Part I: Introduction and Basic Concepts

Chapter 1

1. Introduction
1.1 Definition

Fluid Mechanics

• The study of fluids (gases and liquids) at rest

(fluid statics) and in motion (fluid dynamics)

• Liquid

• relatively closed-packed molecules

• strong cohesive forces

• tends to retain its volume and forms a free surface

 • Gas

• gas molecules are widely spaced

• negligible cohesive forces

• expand until encounters confinement walls

• has no definite volume without confinement

Wind Turbines

Hydropower
Engines

Energy Sector
Oil & Gas Boilers, heat exchangers, building HVAC
Extraction
Pipelines

Aircraft (lift, drag, propulsion)

Ships (drag, propellers, waves, wakes, etc.)

Transport
Automobiles (drag, fuel injection, brake hydraulics, etc.)
 Weather Oceanography, Water Transport

Environment
Air & Water Pollution

Blood Flow, Circulation Breathing

Life / Biology
Artificial Hearts and Organs

Compare Solids and Fluid

• Differ in response to a tangential force (i.e. shear force)

Solid
Initial (unstressed) position Solid deflects to new static equilibrium
FT

Deformation of solid is proportional to applied force

Fluids

Fluid: e.g. bottom of boat in lake

FT

Rate of deformation of fluid is proportional to applied force

F shear
Vterminal
W
F shear
Vterminal = ?

W
 1.2 Fluid Properties
Density
•Density, ρ ≡ mass per unit volume

• Density of liquids

• For most liquids, density varies little with

pressure

• Liquids are generally known as

“incompressible” (can’t be compressed)

• See problem 1.11 for change in density at

ocean depth of 10km

• Density of gases

• strong function of pressure P and temperature T

• ρ, P, and T can be related by an equation of

state

• in most cases ideal gas law can be used:

P = ρRT

T : is the absolute temperature

R ≡ gas constant for the particular gas in question
Gas constant Rgas for a particular gas is calculated by:

Ru is universal gas constant ≡ 8314 kJ/kmol K

MWgas is molecular weight of gas (kg/kmol)

For air:
Rair = 287 N*m / (kg*K) = 1716 ft*lbf / (slug*°R)

• Sometimes gases may be treated as incompressible:

• if velocities are not too high (in practice much less than speed of
sound) and temperature changes are not too great and pressure and
density vary only slightly within gas and density changes can be
neglected

1.2 Fluid Properties

Specific Weight

mg

w : weight per unit volume (text book uses γ) g : earth gravity

V : volume ρ : density
m : mass
 1.2 Fluid Properties
Specific Gravity

• Ratio of fluid density to density of a standard reference fluid

• for gases use air

• for liquids use water

e.g. Mercury (Hg) has specific gravity of 13.6.

∴ρHg = 13.6 * 1000 = 13600 kg/m3

1.3 Units and Dimensions

• Valid equations relating physical quantities must be

dimensionally homogeneous

• each term must have same dimensions!

• Three systems are widely used in fluid mechanics

and engineering:

• International System of Units ( SI )

• English Engineering

• British Gravimetric ( Imperial )

SI: ( MLtT )

Primary Dimension Unit

Length, L metre (m)
Time, t seconds (s)
Mass, m kilogram (kg)
Temperature, T Kelvin (K)
Electric Current, I Ampere (A)

• Units of all other quantities (secondary dimensions) are derived from

primary ones
• Force: 1 Newton = force required to accelerate a mass of 1 kg at 1m/s2
• (i.e. when checking units N and kg*m/s2 are interchangeable)

• No explicit conversions required in equations like F = ma

• Other units for work and energy are similarly derived (e.g. J = N*m = kg*m2/
s 2)
 English Engineering Units (FMLtT)

Primary Dimension Unit

Length, L foot (ft)
Time, t seconds (s)
Mass, m pound mass (lbm)
Force, F pound force (lbf)
Temperature, T Rankine (R)

• 1 lbf force gives 1 lbm an acceleration equal to standard

earth gravity (32.174 ft/s2)

• (i.e. 1 lbf is weight of 1 lbm under standard gravity)

English Engineering Units (FMLtT)

• Newton’s second law must be written as:

where gc is a conversion factor 32.174 ft*lbm / (lbf*s2)

• Similarly, the Weight:

Very confusing! Not recommended!

