Classification of

Fluids
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 Fluid
Example:
1. Pure liquids
2. Pure gas Anything which can flow is called
3. Pure solutions fluid.
4. Slurries
5. Emulsions
6. Suspensions Any substance or a material which
7. Vapors does not posses any resistance to
8. Also very fine change its shape.
dust particles

Any material or substance that

changes its shape or direction
uniformly on applying an external
force.
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Classification

Ideal fluid
Compressible fluid
Real fluid
Fluid

In – compressive
fluid
Newtonian fluids

Non – Newtonian
fluids 3
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.
𝑑𝑢
𝜏 = 𝜇 𝑑𝑦
Since 𝜇 = 0

Real Fluid
All the fluids in reality have viscosity (μ > 0) and hence
they are termed as real fluid and their motion is known as
visc
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Compressible Fluid
If the density of fluid changes during flow (e.g., high-speed
gas flow)
• Volume of fluid change with pressure and temperature
Or
• Function of pressure and temperature

In-Compressible Fluid
If the density of flowing fluid remains nearly constant
throughout (e.g., liquid flow).
• Volume of fluid does not change with pressure and
temperature 5
Or
• Independent of pressure and temperature
REYNOLDS NUMBER - EMPIRACLE
Reynolds conducted many experiments using glass
tubes of 7,9, 15 and 27 mm diameter and water
temperatures from 4o to 44oC.

He discovered that transition from laminar to

turbulent flow occurred for a critical value of uD/
(or uD/), regardless of individual values of  or u or
D or . ~ Nakayama & Boucher

Sommerfeld in a 1908 paper

first referred to uD/ as the
6
Reynolds number
REYNOLDS NUMBER - EMPIRACLE
Reynolds found that the quality of
the pipe inlet affected transition –
with a
smoother, bell-mouthed inlet
transition was delayed to higher
Reynolds numbers.

Laminar pipe flow is stable to

infinitesimal disturbances.
From Reynolds’ 1883 paper

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 Reynolds's Experiment

Reynold’s experiments involved injecting a dye streak into fluid moving at constant
velocity through a transparent tube.

Fluid type, tube diameter and the velocity of the flow through the tube were varied. 8
Reynolds’ Results

Dye followed a straight path.

Dye followed a wavy

path with streak intact.

Dye rapidly mixed

through the fluid in the
tube

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Reynolds classified the flow type according to the motion of the fluid.

Laminar Flow: every fluid molecule

followed a straight path that was
parallel to the boundaries of the
tube.

Transitional Flow: every fluid

molecule followed wavy but
parallel path that was not parallel
to the boundaries of the tube.

Turbulent Flow: every fluid

molecule followed very complex
path that led to a mixing of the
dye.

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 Reynolds's Number
Reynolds found that conditions for each of the flow types depended on:

1. The velocity of the flow (U) 2. The diameter of the tube (D)

3. The density of the fluid (). 4. The fluid’s dynamic viscosity ().

He combined these variables into a dimensionless combination now known as the Flow
Reynolds’ Number (R) where:

UD 11
R

 UD
R

Flow Reynolds’ number is often expressed in terms of the fluid’s kinematic viscosity (;
lower case Greek letter nu), where:


 (units are m2/s)

Rearranging:   

UD
R 
Substituting into R:


12
UD
R

The value of R determined the type of flow in the experimental tubes:

UD
R

< 1000

1000 - 2000

> 2000

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Laminar

Transitional

Turbulent
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Laminar versus Turbulent Flow
Laminar flow: The highly
ordered fluid motion
characterized by smooth layers
of fluid. The flow of high-
viscosity fluids such as oils at
low velocities is typically
laminar.
Turbulent flow: The highly
disordered fluid motion that
typically occurs at high
velocities and is characterized
by velocity fluctuations. The
flow of low-viscosity fluids such
as air at high velocities is
typically turbulent.
Transitional flow: A flow that
alternates between being
laminar and turbulent. 15
Laminar, transitional, and turbulent flows over
a flat plate.
Types of Flow
• Steady Flow
• Un-steady flow
• Subsonic Fluid
• Sonic Fluid
• Supersonic
• Laminar Flow
• Turbulent Flow

