FLUID MECHANICS (MECE 311)

Recommended Text

Fluid Mechanics by J.F. Douglas, J.M.

Gasiorek, J.A. Swaffield, Lynne B. Jack
INTRODUCTORY
NOTES
By definition
Mechanics is …….
that area of science concerned with
the behavior of physical bodies when
subjected to forces or displacements,
and the subsequent effects of the
bodies on their environment.
It deals with the study of materials, especially
their motion and deformation under the action
of forces, temperature changes, phase changes,
and other external or internal agents.

Solid Mechanics deals with solid materials

While…….
Fluid Mechanics deals with fluids.
 FLUID MECHANICS
Fluid Mechanics is the branch of applied
mechanics concerned with the statics and
dynamics of fluids - both liquids and gases.
The analysis of the behaviour of fluids is based
on the fundamental laws of mechanics which
relate continuity of mass and energy with force
and momentum, together with the familiar Solid
Mechanics properties.

Fluid Mechanics
MASS and ENERGY FORCE and MOMENTUM
What do you understand by the term

A FLUID ?
Fluids around us

 The air we breath

 The water we drink
 Fluids in our bodies
On a more practical note:

 Essential for life (air we breath, water we drink)

 Sound waves (hearing, entertainment, etc.)

 Transportation (IC engines, aviation, shipping, air

balloons, etc.)

 Recreation (balls filled with air)

 Entertainment (sound from speakers etc)

Fluids in Technology
Every engineering graduate needs to have a
thorough understanding of fluids. Depending on
your field of engagement you may be dealing with:
• Water distribution systems
• Sewerage (sanitation) networks
• Dams and Irrigation systems
• Internal combustion engines
• Refrigeration and air conditioning
• Pumps and Turbines
• Water retaining structures.
• Flow of fluids in and around structures
• etc
Fluids in Technology

From the above we can see the importance of

engineers to have a working knowledge of fluid
behavior to be able to:

Accurately analyse many of the systems they

will encounter in the physical world
Have the ability to design and control devices
such as internal combustion engines, power
production plants, HVAC systems, etc.
The goal of this course is to help students gain
an understanding and an appreciation for fluid
motion, what can be done with it, what it might
do to you, and how to analyze and predict it.
Therefore…..
Objectives of this first lecture are to:

Define the nature of a fluid.

Show where Fluid Mechanics concepts are common
with those of Solid Mechanics and indicate some
fundamental areas of difference.
Introduce viscosity and show what are Newtonian
and Non-Newtonian fluids
Define the appropriate physical properties and
show how these allow differentiation between solids
and fluids as well as between liquids and gases.
 Background and Definition
There are three states of matter: solids, liquids and gases.
Both liquids and gases are classified as fluids.
Fluids do not resist a change in shape. Therefore, fluids
assume the shape of the container they occupy.
Liquids may be considered to have a fixed volume and
therefore can have a free surface. Liquids are almost
incompressible.
Conversely, gases are easily compressed and will expand to
fill a container they occupy.
In this module, we will mostly be interested in liquids, either
at rest or in motion.
Hence, fluid mechanics is different to solid
mechanics because:

• The nature of a fluid is different to that of a

solid
• In fluids we usually deal with continuous
streams of fluid without a beginning or end.
• In solids we only consider individual
elements.
In this section we will consider how we can
classify the differences in nature of fluids and
solids.
What do we mean by
nature of a fluid?

Fluids are clearly different to solids,

but we must be specific.

We need some definable basic

physical difference.
We know that fluids flow under the
action of a force, and that solids don’t
– but that solids do deform.
So we can say that:
Fluids lack the ability of solids to resist
deformation.
Fluids change shape as long as a force acts on
them.
(These definitions include both gasses and liquids as fluids.)
So how can the above facts aid us
in the analysis of fluids and their
properties?

In the analysis of fluids we often take

small volumes (elements) and
examine the forces on these.
 Take the rectangular element below.
What forces cause it to deform?
A B A’ B’ F

C D F C D
Fig.1(a) Fig. 1(b)
Element of fluid at rest Element of fluid under action of forces F

Forces F acting along edges (faces), are

know as shearing forces.
From the above we arrive at the following
definition for a fluid:

A Fluid is a substance that deforms continuously

(i.e.; it flows) when subjected to shearing forces.
The above definition has the following implication
for a fluid at rest:
If a fluid is at rest there can be NO shearing forces
acting on it, and all forces in the fluid must be
acting perpendicular to the planes in which they
act.
Consider a bucket filled with water as shown
below:

