CHAPTER THREE

KINEMATICS OF FLOW

CONTENTS
❑ Introduction
❑ Velocity and Acceleration
❑ Classification of Flow
❑ Types of Flow Lines
❑ Continuity Equation
 1. INTRODUCTION
❑ Fluid kinematics is a branch of ‘Fluid mechanics’ which deals with the study of velocity and acceleration of
the particles of fluids in motion and their distribution in space without considering the forces and torques that
cause the motion. .

❑ The motion of fluid can be described fully by an expression describing the location of a fluid particle in
space at different times thus enabling determination of the magnitude and direction of velocity and
acceleration in the flow field at any instant of time.

❑ There are two methods or frames of reference by which the motion of a fluid can be described:
1. The Eulerian Method and
2. The lagrangian Method
1. The Eulerian Method
❑The observer is “sitting” at a fixed position, x, within the fluid, measures
there some interesting quantities with time, and just computes the time
derivative by deriving the resulting curve.
❑ This is just the standard partial derivative in time at position x.
❑ This method is extensively used in fluid mechanics because of its
simplicity and due to the fact that one is more interested in flow
parameters at different points in a flow and not in what happens to
individual fluid particles.
❑The Eulerian time derivative of a variable 𝜙 is simply written:
2. The Lagrangian Method
❑Lagrange chooses an observer moving with the flow, and therefore
behaving himself like a fluid element.
❑ In this method the observer focusses his attention on a single fluid
particle during its motion through space to find out the path it traces
and to describe its characteristics such as velocity, acceleration, density
etc as it moves in the flow field with the passage of time.
❑ This observer measures the evolution of some interesting quantity with
time, and computes the time derivative by deriving the resulting curve.

❑The resulting time derivative at the same position and at the same time
will not be the same, since the frame of reference is different.
❑Therefore, this alternative definition of the time derivative will be
written differently, as:

❑It is called Lagrangian time derivative, substantial time derivative or

total time derivative.

❑The important point is not the current position of the fluid element, point
x, but its origin at the beginning of the observation, point X, in space.
 2. VELOCITY AND ACCELERATION
Langrangian Method
❑In this method, the observer concentrates on the movement of a single
particle.
❑The path taken by the particle and the changes in its velocity and
acceleration are studied.
❑In the Cartesian system, the position of the fluid particle in space (x, y,z)
at any time t from its position (a, b, c) at time t = 0 shall be given as:
❑The velocity and acceleration components (obtained by taking
derivatives with respect to time) are given by:
Eulerian Method
❑In Eulerian method, the observer concentrates on a point in the fluid
system.
❑Velocity, acceleration and other characteristics of the fluid at that
particular point are studied.
❑This method is almost exclusively used in fluid mechanics, because of
its mathematical simplicity.
❑In fluid mechanics, we are not concerned with the motion of each
particle, but we study the general state of motion at various points in the
fluid system.
❑The velocities at any point (x, y, z) can be written as:
❑The components of acceleration of the fluid particle can be worked out
by partial differentiation as follows:
(Vector
differential
operation)
 Lagrangian Vs Eulerian
Lagrangian Method
• difficult because it is not easy to identify a fluid particle and
trace its path.
• Each particle has a random path.
Eulerian Method
• Easier and more practical because usually one is interested in
flow parameters at certain points than what happens to the
individual particles
 3. Classification of Flow
TYPES OF FLUID FLOW

❑Fluids may be classified as follows:

1. Steady and unsteady flows
2. Uniform and non-uniform flows
3. One, two and three dimensional flows
4. Rotational and irrotational flows
5. Laminar and turbulent flows
6. Compressible and incompressible flows.
1. Steady and Unsteady Flows
Steady flow. It is a type of flow in which the fluid characteristics like
velocity, pressure, density, etc, at a point do not change with time.
❑Mathematically,

❑ Where (x0, y0, z0) is a fixed point in a fluid field where these variables are being measured w.r.t.
time.
❑ Example. Flow through a prismatic or non-prismatic conduit at a constant flow rate Q m3/s is
steady.
(A prismatic conduit has a constant size shape and has a velocity equation in the form u = ax2 + bx
+ c, which is independent of time t).
Unsteady flow. It is that type of flow in which the velocity, pressure or density at
a point change w.r.t. time.
❑Mathematically,

❑Example. The flow in a pipe whose valve is being opened or closed gradually
(velocity equation is in the form u = ax2 + bxt ).
2. Uniform and Non-uniform Flows
Uniform flow. The type of flow, in which the velocity at any given time does not
change with respect to space is called uniform flow.
Mathematically:

Where, ∂V = Change in velocity, and ∂s = Displacement in any direction.

