Chapter - Four

Incompressible fluid flow

Incompressible fluid flow depending on the
level of variation of density during flow.

Incompressibility is an approximation, and a

flow is said to be incompressible if the density
remains nearly constant throughout.

• Therefore, the volume of every portion of

fluid remains unchanged over the course of its
motion when the flow (or the fluid) is
incompressible.
Therefore, liquids are usually referred to as

incompressible substances. A pressure of 210

atm, for example, causes the density of liquid

water at 1 atm to change by just 1 percent.

Gases, on the other hand, are highly

compressible. A pressure change of just 0.01

atm, for example, causes a change of 1 percent

in the density of atmospheric air.

When analyzing rockets, spacecraft, and other
systems that involve high speed gas flows, the flow
speed is often expressed in terms of the
dimensionless Mach number defined as
4.1. Use of energy equations for incompressible

fluid flow
Energy Equation

 The energy equation is the mathematical formulation of the

law of conservation of energy.

 It states that the rate at which energy enters the volume of a

moving fluid is equal to the rate at which work is done on the

surroundings by the fluid within the volume and the rate at

which energy increases within the moving fluid.

 The energy in a moving fluid is composed of internal, flow,

 The Bernoulli equation is an approximate relation between
pressure, velocity, and elevation and is valid in regions of
steady, incompressible flow where net frictional forces are
negligible.
 Equation is useful in flow regions outside of boundary layers
and wakes, where the fluid motion is governed by the
combined effects of pressure and gravity forces.
 Bernoulli’s Equation (Continued)
Flow Work (p/) :
It is the work required to move fluid across the control volume boundaries.
Consider a fluid element of cross-sectional area Dx
p
A with pressure p acting on the control surface
as shown. A

Due to the fluid pressure, the fluid element moves a distance Dx within
time Dt. Hence, the work done per unit time DW/Dt (flow power) is:
W pAx  p  x  p
    A  AV  ,
t t    t 
p  1  W 
    Flow work or Power
  AV  t 
Flow work per unit mass
1/mass flow rate
p
 pv Flow work is often also referred to as flow energy

 Bernoulli’s Equation (Cont)
 Very Important: Bernoulli’s equation is valid for :
incompressible fluids, steady flow along a streamline, no energy loss due
to friction, no heat transfer.
2
p1 V1 p2 V22
  z1    z 2 , where   g (energy per unit weigh t)
 2g  2g
Application of Bernoulli’s equation
Example 1:
Determine the velocity and mass flow rate of efflux from the circular
hole (0.1 m dia.) at the bottom of the water tank (at this instant). The
tank is open to the atmosphere and H=4 m p1 = p2, V1=0
1
V2  2 g ( z1  z 2 )  2 gH
H
 2 * 9.8 * 4  8.85 (m / s )

m  AV  1000 * (0.1) 2 (8.85)
4
2  69.5 (kg / s )
 Bernoulli’s Eqn/Energy Conservation (cont.)
Exercise 2: If the tank has a cross-sectional area of 1 m2, estimate the time
required to drain the tank to level 2.
1 First, choose the control volume as enclosed
by the dotted line. Specify h=h(t) as the water
h(t) level as a function of time.
From Bernoulli' s equation, V = 2gh
dm
From mass conservation,   Ahole V
dt
2 dh Ahole (0.1) 2
since m  Atan k h,  V 2 gh
4
4 dt Atan k 12
dh dh
3  0.0443 h ,  0.0443dt, integrate
water height (m)

dt h
h( t ) 2 h(t) = H  0.0215t, h  0, tdrain  93 sec.