Element of fluid
Fig. 2

Considering the element of fluid shown above,

• Is the element of fluid at rest or in motion?
• What are the forces acting on the element?
Now consider a fluid moving
through a pipe.
• Fluid next to the wall “sticks” to the
wall and will have zero velocity

• Subsequent layers of fluid will

“slide over each other” and as you
Fig. 3 move away from the wall, the
velocity increasing to a maximum.
 Plotting the velocity across the section from
the wall to the centre gives a “velocity profile”
y y

Velocity, u

Fig.4 (a) Fig. 4 (b)

Variation of velocity with distance from a solid boundary

Change in velocity with distance from the wall is the

𝒅𝒖
“velocity gradient” = (1)
𝒅𝒚

As fluids are usually near surfaces, there is usually a

velocity gradient.
Under normal conditions, one fluid particle has
a velocity difference relative to its neighbour.
Particles next to each other with different
velocities exert forces on each other (due to
intermolecular action ) ……i.e. shear forces exist
in a fluid moving close to a wall.

What if the fluid is not near a wall?

Then…
No velocity gradient, no shear forces.
Fig.5
Why is the above observation of interest to
engineers?
In practice we are concerned with fluid flow
past solid boundaries like cars, boats, airplanes,
pipe walls, river channels etc., and shear forces
will always be present.
It would therefore be useful if we could
quantify the shearing forces around these
bodies.
This may give us an understanding of what
parameters govern the forces different fluids
exert on flow.
Let us examine the force required to deform an
element.
 Newton’s Law of Viscosity
Consider a rectangular element at rest
δx
δz

δy

Fig. 6(a): 3-D View Fig. 6(b): 2-D View

What happens if a shearing force acts on the

above shaded area (A= δz x δx) in Fig. 6(a)?
If the rectangular element is under the action
of the force F, the views would look as follows:

A’ B B’ F

ф E x E’

F C D
Fig. 7(a): 3-D view Fig. 7(b): 2-D view

Element of fluid under a shear force

The (tangential) force per unit area is the shear
stress and is given by the formula:
𝑭
τ= (2)
𝑨

The deformation caused by this shear stress is

the shear strain and is measured by the size of
the angle ф.

In a solid, shear strain ф is constant for a fixed

shear stress τ.

In a fluid, shear strain ф increases for as long

as shear stress τ is applied, and the fluid flows.
It is found experimentally that in a fluid, the rate of
shear strain (shear strain per unit time, ф /time) is
directly proportional to the shear stress.
ф ф
That is, τ𝞪 or τ = constant x
𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒕

We can express the above in terms of the cuboid

shown in Fig.7 above.
If the particle at point E moves under the shear
stress to point E' and it takes time t to get there, it
has moved the distance x. For small deformations
we can write:
x
ф=
𝐲
Then, the rate of shear strain will be:
ф x1 x1 1 u
Rate of shear strain = = = = u =
𝑡 𝑦 𝑡 𝑡 𝑦 𝑦 𝑦
x
where = u is the velocity of the particle at E.
𝑡

This term is also the change of velocity with

height (i.e. distance from the wall).

Basing on experimental results that shear stress

is proportional to the rate of shear strain, then:
u
τ = Constant x
𝑦
 u
The term is the change of velocity with y, or the
𝒚
velocity gradient, and may be written in the
𝒅𝒖
differential form .
𝒅𝒚

𝒅𝒖
Therefore: τ = 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝐱
𝒅𝒚
This constant is a property of the fluid and is called its
dynamic (or absolute) viscosity (dynamic because the
fluid is in motion, and viscosity because it is resisting
shear stress).
𝒅𝒖
It is denoted μ which then gives us: τ = µ (3)
𝒅𝒚

Equation (3) is known as Newton’s Law of viscosity.

Simply put, Newton’s Law of Viscosity states that:
For a given rate of angular deformation of a fluid,
shear stress is directly proportional to viscosity.

As for viscosity, we can define it as follows:

Viscosity is that fluid property by virtue of which a
fluid offers resistance to shear stresses (i.e., the
resistance to flow).

A fluid that obeys Newton’s law of viscosity is

known as a Newtonian Fluid, sometimes known as
Real Fluids.
Newtonian fluids have constant values of µ at any
particular constant temperature.
 Non-Newtonian Fluids
Some fluids do not have constant viscosity, µ.
They do not obey Newton’s Law of viscosity.
They do obey a similar relationship and can be
placed into several clear categories.
They can be represented by the general equation
𝒅𝒖 𝑛
𝜏 =𝐴+𝐵 (4)
𝒅𝒚

where A, B and n are constants.

You can see that for Newtonian fluids, A = 0, B = µ

and n = 1
The graph below shows how µ changes for different fluids.