❑Example. Flow through a straight prismatic conduit (i.e. flow through a

straight pipe of constant diameter).
Non-uniform flow. It is that type of flow in which the velocity at any given
time changes with respect to space.

❑Mathematically,

❑Example.
(i) Flow through a non-prismatic conduit.
(ii) Flow around a uniform diameter pipe-bend or a canal bend.
Considering both temporal and spatial (convective) variations in the flow parameters,
the following four combinations of flow are possible:
i) Steady uniform flow - flow through a uniform diameter pipe with a constant rate of
flow.
ii) Steady non-uniform flow - flow through a straight pipe with changing diameter
(expanding or reducing) and a bend with uniform or non-uniform diameter at
constant rate of flow.
iii) Unsteady uniform flow - flow through a uniform diameter pipe at changing rates of
flow.
iv) Unsteady non-uniform flow - flow as in (ii) but with changing rate of flow.
3. One, Two and Three Dimensional Flows
One dimensional flow. It is that type of flow in which the flow parameter
such as velocity is a function of time and one space co-ordinate only.
❑Mathematically:

❑ Where u, v and w are velocity components in x, y and z directions respectively.

❑ Example. Flow in a pipe where average flow parameters are considered for analysis.
Applicable when:
❑ No wide variation of cross- section
❑ Stream lines are not highly curvilinear
❑ Velocity variation across a section is negligible
Two dimensional flow. The flow in which the velocity is a function of time
and two rectangular space coordinates is called two dimensional flow.
❑Mathematically:

❑Examples.
(i) Flow between parallel plates of infinite extent.
(ii) Flow in the main stream of a wide river.
Three dimensional flow. It is that type of flow in which the velocity is a function
of time and three mutually perpendicular directions.

❑Mathematically:

❑Examples.
i. Flow in a converging or diverging pipe or channel.
ii. Flow in a prismatic open channel in which the width and the water depth are
of the same order of magnitude.
4. Rotational and Irrotational Flows
Rotational flow. A flow is said to be rotational if the fluid particles while
moving in the direction of flow rotate about their mass centres.
❑Flow near the solid boundaries is rotational.
❑Example. Motion of liquid in a rotating tank.

Irrotational flow. A flow is said to be irrotational if the fluid particles

while moving in the direction of flow do not rotate about their mass
centres.
❑Flow outside the boundary layer is generally considered irrotational.
❑Example. Flow above a drain hole of a stationary tank or a wash basin.
(a) Irrotational flow. (b) Rotational flow.
5. Laminar and Turbulent Flows
Laminar flow. A laminar flow is one in which paths taken by the individual particles do
not cross one another and move along well defined paths, this type of flow is also called
stream-line flow or viscous flow.
❑ Examples.
(i) Flow through a capillary tube.
(ii) Flow of blood in veins and arteries.
(iii) Ground water flow.
Turbulent flow. A turbulent flow is that flow in which fluid particles move in a zig zag
way.
❑ Example. High velocity flow in a conduit of large size.
❑ Nearly all fluid flow problems encountered in engineering practice have a turbulent
character.
(Transitional flow)
6. Compressible and Incompressible Flows
Compressible flow.
❑It is that type of flow in which the density (ρ) of the fluid changes from point to
point (or in other words density is not constant for this flow).
❑Mathematically: ρ ≠ constant.
❑Example. Flow of gases through orifices, nozzles, gas turbines, etc.

Incompressible flow.
❑It is that type of flow in which density is constant for the fluid flow.
❑Liquids are generally considered flowing incompressibly.
❑Mathematically: ρ = constant.
❑Example. Subsonic aerodynamics.
 4. Types of Flow Lines/patterns

❑Whenever a fluid is in motion, its innumerable particles move along

certain lines depending upon the conditions of flow.

1. Path line
2. Stream line
3. Stream Tube
4. Streak Line
1. Path line
❑ Path line is the line traced by a given particle. This is generated by
injecting a dye into the fluid and following its path by photography or
other means.
❑A path line shows the direction of particular particle as it moves ahead.
❑Figure below is the curve in three-dimensional space.
❑However, if the conditions are such that the flow is two-dimensional the
curve becomes two-dimensional.
2. Stream line
❑ An imaginary line drawn through a flow field such that the tangent to the
line at any point on the line indicates the direction of the velocity vector at
that instant.
❑ Note: since the flow is tangent to the stream line there will be no flow normal
to a stream line, i.e., flow between any two stream lines remains constant
❑Equation of a stream line in a three-dimensional flow is given as:
 Following points about streamlines are worth noting:
1. A streamline cannot intersect itself, nor two streamlines can cross.
2. There cannot be any movement of the fluid mass across the streamlines.
3. Streamline spacing varies inversely as the velocity; converging of streamlines in any
particular direction shows accelerated flow in that direction.
4. Whereas a path line gives the path of one particular particle at successive instants of
time, a streamline indicates the direction of a number of particles at the same instant.
5. The series of streamlines represent the flow pattern at an instant.

