FLUID MECHANICS

22ANE32
• FLUIDS: INTRODUCTION, PROPERTIES OF FLUIDS, VISCOSITY, TYPES
OF FLUIDS.

• FLUID STATICS: FLUID PRESSURE AT A POINT, PASCAL’S LAW,

• PRESSURE VARIATION IN A STATIC FLUID,

• ABSOLUTE, GAUGE, ATMOSPHERIC AND VACUUM PRESSURES.

• SIMPLE MANOMETER AND DIFFERENTIAL MANOMETER.

• TOTAL PRESSURE AND CENTER OF PRESSURE ON SUBMERGED PLANE

SURFACES.
 MODULE 1

FLUIDS MECHANICS:
• INTRODUCTION.
• DEFINITION
• PROPERTIES OF FLUIDS
• CLASSIFICATION OF FLUIDS.
 INTRODUCTION
• Fluid mechanics is the branch of science which deals
with the behavior of the fluids( liquids or gases) at rest
as well as in motion.

What is a fluid?
A substance exists in three primary phases: solid,
liquid and gas. A substance in the liquid or gas phase is
referred to as A fluid.
It deforms continuously under stress.
• Mechanics is the oldest physical science that deals with
both stationary and moving bodies under the influence of
forces.

• The branch of mechanics that deals with bodies at rest is

called statics, while the branch that deals with bodies in
motion is called dynamics.

• The subcategory fluid mechanics is defined as the science

that deals with the behavior of fluids at rest (fluid statics)
or in motion (fluid dynamics) and the interaction of fluids
with solids or other fluids at the boundaries.
FLUID MECHANICS deals with the analysis of motion of
liquids and gases.
Then subjects is of great important for two reasons.

It helps us to explain variety of fascinating

phenomenon around us.
It is essential to solve many problems encountered by
an engineer.
Fluid mechanics is sub divided into different categories.

The study of fluids at rest is called fluid statics.

The study of fluids in motion, where pressure forces are

not considered , is called fluid kinematics.

The pressure forces are also considered for the fluids in

motion that branch of science is called fluid dynamics.
The study of the motion of fluids that are practically
incompressible ( such as liquids , especially water, and
gases at low speeds ) is usually referred to as
hydrodynamics.
A subcategory of hydrodynamics is hydraulics, which
deals with liquid flows in pipes and open channels.
Gas dynamics deals with the flow of fluids that undergo
significant density changes, such as the flow of gases
through nozzles at high speeds.
• The category aerodynamics deals with the flow of
gases (especially air) over bodies such as aircraft,
rockets and automobiles at high or low speeds.

• Some other specialized categories such as

meteorology, oceanography and hydrology deal with
naturally occurring flows.
What is a fluid?
It deforms continuously under stress.
• Distinction between a solid and a fluid is made on the
basis of the substance’s ability to resist an applied
shear (or tangential) stress that tends to change its
shape.
• A solid can resist an applied shear stress by deforming,
whereas a fluid deforms continuously under the
influence of shear stress, no matter how small.
When a constant shear
force is applied, a solid
eventually stops
deforming, at some fixed
strain angle, where as a Figure 1: Deformation of a
fluid never stops rubber eraser placed
deforming and between two parallel plates
approaches a certain rate under the influence of a
of strain. shear force.
• In a liquid, molecules can move
relative to each other, but the
volume remains relatively constant
because of the strong cohesive
forces between the molecules.
• As a result ,a liquid takes the shape
of the container it is in and it forms
a free surface in a larger container
in a gravitational field.
• A gas, on the other hand, expands
until it encounters the walls of the
container and fills the entire
available space.
• This is because the gas molecules
are widely spaced and the cohesive
forces between them are very small.
• Unlike liquids, gases cannot form a
free surface
 APPLICATION AREAS OF FLUID MECHANICS
Mechanics of fluids is extremely important in many areas of engineering and
science. Examples are:
Biomechanics
• Blood flow through arteries and veins.
• Airflow in the lungs.
• Flow of cerebral fluid.
Households
• Piping systems for cold water, natural gas, and sewage.

• Piping and ducting network of heating and air-

conditioning systems.

• Refrigerator, vacuum cleaner , dishwasher, washing

machine, water meter, natural gas meter ,air
conditioner, radiator, etc.
Mechanical engineering:
• Design of pumps, turbines, air-conditioning equipment,
pollution- control equipment, etc.

