PROPERTIES OF FLUIDS

Types of Fluid
1. Ideal Fluid
❖ Assumed to have no viscosity (no resistance to shear)
❖ Incompressible
❖ Have uniform velocity when flowing
❖ No friction between moving layers of fluid
❖ No eddy currents or turbulence
2. Real Fluid
❖ Exhibit infinite viscosities
❖ Non-uniform velocity distribution when flowing
❖ Compressible
❖ Experience friction and turbulence in flow
**Most fluids assume to be real fluid with Newtonian characteristics for convenience. This
assumption is appropriate for water, air, gases, steam, and other simple fluids like alcohol, gasoline,
acid solution, etc.
a. Newtonian Fluid
❖ Any fluid that exhibits a viscosity that remains constant regardless of any external stress that is
placed upon it, such as mixing or a sudden application of force
❖ It will flow the same when a great deal of force is applied when it is left alone
❖ linear relationship between viscosity and shear stress
❖ Viscosity depends only on temperature and pressure.
b. Non-Newtonian Fluid
❖ viscosity is variable based on applied stress.
❖ fluid system may non-ideal in two ways: (1) the viscosity may depend on shear rate, (2) the
viscosity may depend on time
Classification of Non-Newtonian Fluid (Viscosity Depends on Shear Stress)
b.1 Bingham Plastics
❖ material that behave as a rigid body at low stresses but flows as a viscous fluid at high stress
❖ stress can be applied but it will not flow until a certain value, the yield stress, is reached. Beyond
this point the flow rate increases steadily with increasing shear stress.
❖ linear but does not go through the origin
❖ a finite shear stress (yield stress) is needed to initiate flow
b.2. Pseudoplastic (Shear Thinning)
❖ most non-Newtonian are this type
❖ viscosity goes down with increase shear rate
b.3. Dilatant
❖ viscosity increases with increased shear rate
Classification of Non-Newtonian Fluid (Viscosity Depends on Time)
1. Rheopectic
❖ more viscous with increasing time of applied force
❖ work hardening
2. Thixotropic
❖ less viscous with increasing time of applied force.
❖ work softening
❖ it is often reversible
MASS DENSITY, ρ (rho)
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑, 𝑀
ρ = 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒, 𝑉
Units:
English: 𝑠𝑙𝑢𝑔𝑠⁄𝑓𝑡 3
Metric: 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚⁄𝑐𝑚3
SI: 𝑘𝑔⁄𝑚3
Note: ρ slugs = ρlbm/g

For ideal gas, ρ can be found from specific gas constant and ideal gas law
𝑃 𝑀𝑊
ρ = 𝑅𝑇
Where: P = absolute pressure of gas in Pa
R = gas constant
T= absolute temperature
OK = OC + 273
OR = OF + 460

Approximate Room-Temperature Densities of Common Fluids

FLUID Ρ, in kg/m3

Air (STP) 1.29

Air (21 F, 1 atm) 1.2
Alcohol 790
Ammonia 602
Gasoline 720
Glycerin 1260
Mercury 13600
Water 1000
SPECIFIC VOLUME, Vs
Ratio of volume occupied to a unit mass of fluid
1
Vs= ρ

UNIT WEIGHT OR SPECIFIC WEIGHT, γ

Weight of a unit volume of a fluid
𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑, 𝑊
γ= volume, V
γ=ρg
Units:
English = lb/ft3
Metric = dyne/cm3
SI = N/m3 or kN/m3

SPECIFIC GRAVITY, SG,s

Specific gravity, s, is a dimensionless ratio of a fluid’s density to some standard reference density. For
liquids and solids, the reference density is water at 4 OC (39.2oF)
ρ 𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑
SG = ρ 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟
For gases, the reference is the density of air
 ρ 𝑔𝑎𝑠
SG =
ρ 𝑎𝑖𝑟

VISCOSITY,μ (mu)
τ
μ=
𝑦
❖ determines the amount of its resistance to shearing stress.
❖ perfect fluid has no viscosity
❖ ratio of shear stress and shear rate
❖ viscosity of liquids are generally much greater than those of gases
❖ viscosity of a liquid increases with pressure, but the effect is generally insignificant at pressure
less than 40 atm
Variation of viscosity with Temperature
❖ Temperature affects viscosity
❖ The viscosity of liquid decreases with the increase of temperature
❖ The viscosity of gases increases with the increase in temperature.

