ET-6018: Fluid Mechanics

Lecture - I
INTRODUCTION: Fluid Mechanics
 Basics of fluid mechanics and continuum
concept.
 Different properties of fluid.
 Mathematical problems based on the
application of fluid properties.

Course Instructor
Dr. Syed Abu Nahian
Assistant Professor (Research)
IET, CUET.
E-mail: [email protected]
 Introduction: Fluid Properties

Fluid: A fluid is a substance that deforms continuously under the application of a shear
(tangential) stress no matter how small the shear stress may be.
Thus fluids comprise the liquid and gas (or vapor) phases of the physical forms in which
matter exists. The distinction between a fluid and the solid state of matter is clear if you
compare fluid and solid behavior. A solid deforms when a shear stress is applied, but its
deformation does not continue to increase with time.
Consider a solid element ‘ABCD' shown below (Fig.1a). The bottom section AB is fixed. A
small horizontal force is applied on the surface CD. The surface is ‘sheared'. The element CD
deforms into C'D' and then, into C”D”. However, an equilibrium position is achieved when
the deformation stops. The top layer is now stationary. The solid has, therefore, resisted the
applied shear force.

(a) (b)
Fig.1: solid behavior vs fluid behavior, under the action of constant shear force.
Now, consider a fluid element ‘ABCD' shown in Fig.1b. On the application of a shear force
(no matter how small it is), the top surface CD will continue to move as long as the force is
applied. There will not be ‘equilibrium' position of any fluid element on the surface CD.
Therefore, we can say that fluid continues to deform (or move) under the application of a
shear force. Also fluid at rest cannot sustain a shear stress. Fluid resists deformation by
attaining an equilibrium rate of deformation.
Hydraulics and Fluid Mechanics
The subject “Hydraulics” is that branch of Engineering-science which deals with water at rest
or in motion. The subject “Fluid Mechanics” is that branch of Engineering-science which
deals with the behavior of fluid under the conditions of rest.
Scope of Fluid Mechanics
 The design of all types of fluid machinery including pumps, fans, blowers,
compressors, and turbine s clearly requires knowledge of the basic principles of
fluid mechanics.
 Lubrication is an application of considerable importance in fluid mechanics.
  Heating and ventilating systems for private homes and large office buildings and the
design of pipeline systems are further examples of technical problem areas requiring
knowledge of fluid mechanics.
 The circulatory system of the body is essentially a fluid system.
 The design of blood substitutes, artificial hearts, heart-lung machines, breathing
aids, and other such devices must rely on the basic principles of fluid mechanics.
Also there are so many scopes where knowledge of fluid mechanics is necessary in our daily
life.
Basic Equations
Analysis of any problem in fluid mechanics necessarily includes statement of the basic laws
governing the fluid motion. The basic laws, which are applicable to any fluid, are:
1. The conservation of mass. (mass can neither be created nor destroyed, although it may
be rearranged in space, or the entities associated with it may be changed in form)
2. Newton's second law of motion. (F = ma)
3. The principle of angular momentum.
4. The first law of thermodynamics.
5. The second law of thermodynamics.
Fluid as a Continuum
Fluids are actually made up of a number of small particles that each have their own
momentum, energy, etc. Defining a fluid as a continuum assumes that due to the small size of
these particles, one can treat the fluid as a continuous substance with properties that vary
throughout. Basically, we are assuming that we can accurately use average properties, and do
not need to consider all the small particles individually.

As far as we know, fluids are aggregations of molecules, widely spaced for a gas, closely
spaced for a liquid. Thus fluid density, or mass per unit volume, has no precise meaning
because the number of molecules occupying a given volume continually changes. This effect
becomes unimportant if the unit volume is large compared with when the number of
molecules within the volume will remain nearly constant in spite of the enormous interchange
of particles across the boundaries. If, however, the chosen unit volume is too large, there
could be a noticeable variation in the bulk aggregation of the particles. This situation is
illustrated in the above figure, where the “density” as calculated from molecular mass δm
within a given volume δV is plotted versus the size of the unit volume. There is a limiting
volume δV* below which molecular variations may be important and above which aggregate
variations may be important. The density ρ of a fluid is best defined as
dm
r = lim
d V �d V * d V

Most engineering problems are concerned with physical dimensions much larger than this
limiting volume, so that density is essentially a point function and fluid properties can be
thought of as varying continually in space, as sketched in the above figure (a). Such a fluid is
called a continuum, which simply means that its variation in properties is so smooth that the
differential calculus can be used to analyze the substance.