• Design and analysis of aircraft, boats, submarines,

rockets, jet engines, wind turbines, biomedical devices,
the cooling of electronic components, and the
transportation of water, crude oil, and natural gas.
Civil engineering:
• Transport of river sediments.
• Pollution of air and water.
• Design of piping systems.
• Flood control systems.

Chemical engineering:
• Design of chemical processing equipment.
• Turbomachines: pump, turbine, fan, blower, propeller, etc.
• Military: missile, aircraft, ship, underwater vehicle, dispersion of
chemical agents, etc.
• Automobile: ic engine, air conditioning, fuel flow, external
aerodynamics, etc.
• Medicine: heart assist device, artificial heart valve, glucose
monitor, controlled drug delivery systems, etc…
• Electronics: convective cooling of generated heat.
• Energy: combustor, burner, boiler, gas, hydro and wind turbine,
etc.
• Oil and gas: pipeline, pump, valve, offshore rig, etc.
• The number of fluid engineering applications is
enormous: breathing, blood flow, swimming, pumps,
fans, turbines, airplanes, ships, rivers, windmills, pipes,
missiles, icebergs, engines, filters, jets, and sprinklers, to
name a few.
• When you think about it, almost everything on this
planet either is a fluid or moves within or near a fluid.
Car Racing
 DIMENSION AND UNITS
SYSTEM OF UNITS
• SYSTEM INTERNATIONAL (SI)
 FUNDAMENTAL DIMENSIONS: LENGTH, MASS AND TIME
UNITS: (METER, KILOGRAM AND SECOND)
• BRITISH GRAVITATION SYSTEM (BG)
 FUNDAMENTAL DIMENSION: LENGTH, FORCE AND TIME
 UNITS: (FT, SLUG AND SECOND)
• CGS SYSTEM (CENTIMETRE-GRAM-SECOND)
FUNDAMENTAL DIMENSIONS: LENGTH, MASS AND TIME
 UNITS: (CENTIMETER, GRAM AND SECOND)
 DIMENSION AND UNITS

FUNDAMENTAL/PRIMARY
DIMENSION
LENGTH(L), MASS (M) AND
TIME (T)

DERIVED/SECONDARY
DIMENSIONS
E.G., FORCE, VELOCITY,
ACCELERATION ETC.
PROPERTIES OF FLUIDS
• ANY CHARACTERISTIC OF A SYSTEM IS CALLED A PROPERTY.
• SOME FAMILIAR PROPERTIES ARE PRESSURE P , TEMPERATURE T ,
VOLUME V, AND MASS M.
• OTHER LESS FAMILIAR PROPERTIES INCLUDE VISCOSITY , THERMAL
CONDUCTIVITY , MODULUS OF ELASTICITY , THERMAL EXPANSION
COEFFICIENT , ELECTRIC RESISTIVITY AND EVEN VELOCITY.
• PROPERTIES ARE CONSIDERED TO BE EITHER INTENSIVE OR EXTENSIVE.
• INTENSIVE PROPERTIES ARE THOSE THAT ARE INDEPENDENT OF THE
MASS OF A SYSTEM , SUCH AS TEMPERATURE , PRESSURE AND
DENSITY.
• EXTENSIVE PROPERTIES ARE THOSE WHOSE VALUES DEPEND ON THE
SIZE—OR EXTENT —OF THE SYSTEM. TOTAL MASS , TOTAL VOLUME
V, AND TOTAL MOMENTUM ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF EXTENSIVE
PROPERTIES.
 DENSITY OR MASS DENSITY
DENSITY OR MASS DENSITY OF A FLUID IS DEFINED AS “THE RATIO OF THE
MASS OF A FLUID TO ITS VOLUME”. THUS MASS PER UNIT VOLUME OF A
FLUID IS CALLED DENSITY.
• IT IS DENOTED THE SYMBOL BY .
• THE UNIT OF MASS DENSITY IN SI UNIT IS KG PER CUBIC METER, I.E .,
.
• THE DENSITY OF LIQUIDS MAY BE CONSIDERED AS CONSTANT WHILE
THAT OF GASES CHANGES WITH THE VARIATION OF PRESSURE AND
TEMPERATURE.
• MATHEMATICALLY MASS DENSITY IS WRITTEN AS.