KINEMATIC VISCOSITY, v (nu)

μ
v=𝜌
❖ is the ratio of the dynamic viscosity of the fluid to its mass density

Common Units of Viscosity

System Absolute, μ Kinematic, v

lb - sec/ft2
English ft2 / sec
slug/ft - sec
dyne – s / cm2 cm2/sec
Metric
poise stokes
Pa-s
SI m2/s
N – s/ m2

SURFACE TENSION, σ (sigma)

❖ the membrane of the skin that seems to form on the free surface of a fluid is due to the
intermolecular cohesive forces.
❖ Pressure inside a Droplet of Liquid
4𝜎
P=
𝑑
Where: P = gage pressure in Pa
𝜎 = surface tension in N/m
d = diameter of the droplet
❖ Capillarity is the name given to the behavior of the liquid in a thin-bore tube
❖ the rise and fall of a fluid in a capillary tube is caused by surface tension and depends on relative
magnitudes of the cohesion of the liquid and the adhesion of the liquid to the walls of containing
vessels
 ❖ the liquid rise in tubes and become wet (adhesion>cohesion) and fall in tubes and they do not
wet (cohesion>adhesion)
4𝜎𝑐𝑜𝑠Ɵ
h = γ𝑑
For complete wetting, as with water or clean glass, the angle Ɵ is 0o
4𝜎
h = γ𝑑
Where: h = capillary rise or depression in m; γ is the unit weight in N/m3; d is diameter of the
tube in m; 𝜎 is the surface tension in Pa

Material Angle, θ

Mercury glass 1400

Water-paraffin 1070
Water – silver 900
Kerosene – glass 260
Glycerin-glass 190
Water-glass 00
Ethyl Alcohol - glass 00

BULK MODULUS OF ELASTICITY, Es

Ratio of the change in unit pressure to the corresponding volume change per unit volume
stre𝑠𝑠 𝛥𝑝
Es = strain = 𝛥 𝑉/𝑣

PROPERTY CHANGE IN IDEAL GAS

1. Combined Gas law
𝑷𝟏 𝑽𝟏 𝑷 𝑽
= 𝑻𝟐 𝟐
𝑻 𝟏 𝟐
2. Boyle’s Law
P1 V1= 𝑃2 𝑉2
3. Charle’s Law
𝑉1 𝑉2
=
𝑇1 𝑇2
4. For Adiabatic or Isentropic Conditions
P1 𝑉1𝑘 = 𝑃2 𝑉2𝑘
𝑉1 𝑘 𝑃2
( ) =
𝑉2 𝑃1
𝑘 −1
𝑃2 𝑘 𝑇2
( ) =
𝑃1 𝑇1
k = ratio of the specific heat at constant pressure and constant volume. Also known as adiabatic
exponent

Vapor Pressure
- molecular activity in a liquid will allow some of the molecules to escape the liquid surface
- the equilibrium pressure exerted by these free molecules
- the tendency toward vaporization is dependent on the temperature of the liquid
PROBLEMS:
1. A reservoir of glycerin has a mass of 1200 kg and a volume of 0.952 cu.m. Find its (a) weight (b) unit
weight (c) mass density (d) specific gravity.
2. The specific gravity of a certain oil is 0.82. Calculate its specific weight and mass density in English
and Metric System.
3. If an object has a mass of 22 kg at sea level, (a) what will be its weight at a point where g = 9.75
m/s2 and (b) what is the mass at that point
4. If the specific volume of a certain gas is 0.7848 kg/m3, what is its specific weight?
5. What is the specific weight of air at 480 kPa and 21OC?
6. Find the mass density of helium at temperature of 4OC and a pressure of 184 kPa gage, if
atmospheric pressure is 101.92kPa (R= 2079 J/kgOK)
7. Air is kept at a pressure of 200kPa absolute and temperature of 30oC in a 500 L container. What is
the mass air?
8. A cylindrical tank 80 cm in diameter and 90 cm high is filled with a liquid. The tank and the liquid
weighed 420 kg. The weight of the empty tank is 40 kg. What is the unit weight of the liquid in kN/m3?
9. A liquid compressed in a container has a volume of 1
Liter at a pressure of 1 Mpa and a volume of 0.995L at a pressure of 2Mpa. The bulk modulus of
elasticity of the liquid is ____.
10. Water in a hydraulic press, initially at 137 kPa absolute is subjected to a pressure of 116 230 kPa.
Using Es = 2.5 GPa. Determine the percentage decrease in volume of water.
11. If 9 m3 of an ideal gas at 24oC and 150kPa is compressed to 2 m3 , a. What is the resulting pressure
assuming isothermal conditions. b) What would have been the pressure and temperature if the process
is isentropic. Use k = 1.3.
12. If the viscosity of water at 70OC is 0.00402 poise and its specific gravity is 0.978. Determine its
absolute viscosity in Pa – s (0.1Pa – s = 1 poise) and its kinematic viscosity in m2/s and in stokes (1
stokes = 0.0001m2/s)
13. Benzene at 20.OC has a viscosity of 0.000651 Pa – s. What shear stress is required to deform this
fluid at a strain rate of 4900/s?
14. Estimate the capillarity depression for mercury in a glass capillary tube 2mm in diameter. Use σ =
0.514N/m and θ = 140O.
15. What is the value of the surface tension of a small drop of water 0.3 mm in diameter which is in
contact which air if the pressure within the droplet is 561 Pa?
16. Distilled water stands in a glass tube of 9mm diameter at a height of 24mm. What is the true static
height? Use σ = 0.0742N/m