Note: lbf and lbm are often both written as lb!

British Gravitational Units (FLtT)

Primary Dimension Unit

Length, L foot (ft)
Time, t seconds (s)
Force, F pound force (lbf)
Temperature, T Rankine (R)

• Mass is a secondary dimension and is measured in “slugs”:

• 1 lbf ≡ 1 slug * 1 ft/s2 (just like SI system definition for a Newton)

• i.e. 1 slug ≡ 32.174 lbm

 Recommendation
• Work only with SI or BG systems

• i.e.: when working with English units, convert all masses to

slugs (1 slug ≡ 32.174 lbm) at earliest possible stage

• These “modified” English units work exactly like SI units:

• Be careful to work only with consistent units

• Never mix BG and SI in same equation

• Always convert consistent units to same base:

• i.e. 0.1 MPa + 10,000 Pa = 0.1 * 106 Pa + 10,000 Pa = 110,000 Pa

1.4 Concept of a Continuum

• Fluids consist of discrete molecules

• In practice, for most engineering problems, very

large numbers of molecules are present and we
don’t have to consider individual molecules

• Fluid is instead treated as a continuous media, a

continuum

• Properties like density, pressure, temperature,

velocity are continuous functions of space and time

e.g. density, ρ ≡ mass per unit volume

V (measured volume)
V0
 • V0 is large enough measurement volume to include enough
molecules for the density to be accurately (repeatably) defined

• “Local” density,

• In practice, the limiting volume V0 is about 10-9 mm3 for liquids

and for gases at atmospheric pressure (about 1µm wide box)

• There are approximately 3x107 molecules in this volume

in standard air

• Volume is very small relative to the scale of most engineering

problems

• consider properties as being defined at a point within a

continuum (at a point within a fluid)

• Exceptions are nanoscale applications or very low-pressure

applications (rocket re-entry or flight to edge of atmosphere)

1.5 Forces on Fluid Elements (Pressure and Shear Stress)

• In fluid mechanics, we are primarily interested in the action and effects
of forces on fluids.

• Force on any area of interest can be resolved into normal and tangential
components:
By definition:
F
FN Shear stress: = tangential force
per unit area

FT Normal Stress: = normal force

A per unit area

In general (static fluid), the normal stress in a fluid is called

the pressure
Note: Normal and shear stresses as acting on a point (i.e. A,
is very small but not too small to negate the continuum
assumption)

1.6 Pressure
• Pressure acting on a surface is the macroscopic result of
collision of fluid molecules with the surface.

• e.g. for a gas:

• P = normal force per unit area due numerous molecular

collisions with a surface
• Fluid molecules are in random
motion (no preferred direction)

• Thus, molecules interact equally

often and equally strongly no
matter how the surface is
oriented

The pressure at any point is independent of the orientation

of the area used to define it. (Pascal’s law)

Absolute and Gauge Pressure

• As with temperature, it is convenient to use two

datums for pressure

• Absolute Pressure ≡ measured with respect to

perfect vacuum (no molecules)

• Gauge Pressure ≡ measured with respect to

local atmospheric pressure (Patm)
 • Consider a case were Patm = 14.7 psia (lbf / in2 absolute) which
is a typical sea level value for atmospheric pressure and two
oder pressures P1 = 10 psia (< Patm) and P2 = 17.7 psia (> Patm)
P (psi) Absolute Gauge
Pressure Pressure
(Psia) (Psig)

P2 17.7 +3

P2(g)
Patm 14.7 0

P2(a) P1(g)
P1 10 -4.7

P1(a)

vacuum 0 -14.7

Note: Must use absolute values for P in the ideal gas equation !!

1. 7 Shear Stress and Viscosity

No Slip condition

Consider a fluid flow near a surface:

• Molecular interactions cause fluid in contact with molecularly

rough surface to seek momentum and energy equilibrium with
surface.