• THE VALUE OF DENSITY OF WATER IS

• THE DENSITY OF A SUBSTANCE DEPENDS ON TEMPERATURE &
PRESSURE IN GENERAL.

• THE DENSITY OF LIQUID REMAINS CONSTANT WHERE AS FOR

GASES THE DENSITY VARIES WITH THE CHANGE OF TEMPERATURE &
PRESSURE.
 SPECIFIC WEIGHT OR WEIGHT DENSITY
• SPECIFIC WEIGHT OR WEIGHT DENSITY OF A FLUID IS THE RATIO
BETWEEN THE WEIGHT OF A FLUID TO ITS VOLUME. THUS WEIGHT PER
UNIT VOLUME OF A FLUID IS CALLED WEIGHT DENSITY AND IT IS
DENOTED BY THE SYMBOL W.

MATHEMATICALLY,
SPECIFIC VOLUME
• SPECIFIC VOLUME OF A FLUID IS DEFINED AS THE VOLUME OF A
FLUID OCCUPIED BY A UNIT MASS OR VOLUME PER UNIT MASS OF A
FLUID IS CALLED SPECIFIC VOLUME.
MATHEMATICALLY, IT IS EXPRESSED AS

• THUS SPECIFIC VOLUME IS THE RECIPROCAL OF MASS DENSITY. IT IS

EXPRESSED AS M3/KG.
• IT IS COMMONLY APPLIED TO GASES.
SPECIFIC GRAVITY.
• SPECIFIC GRAVITY IS DEFINED AS THE RATIO OF THE WEIGHT
DENSITY (OR DENSITY) OF A FLUID TO THE WEIGHT DENSITY (OR
DENSITY) OF A STANDARD FLUID.
• FOR LIQUIDS, THE STANDARD FLUID IS TAKEN WATER AND FOR
GASES, THE STANDARD FLUID IS TAKEN AIR. SPECIFIC GRAVITY IS
ALSO CALLED RELATIVE DENSITY. IT IS DIMENSIONLESS QUANTITY
AND IS DENOTED BY THE SYMBOL S.
SPECIFIC GRAVITY.

• IF THE SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF

A FLUID IS KNOWN, THEN THE
DENSITY OF THE FLUID WILL
BE EQUAL TO SPECIFIC
GRAVITY OF FLUID MULTIPLIED
BY THE DENSITY OF WATER.

• FOR EXAMPLE THE SPECIFIC

GRAVITY OF MERCURY IS
13.6, HENCE DENSITY OF
MERCURY = 13.6 X 1000 =
13600 KG/M3.
 Problems:

1. CALCULATE THE SPECIFIC WEIGHT, DENSITY AND SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF ONE

LITER OF A LIQUID WHICH WEIGHS 7 N.
2. CALCULATE THE DENSITY, SPECIFIC WEIGHT AND WEIGHT OF ONE LITER
OF PETROL OF SPECIFIC GRAVITY = 0.7
3. CALCULATE THE DENSITY, SPECIFIC WEIGHT AND WEIGHT OF 3 LITER OF
LIQUID OF SPECIFIC GRAVITY = 0.8
VOLUME = 3 LITERS = 3 * 1000 CM3 = 0.003 M3
DENSITY = Ρ = S * 1000 KG/M3 = 0.8 * 1000 = 800 KG/M3

SPECIFIC WEIGHT, W = Ρ * G = 800 * 9.81 = 7848 N/M3

SPECIFIC WEIGHT = WEIGHT / VOLUME = W = W/V.

W = W * V = 7.848 * 0.003 = 23.54 N

4. 10 M3 OF MERCURY WEIGHS 136 * 104 N.
CALCULATE ITS SPECIFIC WEIGHT, MASS DENSITY,
SPECIFIC VOLUME & SPECIFIC GRAVITY.
GIVEN;
VOLUME = 10 M3: WEIGHT = 136 * 10 4 N
Specific weight = Weight / volume = 136*104 /10
= 136000N/m3