1 0
2 h  - 0.0443t
2.5e-007 4
0
0
0
20 40
t
60 80 100
100
t  90.3 sec
time (sec.)
 Energy Conservation (cont.)
Let us now also account for energy transfer via Heat Transfer, e.g. in a heat
exchanger
1st laws of Thermodynamics (Q: explain 0, 2nd and 3rd laws of T.D)
The most general form of conservation of energy for a system can be written as:
dE = dQ-dW where
dE  Change in Total Energy, E
and E = U(internal energy)+Em(mechanical energy) E = U + KE

(kinetic energy) + PE(potential energy)

mechanical
dW  Work done by the system where energy
W = Wext(external work) + Wflow(flow work)

dQ = Heat transfer into the system (via conduction, convection &

radiation)

Convention: dQ > 0 net heat transfer into the system

dW > 0, positive work done by the system
 Energy Conservation (cont.)

U = mu, u(internal energy per unit mass),

KE = (1/2)mV2 and PE = mgz
Flow work Wflow= m (p/)

It is common practice to combine the total energy with flow work.

Thus:
V2 F
 pp 
G I

Energy flow rate: m(u +
2
 gz ) plus Flow work rate m  

HJK
  
 
p V2 p V2
Flow energy in  m in (u    gz )in , Energy out = m out (u    gz )out
 2  2

The difference between energy in and out is due to heat transfer (into or out)
and work done (by or on) the system.
 Energy Conservation (cont.)
Hence, a system exchanges energy with the environment due to:
1) Flow in/out 2) Heat Transfer, Q and 3) Work, W
This energy exchange is governed by the First Law of Thermodynamics

2 Heat in, Q =dQ/dt

p V p V2
m in (u    gz )in m in (u    gz )out
 2  2
system

Work out dW/dt

From mass conservation: m in  m out  m
From the First law of Thermodynamics (Energy Conservation):
dQ p V2 p V2 dW
 m (u    gz )in  m (u    gz )out  , or
dt  2  2 dt
dQ V2 V2 dW
 m( h 
  gz )in  m(h 
  gz )out 
dt 2 2 dt
p
where h  u  is defined as "enthaply"
 “Enthalpy”
 Conservation of Energy – Application
Example: Superheated water vapor enters a steam turbine at a mass flow rate
1 kg/s and exhausting as saturated steam as shown. Heat loss from the turbine is
10 kW under the following operating condition. Determine the turbine power output.

P=1.4 Mpa From superheated vapor tables:

T=350 C hin=3149.5 kJ/kg
V=80 m/s
z=10 m dQ V2 V2 dW
10 kw  m (h   gz )in  m (h   gz )out 
dt 2 2 dt
dW
 ( 10)  (1)[(3149.5  2748.7)
dt
80 2  50 2 (9.8)(10  5)
  ]
2(1000) 1000
P=0.5 Mpa  10  400.8  1.95  0.049
100% saturated steam
 392.8( kW )
V=50 m/s
z=5 m
From saturated steam tables: hout=2748.7 kJ/kg
 4.2. Concepts of Reynolds number and
Selectivity
 Reynolds Number is the ratio of the internal forces to the viscous
forces in a fluid. This ratio depends on several factors, such as the
internal motion due to different fluid velocities.
 The Reynolds Number is important in mechanics and is a
dimensionless quantity, i.e. it had no units.
 The Reynolds Number has several applications;
 Its primary application is the prediction of change from laminar to
turbulent flow.
The Formula for Reynolds Number

OR

Where, ρ = Density of the given fluid.

u = Speed with which the fluid flows
μ = Dynamic viscosity of the fluid.
L = The characteristic linear dimension.
V = The kinematic viscosity.
 The Significance of Reynolds Number

 The Reynolds Number signifies the nature of the flow of a fluid across
a cross-section. There are two types of flowing styles that a liquid can
flow in. One is laminar flow and the other is turbulent flow. Reynolds
number is used to determine the type of flow of a fluid.