PROPERTIES OF FLUID
Density or Mass Density: It is defined as the mass per unit volume of a liquid at a standard
temperature and pressure. Mathematically, density or mass density,

r = m / V (kg/m 3 )
where, m = mass of the liquid
V = volume of the liquid

Weigh Density or Specific Weight: It is defined as the weight per unit volume of a liquid at a
standard temperature and pressure. For water at standard conditions specific weight is equal
to 9.81 kN/m3. The relation between specific weight and density can be written as, g = r g .
Specific Volume: It is defined as the volume occupied by unit mass of fluid (i.e. volume per
unit mass). It is the reciprocal of the density. Therefore, specific volume
1
v=
r
Specific Gravity: It is a dimensionless quantity, which is the ratio of the weight of a substance
to the weight of an equal volume of water at 4º C. The specific gravity of water is 1 and of
mercury is 13.57.
Viscosity: It is defined as the property of a fluid which determines the amount of its resistance
to a shearing stress. The resistance is caused by intermolecular friction exerted when layers of
fluids attempt to slide by one another.
For a liquid, it decreases with the increase of temperature due to the decrease of molecular
cohesion between molecules and this is responsible for reduction in liquid viscosity. But in
the case of a gas, viscosity increases with the increase of temperature due to the greater
molecular activity as the temperature increases.

There are two related measures of fluid viscosity known as

The dynamic or absolute viscosity can be expressed as τ = μ dc/dy. This equation is known
as Newton’s law of viscosity which states that “shear stress between the two adjacent layers of
fluid is directly proportional to velocity gradient”.
where, τ = shearing stress and μ = dynamic viscosity
In the SI system, the dynamic viscosity units are N s/m2, Pa.s or kg/m.s where
1 Pa.s = 1 N s/m2 = 1 kg/m.s
The dynamic viscosity is also often expressed in the metric CGS (centimeter-gram-second)
system as g/cm.s, dyne.s/cm2 or poise (p) where
1 poise = 1 dyne s/cm2 = 1 g/cm.s = 1/10 Pa.s = 1/10 N.s/m2
Kinematic Viscosity: It is the ratio of absolute (or dynamic) viscosity to density, a quantity in
which no force is involved. It is expressed as ν = μ / ρ where ν = kinematic viscosity, μ =
absolute or dynamic viscosity, ρ = density.
In the SI-system, the theoretical unit is m2/s or commonly used Stoke (St) where
1 St (Stokes) = 10-4 m2/s = 1 cm2/s
Rate of Strain/ Strain Rate/ Deformation Rate
Consider the flow of a fluid between two solid plates under the influence/application of a
force in X-direction on the top plate. The bottom plate is stationary. The top surface of the
fluid has a constant velocity, Vp. It has been experimentally demonstrated that in such case
‘no–slip' (for viscous fluids at a solid boundary, the fluid will have zero velocity relative to
the boundary) condition exists. The fluid layer in contact with the bottom solid surface will
be stationary, whereas the layer in contact with the top solid surface will move at the velocity,
Vp. The velocity profiles between the plates will be linear.

As shown in the above figure, the fluid element QP of length δy at time t = 0 becomes Q’P’ at
time t = δt. Difference in the displacements of Q and P to Q’ and P’, respectively, is because
of different velocity at Q and P. Therefore,

*** The velocity difference between adjacent layers of fluid can be measured in terms of
velocity gradient. It is given by ∆v/∆y.
Compressibility: It is a measure of the relative volume change of a fluid or solid as a response
1 dV
to a pressure (or mean stress) change. It is expressed as b = - where V is volume and
V dp
p is pressure.
The inverse of the compressibility is called the bulk modulus which measures the substance's
resistance to uniform compression and is defined as the ratio of the infinitesimal pressure
dp
increase to the resulting relative decrease of the volume. It is expressed as E = -V .
dV
Surface Tension: It is a contractive tendency of the surface of a liquid that causes it to act like a
stretched elastic membrane. At liquid-air interfaces, surface tension results from the greater
attraction of water molecules to each other (due to cohesion) than to the molecules in the air
(due to adhesion). The net effect is an inward force at its surface that causes water to behave
as if its surface were covered with a stretched elastic membrane. It results in spherical drops
of liquid, as the liquid tends to minimize its surface area.
The action of surface tension is to increase the pressure within a droplet of liquid. If p denotes
the pressure intensity inside the droplet of radius r and σ denotes the surface tension force,
then
2s
p=
r
Capillarity: It is the tendency of a liquid in a capillary tube or absorbent material to rise or
fall as a result of surface tension. By capillarity, the surface of a liquid where it is in contact
with a solid (as in a capillary tube) is elevated or depressed depending on the relative
attraction of the molecules of the liquid for each other (cohesion) and for those of the solid
(adhesion).
When the lower end of a vertical glass tube is placed in a liquid, such as water, a concave
meniscus forms. Adhesion occurs between the fluid and the solid inner wall pulling the liquid
column up until there is a sufficient mass of liquid for gravitational forces to overcome these
intermolecular forces. The contact length (around the edge) between the top of the liquid
column and the tube is proportional to the diameter of the tube. Therefore, a narrow tube will
draw a liquid column higher than a wider tube will.
 adhesion > cohesion = liquids rise in tubes (e.g. water)
 adhesion < cohesion = liquids fall in tubes (e.g. mercury)
For a cylindrical glass tube the capillary rise or fall is given by,
2s cos q
h= where q = contact angle
gR
g= specific weight of liquid
s= surface tension per unit length
R= radius of tube

Fig.2: Capillary action.