Of Fluid Mechanics

Following are some major Divisions of Fluid mechanics
Fluid statics
Branch of fluid mechanics which deals with response of fluid at rest only

Fluid kinematics
Branch of fluid mechanics that deals with response of fluid when they are in motion without considering
energies and forces in them.

Hydrodynamics
Branch of fluid mechanics that deals with response of fluid when they are in motion considering energies
and forces in them

Hydraulics
Branch which deals with response of water either in rest or in motion.

Properties of Fluid

Fluid?
Difference Between a solid & Fluid (Liquid or Gas)
Fluid

Solids

Shear
stress

Shear
stress

Applied shear stress

produces a
proportional
deformation (strain).

Applied shear stress

produces a proportional
continuously increasing
deformation (strain).
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Comparison
LIQUIDS

o It can flow at normal temperature.

o Molecules are distinctly apart.
o Relatively less molecular attraction.
o Slightly compressible.
o Liquids confirm shape of container.
o Liquids cannot sustain shear force.

SOLID

o It cannot flow at normal temperature.

o Molecules are close to each other.
o More molecular attraction.
o Highly compressible.
o It is not possible in case of solid because solid has definite rigid
shape.
o Solid can sustain shear force.

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Comparison
LIQUIDS

GASES

o Gases do not have definite volume.

o Liquids have definite volume at any temperature and pressure.
o Molecules are close together.
o More molecular attraction.
o Less compressible
o Less diffusion

o Molecules are far apart.

o Less molecular attraction.
o Highly compressible.
o High diffusion.

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Properties of fluids
There are two types of fluids
o Liquids exhibit a free surface.
o Gasses need a lid to be contained.

But same principles often apply to both.

Following are some important properties.
o Density
o Specific volume
o Specific weight
o Specific gravity
o Compressibility
o Viscosity
o Surface tension
o Pressure
o Buoyancy

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Density

The
density of a liquid may be defined as the mass per unit volume, (at
standard temperature & pressure) mathematically written as,
Example: 2.5m3 of a certain oil has a mass of 2.0 tonnes, find its mass
density.
oVolume = 2.5m3
oMass = 20 tones = 2.0 X 1000 = 2 X 103
Density is a physical property of the material and stays the same no
matter how much material you have.

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Specific Volume
Specific

volume is defined as the ratio of the Volume of a substance per unit

Mass.
Mathematically given as
Where is a Greek letter termed as Nu.
Its units are m3/Kg, ft3/slug, cm3/g.
Relation between specific volume & density is given as
Find out the specific volume, for the previous stated example.

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Specific weight
The specific weight (weight) of a liquid may be defines as the weight per unit
volume (at standard pressure & temperature), mathematically stated as
For all purposes the specific weight of the water is considered to be as = 9.81
KN/m3.
Example: in an experiment, the weight of 2.5 m3 of a certain liquid was
found to be 18.75 KN, find its specific weight and density.
Volume = 2.5m3 , weight = 18.75 X 103

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Specific Gravity sp. gr.

The
specific gravity of a liquid is the ratio of its specific weight of liquid to
that of a standard substance (water) at a standard temperature (4 C).
Mathematically written as
Example: find specific gravity of an oil whose specific weight is 7.85 KN/m3.
Specific weight of oil = 7.85 X103

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Compressibility
Compressibility of a liquid may be defined as the variation in its volume,
with variation of pressure.
A liquids compressibility is measured in terms of its Bulk Modulus of
elasticity. Compressibility defined as

The bulk modulus of elasticity is the K is its reciprocal.

The variation in the volume of water, with the variation of pressure, is so
small that for all practical purposes it is neglected. Thus water is considered
to be incompressible fluid.

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Viscosity
Consider an experiment in which you have four jars filled with following
o Water
o Syrup
o Honey
o Oil

oNow if we invert all of the four jars, what will be the rate at which the fluid flows out?
oIs it same for all of them or it varies?
oIf we analyze we find out that there is some fluid characteristic that controls the flow rate, termed
as viscosity. And it is clear from the above experiment that the denser the fluid the more is its
Viscosity.
oThere are two assumptions
o There is no relative motion between the solid boundary and adjacent fluid layer.
o Shear stress between two adjacent layers is directly proportional to the rate of shear in the direction
perpendicular to that of motion.

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Newtons Law of viscosity

Consider two Plates, one fixed and other movable,
filled with fluid. A force F being applied on upper
plate, moving it with uniform velocity.
Experiments have shows
,,;
;

Above equation is termed as Newtons law of

viscosity. Following Newtons law i.e.
Kinematic viscosity, ratio b/w absolute viscosity ()
and density (), mathematically given as

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Where,
A = contact area of plate
Y = gap b/w plates
F = applied force
U = velocity of plate

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Surface Tension
Ever considered Why the Water droplet has the shape it has?
Consider a water tank, as shown in the figure
A section (physical system) has been selected for observation, as
shown.
Surface Tension T. It has units of N/m.
Surface depends upon molecular attraction,
Decreases with increase in fluid temperature.
The surface tension is a property of a liquid, which
enables it to resist tensile stress.
Significance of Surface Tension; Capillarity; defines as rise or fall
of a liquid in a very small diameter tube, due to surface tension.

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Vapour Pressure
Consider a fluid, a portion, (as shown in the figure)
Some of the molecules (more energetic) keep on leaving
the surface. Forming vapours.
Now consider some water in a closed container. Particles
continue to break away from the surface of the liquid - but
this time they are trapped in the space above the liquid.
Pressure exerted by these vapors is termed as vapor
pressure.
As the gaseous particles bounce around, some of them will
hit the surface of the liquid again, and be trapped there.
There will rapidly be an equilibrium set up in which the
number of particles leaving the surface is exactly balanced
by the number rejoining it.
In this equilibrium, there will be a fixed number of the
gaseous particles in the space above the liquid. When
these particles hit the walls of the container, they exert a
pressure. This pressure is called the saturated vapor
pressure.
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Saturated vapour Pressure &

Boiling Point
A liquid boils when its saturated vapor pressure becomes equal to the
external pressure on the liquid. When that happens, it enables bubbles of
vapor to form throughout the liquid - those are the bubbles you see when a
liquid boils.
If the external pressure is higher than the saturated vapor pressure, these
bubbles are prevented from forming, and you just get evaporation at the
surface of the liquid. If the liquid is in an open container and exposed to
normal atmospheric pressure, the liquid boils when its saturated vapor
pressure becomes equal to 1 atmosphere (or 101325 Pa or 101.325 kPa or
760 mmHg). This happens with water when the temperature reaches 100C.
But at different pressures, water will boil at different temperatures. For
example, at the top of Mount Everest the pressure is so low that water will
boil at about 70C. Whenever we just talk about "the boiling point" of a liquid,
we always assume that it is being measured at exactly 1 atmosphere
pressure. In practice, of course, that is rarely exactly true.
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Pressure
Fluid pressure P at a point is the ratio of normal force to area as the area
approaches to a small value.
Units are Psi or N/m2 as explained in the picture.
Unlike stress however, pressure acts in all directions,
not just the direction of the applied force.

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Pressure key points

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Pressure Key Points

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(contd.)

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Buoyancy
An object submerged in liquid feels an upward force called buoyancy.
The buoyancy force is exactly equal to the weight of liquid displaced by the
object.
Objects sink if the buoyancy force is less than their own weight.

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QUESTIONS?
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