Mass density (ρ) = w/g = 136000/9.81

= 13863.4 kg/m3
Specific volume = 1/ ρ = 1/1386.34
= 72.13*10-6 m3/kg
Specific gravity = Density of mercury/Density of water
= 13863.4/1000
= 13.86.
 VISCOSITY
• VISCOSITY IS DEFINED AS THE PROPERTY OF A FLUID WHICH
OFFERS RESISTANCE TO THE MOVEMENT OF ONE LAYER OF
FLUID OVER ANOTHER ADJACENT LAYER OF THE FLUID.
• THIS PROPERTY DEVELOPS BY VIRTUE OF COHESION &
INTERMOLECULAR ATTRACTION OF MOLECULES BETWEEN 2
ADJACENT FLUID LAYERS.
• IT IS THE PROPERTY WHICH REPRESENTS THE INTERNAL
RESISTANCE OF A FLUID TO MOTION OR “FLUIDTY”
TO OBTAIN THE RELATION TO VISCOSITY:
• CONSIDER 2 LAYERS OF A FLUID WHICH ARE 'DY‘ DISTANCE
APART MOVE WITH A VELOCITIES U AND U+ DU SAY AS
SHOWN IN FIG .
• BOTH LAYERS OF FLUIDS CAUSES SHEAR STRESS ON EACH
OTHER.
• THE TOP LAYER CAUSES A SHEAR STRESS ON THE ADJACENT
LOWER LAYER, WHILE THE LOWER LAYER CAUSES A SHEAR
STRESS ON THE ADJACENT TOP LAYER.
• THIS SHEAR STRESS IS PROPORTIONAL TO THE RATE OF
CHANGE OF VELOCITY WITH RESPECT TO Y. IT IS DENOTED
BY SYMBOL Τ CALLED (TAU).

• MATHEMATICALLY:
WHERE, Μ(CALLED MU) IS THE CONSTANT OF PROPORTIONALITY AND
IS KNOWN AS THE COEFFICIENT OF DYNAMIC VISCOSITY OR ONLY
VISCOSITY.

• REPRESENTS THE RATE OF SHEAR STRAIN OR RATE OF SHEAR

DEFORMATION OR VELOCITY GRADIENT.

• FROM EQUATION (1.2) WE HAVE

• THUS VISCOSITY IS ALSO DEFINED AS THE SHEAR STRESS REQUIRED

TO PRODUCE UNIT RATE OF SHEAR STRAIN.
UNIT OF VISCOSITY.

• THE UNIT OF VISCOSITY IS OBTAINED BY PUTTING THE

DIMENSION OF THE QUANTITIES IN EQUATION ( 1.3)
KINEMATIC VISCOSITY.

IT IS DEFINED AS THE RATIO BETWEEN THE DYNAMIC

VISCOSITY AND DENSITY OF FLUID. IT IS DENOTED BY
THE GREEK SYMBOL (Ν) CALLED 'NU' . THUS,
MATHEMATICALLY,

• THE SI UNIT OF KINEMATIC VISCOSITY IS M2/S

NEWTON'S LAW OF VISCOSITY.

• IT STATES THAT THE SHEAR STRESS (Τ) ON A FLUID ELEMENT

LAYER IS DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL TO THE RATE OF SHEAR
STRAIN. THE CONSTANT OF PROPORTIONALITY IS CALLED THE
CO-EFFICIENT VISCOSITY. MATHEMATICALLY, IT IS EXPRESSED AS
GIVEN BY EQUATION (1 . 2).

• FLUIDS WHICH OBEY THE ABOVE RELATION ARE KNOWN AS

NEWTONIAN FLUIDS AND THE FLUIDS WHICH DO NOT OBEY
THE ABOVE RELATION ARE CALLED NON-NEWTONIAN FLUIDS.
TYPES OF FLUIDS

1. IDEAL FLUID. A FLUID, WHICH IS INCOMPRESSIBLE AND IS HAVING NO

VISCOSITY, IS KNOWN AS AN IDEAL FLUID. IDEAL FLUID IS ONLY AN
IMAGINARY FLUID AS ALL THE FLUIDS, WHICH EXIST, HAVE SOME
VISCOSITY.

2. REAL FLUID. A FLUID, WHICH POSSESSES VISCOSITY, IS KNOWN AS REAL

FLUID. ALL THE FLUIDS: IN ACTUAL PRACTICE, ARE REAL FLUIDS.

3. NEWTONIAN FLUID. A REAL FLUID, IN WHICH THE SHEAR STRESS IS

DIRECTLY, PROPORTIONAL TO THE RATE OF SHEAR STRAIN (OR VELOCITY
GRADIENT), IS KNOWN AS A NEWTONIAN FLUID.