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Laminar flow
• Also known as
streamline flow
• Occurs when the fluid
flows in parallel layers,
with no disruption
between the layers
• The opposite of
turbulent flow (rough)

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Laminar flow
• In fluid dynamics (scientific study of properties of moving
fluids), laminar flow is:
• A flow regime characterized by high momentum diffusion, low
momentum convection, pressure and velocity independent
from time.
*momentum diffusion refers to the spread of momentum
(diffusion) between particles of substances, usually liquids

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 Laminar flow
• Laminar flow over a flat and
horizontal surface can be Turbulent
pictured as consisting of Flow
parallel and thin layers

• Layers slide over each other,

thus the name ‘streamline’ Laminar Flow
or smooth.
• The paths are regular and
there are no fluctuations
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Laminar flow
• 3 Conditions
• fluid moves slowly
• viscosity is relatively high
• flow channel is relatively small

• Blood flow through capillaries is laminar flow, as it satisfies the 3

conditions
• Most type of fluid flow is turbulent
• There is poor transfer of heat energy!

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Turbulent flow
• Usually occurs when the liquid is
moving fast
• The flow is ‘chaotic’ and there are
irregular fluctuations
• Includes:
• Low momentum diffusion
• high momentum convection
• rapid variation of pressure and
velocity of the fluid
• Good way to transfer thermal energy

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Turbulent Flow
• The speed of the fluid at a point is continuously undergoing
changes in both magnitude and direction.

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Examples of turbulence
• Oceanic and atmospheric layers and ocean currents
• External flow of air/water over vehicles such as cars/ships/submarines
• In racing cars, e.g. leading car causes understeer at fast corners
• Turbulence during air-plane’s flight
• Most of terrestrial atmospheric circulation
• Flow of most liquids through pipes

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Steady or Unsteady Fluid Flow

In steady flow the velocity of the fluid particles at any point is

constant as time passes.
Unsteady flow exists whenever the velocity at a point in the fluid
changes as time passes.

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Types of flow
When analyzing rockets, spacecraft, and other systems that involve high-
speed gas flows, the flow speed is often expressed by Mach number

The ratio of the speed of a body to the speed of sound in the surrounding
medium. It is often used with a numeral (as Mach 1, Mach 2, etc.) to
indicate the speed of sound. 1 Mach = 1234.8 km/h

Ma = 1 Sonic flow
Ma < 1 Subsonic flow
Ma > 1 Supersonic flow
Ma >> 1 Hypersonic flow
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Newton's law of viscosity
Newton’s viscosity law’s states that, the shear stress between adjacent fluid
layers is proportional to the velocity gradients between the two layers.

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Newtonian Fluid
Fluids which obey the Newton's law of viscosity are called
as Newtonian fluids
• Examples of Newtonian fluids All gases and most
liquids which have simpler molecular formula and low
molecular weight such as
• Water, Benzene, ethyl alcohol, CCl4, Hexane and most
solutions of simple molecules are Newtonian fluids
Non – Newtonian Fluid
Fluids which do not obey the Newton's law of viscosity are
called as non-Newtonian fluids.
• Examples of Non-Newtonian fluids Generally non-
Newtonian fluids are complex mixtures such as 27
• Slurries, Pastes, Gels, polymer solutions etc.
Newtonian vs. Non-Newtonian
Fluids
• Newtonian fluid: shear stress is
proportional to shear strain
– Slope of line is dynamic
viscosity
• Shear thinning: ratio of shear
stress to shear strain decreases
as shear strain increases
(toothpaste, catsup, paint, etc.)
• Shear thickening: viscosity
increases with shear rate (glass
particles in water, gypsum-
water mixtures).
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Shear Strain
Shear strain is the ratio of the change in deformation to its
original length perpendicular to the axes of the member due
to shear stress.

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