FLUID MECHANICS 1

CHAPTER 1:
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF FLUID
PRESENTATION OUTLINE

• Properties of fluid
(cont.)
• Surface tension and
capillary effect
• Compressibility and
speed of sound
• Coefficient of volume
expansion
 Viscosity
Viscosity: A property that represents the internal resistance of a fluid
to motion or the fluidity .
Drag force: The force a flowing fluid exerts on a body in the flow
direction. The magnitude of this force depends, in part, on viscosity.
The viscosity of a fluid is a
measure of its resistance to
deformation.
Viscosity is due to the internal
frictional force that develops
between different layers of
fluids as they are forced to
move relative to each other.

A fluid moving relative to a

body exerts a drag force on
the body, partly because of
friction caused by viscosity.
 Newtonian fluids: Fluids
for which the rate of
deformation is
proportional to the shear
stress.

Shear
stress

The behavior of a fluid in laminar flow Shear force

between two parallel plates when the upper
plate moves with a constant velocity.

µ coefficient of viscosity
Dynamic (absolute) viscosity
kg/m ⋅ s or N ⋅ s/m2 or Pa ⋅ s
1 poise = 0.1 Pa ⋅ s
 Variation of shear stress with the
rate of deformation for
The rate of deformation (velocity gradient) Newtonian and non-Newtonian
of a Newtonian fluid is proportional to fluids (the slope of a curve at a
shear stress, and the constant of point is the apparent viscosity of
proportionality is the viscosity. the fluid at that point).
 Newtonian fluids: Fluids Newtonian fluids: Fluids
for which the rate of for which the rate of
• Exampledeformation
2: is deformation is
proportional to the shear proportional to the shear
stress. U = 30m/s stress.

A=0.4m2
h=0.02cm Shear Shear
stress = 0.001Ns/m2 stress

laminar flowThe behavior of a force

Shear fluid in laminar flow Shear force
es when the between
upper two parallel plates when the upper
ant velocity. plate moves with a constant velocity.

Fµ = (0.001)(0.3)(0.4)
coefficient of viscosity = 0.6N
µ coefficient of viscosity
Dynamic (absolute)
(0.02x10 viscosity
-2) Dynamic (absolute) viscosity
kg/m ⋅ s or N ⋅ s/m or Pa ⋅ s
2
kg/m ⋅ s or N ⋅ s/m or Pa ⋅ s
2

P1 poise
= F.U = Pa
= 0.1 (0.6)(0.3)
⋅s = 0.18W
1 poise = 0.1 Pa ⋅ s
Kinematic viscosity

m2/s or stoke
1 stoke = 1 cm2/s

For liquids, both the dynamic and

kinematic viscosities are practically
independent of pressure, and any small
variation with pressure is usually
disregarded, except at extremely high
pressures.
For gases, this is also the case for
dynamic viscosity (at low to moderate
pressures), but not for kinematic
viscosity since the density of a gas is
proportional to its pressure.
Dynamic viscosity, in general,
For gas does not depend on pressure, but
kinematic viscosity does.
T is absolute temperature
For liquid a, b and c are constant values
 The viscosity of a fluid is directly
related to the pumping power needed
to transport a fluid in a pipe or to
move a body through a fluid.
Viscosity is caused by the cohesive
forces between the molecules in
liquids and by the molecular collisions
in gases, and it varies greatly with
temperature.
In a liquid, the molecules possess
more energy at higher temperatures,
and they can oppose the large
cohesive intermolecular forces more
strongly. As a result, the energized
liquid molecules can move more
freely.
In a gas, the intermolecular forces
The viscosity of liquids are negligible, and the gas molecules
at high temperatures move randomly
decreases and the viscosity of at higher velocities. This results in
gases increases with more molecular collisions per unit
temperature. volume per unit time and therefore in
greater resistance to flow.
The variation of
dynamic
(absolute)
viscosity of
common fluids
with temperature
at 1 atm
(1 N⋅s/m2
= 1kg/m⋅s)

15
 Surface tension and Capillary effect
•  Liquid droplets behave like small
balloons filled with the liquid on a solid
surface, and the surface of the liquid
acts like a stretched elastic membrane
under tension.
•  The pulling force that causes this
tension acts parallel to the surface and
is due to the attractive forces between
the molecules of the liquid.
•  The magnitude of this force per unit
length is called surface tension (or
coefficient of surface tension) and is
usually expressed in the unit N/m.
•  This effect is also called surface energy
[per unit area] and is expressed in the
equivalent unit of N ⋅ m/m2.

Some consequences of
surface tension.
Attractive forces acting on a liquid
molecule at the surface and deep
inside the liquid.
Stretching a liquid film with a U-
shaped wire, and the forces acting
on the movable wire of length b.

Surface tension: The work done per unit

increase in the surface area of the liquid.
 The free-body
diagram of half a
droplet or air
bubble and half
a soap bubble.

18
Capillary effect: The rise or fall of a liquid in a small-diameter tube
inserted into the liquid.
Capillaries: Such narrow tubes or confined flow channels.
The capillary effect is partially responsible for the rise of water to the top
of tall trees.
Meniscus: The curved free surface of a liquid in a capillary tube.
The strength of the capillary effect is Capillary Effect
quantified by the contact (or wetting)
angle, defined as the angle that the
tangent to the liquid surface makes with
the solid surface at the point of contact.

The meniscus of colored water in a

4-mm-inner-diameter glass tube.
Note that the edge of the
The contact angle for wetting and meniscus meets the wall of the
nonwetting fluids. capillary tube at a very small
contact angle.
The capillary rise of water and the
capillary fall of mercury in a small- The forces acting on a liquid column
that has risen in a tube due to the
diameter glass tube.
capillary effect.