4. NON-NEWTONIAN FLUID. A REAL FLUID, IN WHICH SHEAR STRESS IS NOT

PROPORTIONAL TO THE RATE OF SHEAR STRAIN (OR VELOCITY
GRADIENT), KNOWN AS A NON-NEWTONIAN FLUID.
5. Ideal Plastic Fluid.
A fluid, in which shear stress is
more than the yield value
and shear stress is
proportional to the rate of
shear strain (or velocity
gradient), is known as ideal
plastic fluid.
 Problems:
1. IF THE VELOCITY DISTRIBUTION OVER A PLATE IS GIVEN BY

IN WHICH U IS VELOCITY IN METRE PER SECOND AT A DISTANCE Y METRE

ABOVE THE PLATE, DETERMINE THE SHEAR STRESS AT Y=0 AND Y=0.15M.
TAKE DYNAMIC VISCOSITY OF FLUID AS 8.63POISES.
Given data, y = 0,
y = 0.15
 Problems:

2. A PLATE 0.025 MM DISTANT FROM A FIXED PLATE,

MOVES AT 60 CM/S AND REQUIRES A FORCE OF 2 N
PER UNIT AREA ,I.E., 2 N/M2 TO MAINTAIN THIS
SPEED. DETERMINE THE FLUID VISCOSITY BETWEEN THE
PLATES.
 Problems:

3. THE DYNAMIC VISCOSITY OF OIL, USED FOR

LUBRICATION BETWEEN A SHAFTS & SLEEVE IS 6
POISE. THE SHAFT IS OF DIAMETER 0.4 M & ROTATES
AT 190 RPM. CALCULATE THE POWER LAST IN THE
BEARING FOR A SLEEVE LENGTH OF 90 MM. THE
THICKNESS OF THE OIL FILM IS 1.5MM.
 Problems:
4. THE SPACE BETWEEN TWO SQUARE FLAT PARALLEL PLATES IS FILLED
WITH OIL, EACH SIDE OF THE PLATE IS 60 CM. THE THICKNESS OF THE
OIL FILM IS 12.5 MM. THE UPPER PLATE WHICH MOVES AT 2.5M/S
REQUIRES A FORCE OF 98.1 N TO MAINTAIN THE SPEED. DETERMINE

i. DYNAMIC VISCOSITY OIL.

ii. KINEMATIC VISCOSITY OF OIL IF THE SPECIFIC GRAVITY OIL OIL

IS 0.95.

.
 Problems:
5. TWO LARGE PLANE SURFACES ARE 2.4 CM APART. THE SPACE
BETWEEN THE SURFACES IS FITTED WITH GLYCERINE. WHAT FORCE IS
REQUIRED TO DRAG A VERY THIN PLATE OF SURFACE AREA 0.5 M2
BETWEEN THE TWO LARGE PLANE SURFACES AT A SPEED OF 0.6M/S.
IF

• THIN PLATE IS IN THE MIDDLE OF 2 PLANE SURFACES.

• AT A DISTANCE 0.8 CM FROM ONE SURFACE. TAKE VISCOSITY OF

GLYCERINE IS 8.1 * 10-1 NS/M2

.
 Problems:
6. FIND THE KINEMATIC VISCOSITY OF AN OIL HAVING DENSITY
981 KG/M3. THE SHEAR STRESS AT A PINT IN OIL IS 0.2452
N/M2 AND VELOCITY GRADIENT AT THAT POINT IS 0.2 PER
SECOND.

.
 Problems:
7. IF THE VELOCITY DISTRIBUTION OVER A PLATE IS GIVEN BY

IN WHICH U IS VELOCITY IN METRE PER SECOND AT A DISTANCE Y METRE

ABOVE THE PLATE, DETERMINE THE SHEAR STRESS AT Y=0, Y = 0.1 AND
Y=0.2M. TAKE DYNAMIC VISCOSITY OF FLUID AS 6POISES.
8. THE VELOCITY DISTRIBUTION FOR FLOW OVER A FLAT
PLATE IS GIVEN BY U = 3/2Y – Y3 , WHERE U IS THE
POINT VELOCITY IN METRE PER SECOND AT A DISTANCE Y
METRE ABOVE THE PLATE. DETERMINE THE SHEAR STRESS AT
Y = 9 CM. ASSUME DYNAMIC VISCOSITY AS 8 POISE.