➢ In steady flow, the pattern of streamlines remains invariant with time. The
path lines and streamlines will then be identical.

➢ In unsteady flow, the pattern of streamlines may or may not remain the
same at the next instant.
3. Stream Tube
❑ is a collection of streamlines drawn around the perimeter of a small area
of stream cross section. Since the perimeter is composed of streamlines,
there will not be any flow across a stream tube as well.
❑ A stream tube is a hypothetical tube-shaped region in a fluid flow
through which the fluid flows.
❑ It is a bundle of fluid particles moving together as a group, and it helps
visualize the flow pattern within a confined region.

❑ The cross-sectional area of a stream tube, multiplied by the fluid velocity,

remains constant along the tube due to the conservation of mass.
Examples of stream tube: Pipes and nozzles.
Following points about stream tube are worth noting:

1. The stream tube has finite dimensions.

2. As there is no flow perpendicular to stream lines, therefore, there is no

flow across the surface (called stream surface) of the stream tube. The
stream surface functions as if it were a solid wall.

3. The shape of a stream tube changes from one instant to another

because of change in the position of streamlines.
4. Streak Line
❑ Path showing the positions of all particles that passed through a given point at a given
time interval.
❑ Streak line is a curve which gives an instantaneous picture of the location of the fluid
particles, which have passed through a given point.
❑ Examples.
i. The path taken by smoke coming out of chimney.
ii. In an experimental work to trace the motion of fluid particles, a coloured dye may be
injected into the flowing fluid and the resulting coloured filament lines at a given
location give the streak lines.
Fig: Streak Line
Summary
❑ streamlines indicate the instantaneous direction of flow,
❑streak lines show the path of particles released at different times,
❑ path lines represent the exact trajectory of individual particles,
and
❑ stream tubes provide a confined region within which fluid flow is
analyzed based on the conservation of mass principle.
 Discharge /Rate of Flow
❑Rate of flow (or discharge) is defined as the quantity of a liquid flowing per
second through a section of pipe or a channel.
❑It is generally denoted by Q. V
A

❑Let us consider a liquid flowing through a pipe.

❑Let, A = Area of cross-section of the pipe, and V = Average velocity of the liquid.

∴ Discharge, Q = Area × average velocity, i.e., Q = A.V

❑If area is in m2 and velocity is in m/s, then the discharge,
Q = m2 × m/s = m3/s = cumecs.
 5. Continuity Equation
❑The continuity equation is based on the principle of conservation of
mass.
❑It states as follows: “If no fluid is added or removed from the pipe in any
length then the mass passing across different sections shall be same.”
❑Consider two cross-sections of a pipe as shown in Figure below.
 ✓ Let, A1 = Area of the pipe at section 1–1,
✓ V1 = Velocity of the fluid at section 1–1,
✓ ρ1 = Density of the fluid at section 1–1,
✓ A2,V2, ρ2 are corresponding values at sections 2–2.

❑The total quantity of fluid passing through section 1–1= ρ1 A1 V1

❑and, the total quantity of fluid passing through section 2–2 = ρ2 A2 V2

❑From the law of conservation of mass (theorem of continuity):

❑Above Equation is applicable to the compressible as well as
incompressible fluids and is called Continuity Equation.

❑In case of incompressible fluids, ρ1 = ρ2 and the continuity equation

reduces to:
 Continuity Equation in 3D
❑Consider a fluid element (control volume) of lengths dx, dy and dz in the
direction of x, y, and z as shown in Figure below.
❑Let u,v, and w are the inlet velocity components in x,y, and z directions
respectively.

v
u
w
➢Rate of mass of fluid entering the face ABCD (i.e. fluid influx).

➢ Rate of mass of fluid leaving the face EFGH (i.e. fluid efflux).
➢The gain in mass per unit time due to flow in the X-direction is given by
the difference between the fluid influx and fluid efflux.
∴ Mass accumulated per unit time due to flow in X-direction
 ❑This eqn. (1) is the general equation of continuity in three-dimensions
and is applicable to any type of flow and fluid whether compressible or
incompressible.

➢ For two dimensional flow, eqn. (2) reduces to:

➢For one dimensional flow, say in X-direction, eqn. (2) takes the form

➢ Integrating with respect to x, we get:

u = constant

➢ If the area of flow is A then the rate of flow is

Q = A.u = constant for steady flow

➢ Which is the same 2D flow and states that if area of flow a is constant the
velocity of flow u will also be constant.
Examples
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