!  capillary rise is inversely proportional to the radius of the tube

and density of the liquid.
 Vapor Pressure And Cavitation

•  Saturation temperature Tsat: The temperature at which

a pure substance changes phase at a given pressure.
•  Saturation pressure Psat: The pressure at which a pure
substance changes phase at a given temperature.
•  Vapor pressure (Pv): The pressure exerted by its vapor
in phase equilibrium with its liquid at a given
temperature. It is identical to the saturation pressure
Psat of the liquid (Pv = Psat).
•  Partial pressure: The pressure of a gas or vapor in a
mixture with other gases. For example, atmospheric air
is a mixture of dry air and water vapor, and atmospheric
pressure is the sum of the partial pressure of dry air
and the partial pressure of water vapor.
The vapor pressure (saturation
pressure) of a pure substance (e.g.,
water) is the pressure exerted by its
vapor molecules when the system is in
phase equilibrium with its liquid
molecules at a given temperature.
• There is a possibility of the liquid pressure in
liquid-flow systems dropping below the vapor
pressure at some locations, and the resulting
unplanned vaporization.

• The vapor bubbles (called cavitation bubbles

since they form “cavities” in the liquid) collapse
as they are swept away from the low-pressure
regions, generating highly destructive,
Cavitation damage on a 16-mm by
extremely high-pressure waves.
23-mm aluminum sample tested at
60 m/s for 2.5 h. The sample was
• This phenomenon, which is a common cause for located at the cavity collapse
region downstream of a cavity
drop in performance and even the erosion of generator specifically designed to
impeller blades, is called cavitation, and it is an produce high damage potential.

important consideration in the design of

hydraulic turbines and pumps.
 COMPRESSIBILITY AND SPEED OF SOUND
Coefficient of Compressibility
We know from experience that the volume
(or density) of a fluid changes with a
change in its temperature or pressure.
Fluids usually expand as they are heated or
depressurized and contract as they are
cooled or pressurized.
But the amount of volume change is
different for different fluids, and we need to
define properties that relate volume
changes to the changes in pressure and
temperature.
Two such properties are:
Fluids, like solids, compress
the bulk modulus of elasticity κ when the applied pressure is
increased from P1 to P2
the coefficient of volume expansion β.
 Coefficient of compressibility
(also called the bulk modulus
of compressibility or bulk
modulus of elasticity) for
fluids

The coefficient of compressibility represents the change in

pressure corresponding to a fractional change in volume or
density of the fluid while the temperature remains
constant.
What is the coefficient of compressibility of a truly
incompressible substance (v = constant)?
A large value of κ indicates that a large change in pressure
is needed to cause a small fractional change in volume,
and thus a fluid with a large κ is essentially
incompressible.
This is typical for liquids, and explains why liquids are
usually considered to be incompressible.
The coefficient of compressibility of an ideal gas is equal to its
absolute pressure, and the coefficient of compressibility of the gas
increases with increasing pressure.

The percent increase of density of an ideal gas during isothermal

compression is equal to the percent increase in pressure.

Isothermal compressibility: The inverse of the coefficient of

compressibility.
The isothermal compressibility of a fluid represents the fractional change
in volume or density corresponding to a unit change in pressure.

30
 Coefficient of Volume Expansion

• The density of a fluid depends more

strongly on temperature than it does on
pressure.
• The variation of density with temperature
is responsible for numerous natural
phenomena such as winds, currents in
oceans, rise of plumes in chimneys, the
operation of hot-air balloons, heat
transfer by natural convection, and even
the rise of hot air and thus the phrase
“heat rises”. Natural convection over a
• To quantify these effects, we need a woman s hand.
property that represents the variation of
the density of a fluid with temperature at
constant pressure.
The coefficient of volume expansion (or
volume expansivity): The variation of the
density of a fluid with temperature at constant
pressure.

A large value of β for a fluid means a large

change in density with temperature,
and the product β ΔT represents the fraction of
volume change of a fluid that corresponds to a
temperature change of T at constant pressure.
The volume expansion coefficient of an ideal
gas (P = ρRT ) at a temperature T is
equivalent to the inverse of the temperature: The coefficient of volume expansion
is a measure of the change in
volume of a substance with
temperature at constant pressure.
32
In the study of natural convection currents, the condition of the main fluid body
that surrounds the finite hot or cold regions is indicated by the subscript infinity
to serve as a reminder that this is the value at a distance where the presence of
the hot or cold region is not felt. In such cases, the volume expansion coefficient
can be expressed approximately as

The combined effects of pressure and temperature changes on the volume

change of a fluid can be determined by taking the specific volume to be a
function of T and P.

The fractional change in volume (or density) due to changes in pressure

and temperature can be expressed approximately as
 Compressible vs. Incompressible Flow

A flow is classified as
incompressible if the density
remains nearly constant.
Liquid flows are typically
incompressible.
Gas flows are often compressible,
especially for high speeds.
Mach number, Ma = V/c is a good
indicator of whether or not
compressibility effects are
important.
–  Ma < 0.3 : Incompressible
–  Ma < 1 : Subsonic
–  Ma = 1 : Sonic
–  Ma > 1 : Supersonic
–  Ma >> 1 : Hypersonic
 Laminar vs. Turbulent Flow

• Laminar: highly ordered fluid

motion with smooth streamlines.
• Turbulent: highly disordered fluid
motion characterised by velocity
fluctuations and eddies.
• Transitional: a flow that contains
both laminar and turbulent
regions
• Reynolds number, Re= ρUL/μ is
the key parameter in determining
whether or not a flow is laminar or
turbulent.
Summary of Chapter 1
End of Chapter 1