KNS 2113 FLUID MECHANICS

FLUID KINEMATICS
The Velocity Field
The Acceleration Field
Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Department of Civil Engineering

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

What is Kinematics?
Kinematics involves position, velocity, and
acceleration, not force.

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Introduction
Kinematics of motion the velocity and acceleration of
the fluid, and the description and visualization of its
motion.
Understanding of how to describe and observe fluid
motion is essential step to complete understanding of
fluid dynamics.

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Velocity Field
Considering fluid to be made up of fluid particles. Each
particle contains numerous molecules.
The flow of a fluid can be described in terms of the
motion of fluid particles rather than individual molecules.
This motion can be described in terms of the velocity and
acceleration of the fluid particles.

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Velocity Field
The infinitesimal particles of a fluid are tightly packed together, thus
at any given time, a description of any fluid property may be given
as a function of fluids location.
The representation of fluid parameters as function of spatial
coordinates is termed a field representation of the flow.
The velocity field:

Where u, v and w are the x, y and z components of the velocity vector.

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Velocity Field
The position of particle A relative to the coordinate
system is given by its position vector, rA which is a
function of time.
Velocity of particle
The magnitude
fluid.

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

is the speed of the

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Velocity Field
Question

Solution

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Velocity Field

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Velocity Field

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Eulerian and Lagrangian Flow Descriptions

There are 2 approaches in analyzing fluid mechanics
problems Eulerian and Langrangian method.
Eulerian method uses the field concept introduces
previously. Fluid motion is given by prescribing the
necessary properties as functions of space and time.
Information are obtained at fixed points in space as fluid
flows through those points.
Langrangian method involves following individual fluid
particles as they move about. That is the fluid particles
are identified and their properties determined as they
move.
Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Eulerian and Lagrangian Flow Descriptions

In the Eulerian method, one may attach a temperature
measurement device to the top of the chimney (point 0) and record
the temperature as a function of time.
In the Langrangian method, one would attach the temperature
measuring device to a particle (particle A) and record the particles
temperature as it moves about.

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

One-, Two-, and Three-Dimensions Flows

Generally fluid flow is rather complex three-dimensional, time
dependent phenomenon
Simplication involves approximating a real flow as simpler one- or
two- dimensional flow.
In many situations, one of the velocity components may be smaller
relative to the other two components and assume two-dimensional
flow
It is sometimes possible to further simplify by assuming two of the
velocity components are negligible leaving a one-dimensional flow

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Steady and Unsteady Flows

Steady flow the velocity at a given point in space does not vary
with time
In reality, almost all flows are unsteady that is the velocity does vary
with time.

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Streamlines
A streamline is a line that is everywhere tangent to the velocity field.
If the flow is steady, nothing at a fixed point (including the velocity
direction) changes with time, so the streamlines are fixed lines in
space.
For unsteady flows, the streamlines may change shape with time.
Streamlines are obtained analytically by integrating the equations
defining lines tangent to the velocity field. For two-dimensional flows
the slope of the streamline, dy/dx must be equal to the tangent of
the angle that the velocity vector makes with the x axis of

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Streamlines

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Streamlines, Streaklines, and Pathlines

Question

Solution

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Streamlines, Streaklines, and Pathlines

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Streakline
A streakline consists of all particles in a flow that have previously passed
through a common point.

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Pathlines
A pathline is the line traced out by a given particle as if flows from one
point to another.

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Streamlines, Streaklines, and Pathlines

Question

Solution

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Streamlines, Streaklines, and Pathlines

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Streamlines, Streaklines, and Pathlines

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Streamlines, Streaklines, and Pathlines

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Streamlines, Streaklines, and Pathlines

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Streamlines, Streaklines, and Pathlines

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Streamlines, Streaklines, and Pathlines

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Streamlines, Streaklines, and Pathlines

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

The Acceleration Field

The acceleration of a particle is the time rate of change of its
velocity.
For the Eulerian description, the acceleration field is described as a
function of position and time without actually following any particular
particle
For the infrequently used Langrangian method, the fluid acceleration
is described as is done in solid body dynamics
Example of fluid acceleration: water flowing through a garden hose
nozzle under steady conditions will experience acceleration as it
changes from relatively low velocity in the hose to relatively high
velocity at the tip of the nozzle.

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

The Material Derivatives

The particles velocity is a function of its location and time:

Since the velocity may be a function of both position and time, its
value may change because of change in time as well as particles
position. Using chain rule, the acceleration of the particle:

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

The Material Derivatives

Using the fact that particle velocity components are given by

Since it is valid for any particle, the reference to particle A can be

drop:

The vector result whose scalar components can be written as:

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

The Material Derivatives

The results is often written is shorthand notation as:

Where the operator:

Is termed the material derivative or substantial derivative. An often

used shorthand for the material derivative operator is

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Acceleration along a Streamline

Question
An incompressible, inviscid fluid flows steadily past a ball of radius R. According
to a more advanced analysis of flow, the fluid velocity along streamline A-B is
given by:

Determine the acceleration experienced by fluid particles as they flow along this
streamline.

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Acceleration along a Streamline

Solution
Along streamline A-B there is only one component of velocity (v=w=0):

Or

Since flow is steady the velocity at a given point in space does not change with
time
the acceleration becomes

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Unsteady Effects
The material derivative formula contains two types of terms time
derivative
and spatial derivatives
The time derivative are denoted as local derivative. For steady flow
the time derivative is zero throughout the flow field and the local
effects vanishes.
If a flow is unsteady, its parameter values (velocity, temperature,
density, etc.) at any location may change with time. Example for
uniform, unsteady flow in pipes, the flow is assumed to be spatially
uniform, thus acceleration due to spatial variations of velocity
vanishes automatically:

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Convective Effect
The portion of the material derivative represented by the spatial
derivatives is termed the convective derivative.
It represents the fact that a flow property associated with a fluid
particle may vary because of the motion of the particle from one point
in space where the parameter has one value to another point in
space where its value is different.
Example water velocity at inlet of hose nozzle is different (both in
direction and speed) than it is at the exit.
It is due to the convection, or motion, of the particle through space in
which there is a gradient
in the
parameter value. The portion of the acceleration given by the term
is termed the convective acceleration.
Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Streamlines Coordinates
In many flow situations, it is convenient to use a coordinate system
defined in terms of streamlines of the flow.
An example, two-dimensional flows is illustrated below:

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Streamlines Coordinates
One of the advantages of using the streamline coordinate system is
that the velocity is always tangent to the s direction.

This allows simplifications in describing the fluid particle

acceleration and in solving governing equations.

where as and an are the streamline and normal components of

acceleration respectively.
Application of chain rule gives:

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Streamlines Coordinates

Simplifying using the fact that for steady flow nothing changes with
time at a given point:

From figure,

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Chapter 4: Kinematics of Fluid Motion

Streamlines Coordinates
Hence the acceleration for steady, two-dimensional flow can be
written as:

The first term

represents the convective acceleration
along the sreamline and the second term
represents
centrifugal acceleration (one type of convective acceleration) normal
to the fluid motion.

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Prepared By: Dr. Charles Bong Hin Joo

Department of Civil Engineering

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak