MODULE #1-1
PROPERTIES OF FLUIDS
• CONTINUITY PRINCIPLE
Fluid Mechanics
• The branch of mechanics dealing with the properties of
fluids in various states and with their reaction to forces
acting upon them.
• Liquid is hard to compress and it changes its
shape according to the shape of its container
with an upper free surface
• Gas is easy to compress and expands to fill the
container. It has no free surface
Density
• Mass per unit volume of a material
! #$ %&'$
𝜌= ; ! , !
" ! ()
• For Gas;
Pabs = absolute pressure = Pgage
+ Patm *"#$ #$ %&'$
Patm = 101.325 kPa/ 14.7psi 𝜌= ; ! , !
R = gas constant; J/kg-K
+, ! ()
T = temperature in Kelvin
Specific Weight
• Weight per unit volume
-
. &/
γ= ; !, !
"
! ()
6782 . :1.4 &/
𝛾012@4℃ = ! ,
! () !
6<62 . :1.= &/
𝛾012@12℃ = ,
!! () !
Specific Volume
• Reciprocal of density
8 !! () !
𝑣= ; ,
> #$ %&'$
Specific Gravity
• Ratio of the density of a material to the density of water at
4 ℃.
𝜌
𝑆𝐺 =
𝜌?12@4℃
Dynamic Viscosity/Viscosity
• Resistance of fluid between two layers of object sliding over
each other (Incompressible fluid and laminar flow)
• Poiseuille’s law
𝜏 𝐹/𝐴
𝜇= ;
𝑑𝑢/𝑑𝑦 𝑈/ℎ
Change in viscosity of air and of water
under 1 atm
𝜇 = 𝑃𝑎 − 𝑠, 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒
0.1 𝑃𝑎 − 𝑠, = 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒
Kinematic Viscosity
• Also called “momentum diffusivity”, is the ratio of viscosity
to the density of the fluid.
• denoted by the Greek letter nu (ν)
𝜇 𝑚 1
𝑣= ; , 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑘𝑒𝑠
𝜌 𝑠
@4 1
1𝑥 10 𝑚
= 1 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑘𝑒𝑠
𝑠
Viscosity and kinematic viscosity of
water and air at standard atmospheric
pressure
Example
1. Carbon tetrachloride with a mass of
500 kg is placed in container with
0.325 cu.m. in volume
a. Calculate its density
b. Calculate its specific weight
c. Determine also the specific volume
2. A gas is under pressure of 21.868 bar
abs at 40 ° C.
a. Compute the pressure in kPa
b. Compute the gage pressure
c. Compute the gas constant R if it
has a unit weight of 362 N/m3
Example
4. The density of a certain liquid whose specific weight is
95.40 lb/ft3 is _______ kg/ m3
Hint = Unit weight of water at 4 degree Celsius is 62.4 lb/cu.ft.
Example
5. A moving plate is 2mm from a fixed plate. If the
moving plate requires a force per unit area of 12 Pa
to maintain a speed of 0.65 m/s, determine the
viscosity of the substance between the two plates.
6. Water at 20.5oC has a dynamic viscosity of 0.015
poise and specific gravity of 0.97. Calculate its
kinematic viscosity.
Surface Tension
• the tension of the surface film of a liquid caused by the
attraction of the particles in the surface layer by the bulk of
the liquid, which tends to minimize surface area.
• is the result of cohesive forces between similar molecules
Surface Tension
• ∆P = increase in internal pressure
• d = diameter of the liquid drop
• σ = surface tension
∆𝑃(𝑑) 𝑁
𝜎= ;
4 𝑚
Capillarity
• The ability of a liquid to flow in narrow
spaces without the assistance of or even in
opposition to external forces like gravity
4𝜎𝑐𝑜𝑠(θ)
ℎ= ;𝑚
𝛾𝑑
Bulk Modulus of Elasticity
• The fluid of volume V at pressure P decreased its volume by ∆V due to
the further increase in pressure by ∆P.
• ∆V/V = dilatation of the fluid
−∆𝑃
𝐸! =
∆𝑉/𝑉
Compressibility
• Measure of the relative volume change of a fluid as a
response to pressure change
1
𝛽=
𝐸!
Celerity/Pressure wave/Velocity of sound/Water
hammer
Hydraulic shock or pressure surge when
a fluid in motion is forces to stop or
change direction
𝐸!
𝑐=
𝜌
Example
1. The radius of the tube as shown in the
figure is 1mm. The surface tension of
water at 20° C is equal to 0.0728 N/m.
For a water-glass interface θ =0°
a. Compute the capillary rise in the
tube in mm
b. Compute the change in internal
pressure due to the surface tension.
Example
2. The speed of a sound in a rigid container with liquid
of specific gravity of 0.979 is 1383 m/s. Determine
the coefficient of compressibility of the fluid.
Example
3. A certain liquid is compressed to a volume of 1.25 L
under a pressure of 175 Pa. If the volume decreases to
1215 cm3 after increasing the pressure by 190 Pa, what
is the liquid’s bulk modulus of elasticity?