 If Reynolds Number < 2300, then the liquid follows the laminar flow

 If Reynolds number >2900, the liquid follows the turbulent flow

 The Reynolds number is used to study fluids as they flow. The
Reynolds number determines whether a fluid flow is steady or
unsteady(laminar and turbulent).
 If a flow is laminar, fluids will move along smooth streamlines.
 If the flow is turbulent, these streamlines break up and the fluid will
move irregularly.
 It is used when modelling the movement of organisms swimming
through water.
 It is used to predict the transition from laminar to turbulent flow and
is used in the scaling of similar but different-sized flow situations,
such as between an aircraft model in a wind tunnel and the full-size
version.
 Reynolds number, in fluid mechanics, is a criterion of whether the
fluid (liquid or gas) flow is steady (streamlined, or laminar) or on
average steady with small unsteady fluctuations (turbulent).

The transition between fluids from laminar to turbulent occurs very

suddenly.

Number Range
 Actually, the transition between laminar and turbulent flow occurs not
at a specific value of the Reynolds number but in a range usually
beginning between 1,000 to 2,000 and extending upward to between
3,000 and 5,000.
 Example-1
Calculate Reynolds number, if a fluid having viscosity of 0.4 Ns/m2 and relative density of
900 Kg/m3 through a pipe of 20 mm with a velocity of 2.5 m/s.
Difference Between Laminar and Turbulent Flow
4.4.Use of Moody’s Diagram
Where: Relative pipe roughness(RPR)= , Re= Reynolds number and
f=Friction factor
Example-1
Calculate the friction factor for galvanized iron of 37.5mm pipe diameter for
Re=2*10^5
 4.5. Friction loss due to geometry effect, valves
and fittings.
Head losses in a long pipe in which the velocity distribution has
become fully established or uniform along its length can be found by
Darcy’s equation as

Where f is the Darcy friction factor, L is the length of pipe (m), D is the
inside diameter of the pipe.
 The actual dependence of f on Re has to be determined
experimentally.

 It should be apparent that friction factors determined do not apply near

the entrance portion of a pipe where the flow changes fairly quickly
from one cross-section to the next or to any other flow in which
 4.5.1. Frictional Losses in Laminar Flow

Darcy’s equation can be used to find head losses in pipes experiencing

laminar flow by noting that for laminar flow, the friction factor equals
the constant 64 divided by the Reynolds number :

Substituting this into Darcy’s equation gives the Hagen–Poiseuille

equation:

Example 4.2
The kinematic viscosity of a hydraulic fluid is 0.0001 m /s. If it is flowing
in a 20-mm diameter of 10m long commercial steel pipe,
find the friction factor in each case and head loss:
A. The velocity is 2 m/s.
B. The velocity is 10 m/s.
Example 4.3
The kinematic viscosity of a hydraulic fluid is 0.0001 m /s. If it is
flowing in a 30-mm diameter pipe at a velocity of 6 m/s, find the head
loss due to friction in units of bars for a 100-m smooth pipe. The oil
has a specific gravity of 0.9.

Solution:
 4.5.2. Frictional Losses in Turbulent Flow

Darcy’s equation can be used to find head losses in pipes experiencing

turbulent flow. However, the friction factor in turbulent flow is a function
of Reynolds number and the relative roughness of the pipe.
4.5.2.1 Effect of Pipe Roughness

The relative roughness of pipe is defined as the ratio of inside

surface roughness (є) to the diameter:

To determine the values of the friction factor for use in Darcy’s quation,
we use the Moody diagram. If we know the relative roughness and Re,
the friction factor can be determined easily. No curves are drawn in the
critical zone, Re lies in between 2300 and 4000 because it is not
possible to predict whether flow is laminar or turbulent in this region. At
the left end of the chart (Re < =2300), the straight line curves give the
R/S for laminar flow:
 4.5.3. Frictional Losses in Valves and Fittings

For many fluid power applications, the majority of the energy losses
occur in valves and fittings in which there is a change in the cross-
section of flow path and a change in the direction of the flow. Tests have
shown that head losses in valves and fittings are proportional to the
square of the velocity of the fluid:

Where K is called the loss coefficient of valve or fittings, K factors for

commonly used valves are given in table;
The End!!