• Thus, in essentially all situations, velocity (and temperature) of

fluid at surface will match the velocity (and temperature) of the
solid surface

• There is no relative velocity between fluid and surface at surface

i.e. “No-slip” at wall
 Boundary Layer

• Fluid near surface will also be affected by intermolecular collisions

and forces with other fluid molecules

• In effect, there is “friction” between fluid layers

• Fluid velocity will vary continuously from wall to undisturbed

“freestream” in a thin layer called the “boundary layer”
Flow past stationary wall Flow past moving wall
Moving fluid Stationary fluid
V = V∞ > 0 V = V∞ = 0
V∞ V∞

Boundary Boundary
Layer Layer

V = Vwall = 0 V = Vwall > 0

Shear Stress and Viscosity

• Consider deformation of small element of fluid in the boundary layer

over a short time interval Δt

Fluid in BL Free Body Diagram

Δu
u2Δt
u2 τ
Δθ
Δy Δy
u1
τ
@ t = t0 u1Δt
y @ t = t0 + Δt

• Over time Δt, the rectangular element is deformed (“strained”) due to

the shear stress on the upper and lower surfaces

• The shear angle is Δθ

• The rate of deformation due to the shear force (i.e. rate of shear strain) is:

and as Δt ➔ 0, ➔

• Newton postulated that rate of shear strain, is proportional to shear

stress:

(which makes sense from our definition of a fluid that

the rate of deformation is proportional to applied force)

• or in fact

µ is constant of proportionality ≡ dynamic viscosity (property of fluid)

 Fluid in BL
From the diagram:
Δu
u2

Δy
u1
or

in the limit of small angles tan(Δθ) ≈ Δθ

Free Body Diagram

u2Δt
τ
Δθ or as Δt, Δy ➔ 0,
Δy

τ Therefore
@ t = t0 u1Δt
@ t = t0 + Δt

(1)

Shear stress = viscosity x rate of shear strain

= velocity gradient

• Fluids that obey this relation are called Newtonian Fluids (i.e. µ ≈
constant)

• All gases and many liquids (including water) are Newtonian

Note that no-slip condition plus viscosity explain why there is drag:
y

Boundary V∞
Layer

τwall ➩
x

V = Vwall = 0

Viscosity

• µ, dynamic viscosity, is a thermodynamic property of the fluid

• represents on macro scale, the molecular interactions within fluid

(collisions for gases, intermolecular forces for liquids)

• varies strongly with temperature and weakly with pressure

µ Liquids - µ decreases with T

(intermolecular forces weaken)

Gases - μ increases with T (molecular

collisions increases)

T
 • varies widely among fluids

• Ratio of dynamic viscosity and density, , is also very important in

fluids

• Gets its own name, “kinematic viscosity” and symbol, ν (Greek letter nu)
where

• Called kinematic simply because the mass units cancel out leaving L2/T or

Shear Stress Example:

A skater on the Rideau canal weighs 100lbf and glides on one skate
at 20ft/s. Her weight is supported by a thin (5.75 x 10-5 inch) film
of liquid water melted from the ice by the pressure of her skate
blade. Assume the blade is 12 inches long and 0.125 inches wide.
Neglecting end effects, what is the rate of deceleration?
12 inches

0.125 inches wide

5.75 x 10-5 inch U=20ft/s

Non-Newtonian Fluids
 1. 7 Surface Tension

• Liquids can not expand freely like a gas and will form an interface
with a second liquid or gas

• Molecules deep within liquid, repel each other because of close

packing;

• Molecules at surface are less dense and attract each other

• Since ½ of neighbours are missing, this means the surface ends

up in tension like a membrane

• Membrane effect means that each portion of liquid surface exerts

“tension” on adjacent portions of surface or objects in contact
with liquid

• Responsible for beading of water on a car; capillary

action in a small opening

• Read meniscus away from walls!!

• Entire text books devoted to subject; not for this

course
 1.9 Vapour Pressure (Cavitation)

• Pressure at which a liquid will boil

• remember water can boil at 20°C if pressure is

low enough (2.3kPa)

• At sea-level, increasing water temperature to

100°C raises vapour pressure to 1atm (101325 Pa)
and water boils

• In mountains, ambient pressure is lower and you

only have to raise temperature to ~80°C to get the
vapour pressure high enough to boil

• In piping systems, propellers, etc. it is often possible for the

local pressure within the flow to drop below the vapour
pressure of the liquid

• This causes localized boiling which creates vapour cavities

in the flow

• Known as “Cavitation”

• Collapse of cavities causes erosion and can critically

damage pumps, valves, propellers
Cavitation bubble