Fig. 8
Below are brief descriptions of the physical properties
of the several categories:

• Bingham plastic: Behaves as a rigid body at low stresses but flows as a

viscous fluid at high stress. A minimum shear stress must be achieved.
With this classification n = 1. An example is toothpaste or sewage sludge.
• Pseudo-plastic: No minimum shear stress necessary and the viscosity
decreases with rate of shear, e.g. colloidal substances like clay, ketchup,
blood and cement.
• Dilatant substances; Viscosity increases with rate of shear e.g. quicksand.
• Thixotropic substances: Viscosity decreases with length of the time shear
force is applied e.g. thixotropic jelly paints.
• Rheopectic substances: Viscosity increases with length of the time shear
force is applied. E.g. gypsum paste, printer ink etc

• Viscoelastic materials: Similar to Newtonian but if there is a sudden large

change in shear they behave like plastic. E.g. armophous polymers,
ligaments, tendons etc.
There is also one more type of fluid, which is not
real, and does not exist. It is known as the ideal
fluid.

This is a fluid which is assumed to have no

viscosity.

The concept of an ideal fluid is a useful concept

when developing theoretical solutions.

It does help achieve some practically useful

solutions.
Causes of Viscosity in Gases
The molecules of gasses are only weakly kept in position by
molecular cohesion (as they are so far apart).
As adjacent layers move by each other, there is a continuous
exchange of molecules.
Molecules of a slower layer move to faster layers causing a drag,
while molecules moving the other way exert a deceleration
force (mathematical considerations of this momentum
exchange can lead to Newton law of viscosity).
If temperature of a gas increases, the momentum exchange
between layers will increase, thus increasing viscosity.
Viscosity will also change with pressure - but under normal
conditions this change is negligible in gases.
Causes of viscosity in Liquids

There is some molecular interchange between

layers in liquids - but the cohesive forces are also
important.
Increasing temperature of a fluid reduces the
cohesive forces and increases the molecular
interchange, resulting in a complex relationship
between temperature and viscosity.
For liquids, viscosity decreases with increase in
temperature.
 Units

Fluid mechanics deals with the measurement of many

variables of many different types of units. Therefore,
we need to be very careful and consistent in our
workings.

Dimensions and Base Units

The dimension of a measure is independent of any
particular system of units.

For example, velocity may be in metres per second or

miles per hour, but dimensionally, it is always length
per time, or 𝑳/𝑻 = 𝑳𝑻−𝟏 .
The dimensions of the relevant base units of the
Système International (SI) system are:
Units - Free SI Units
Mass M Kilogram kg
Length L Metre M
Time T Second s
Temperature θ Kelvin K

Derived Units
From these base units, we get relevant derived units.
Checking the dimensions or units of an equation is
very useful to minimize errors. For example, if when
calculating a force you find a pressure, then you know
you’ve made a mistake.
The table below shows some of the common derived
units that you are going to encounter in this module.
Quantity Dimension SI Units
Derived Base
Velocity 𝐿𝑇 −1 m/s m 𝑠 −1
Acceleration 𝐿𝑇 −2 𝑚/𝑠 2 m 𝑠 −2
Force 𝑀𝐿𝑇 −2 N (Newton) kg 𝑚 𝑠 −2
Pressure/Stress 𝑀𝐿−1 𝑇 2 N/𝑚2 (Pascal, Pa) kg 𝑚−1 𝑠 −2
Density 𝑀𝐿−3 kg/𝑚3 kg 𝑚−3
Specific weight 𝑀𝐿−2 𝑇 −2 N/𝑚3 kg 𝑚−2 𝑠 −2
Relative density Ratio Ratio Ratio
Viscosity 𝑀𝐿−1 𝑇 −1 N s/𝑚2 kg 𝑚−1 𝑠 −1
Work/Energy 𝑀𝐿2 𝑇 −2 N m (Joule, J) kg 𝑚2 𝑠 −2

Power 𝑀𝐿2 𝑇 −3 N m/s kg 𝑚2 𝑠 −3

 SI Prefixes
SI units use prefixes as shown below to reduce the
number of digits required to display a quantity.
Prefix Name Prefix Unit Multiple
Tera T 1012
Giga G 109
Mega M 106
Kilo K 103
Hecto H 102
Deka da 101
B A S E U N I T
Deci D 10−1
Centi C 10−2
Milli m 10−3
Micro μ 10−6
Nano n 10−9
Pico p 10−12
 Fluids properties of interest to engineers

Density: This can be expressed in three different

ways namely:

1) Mass density (ρ = mass per unit volume)

2) Specific weight (ω = weight per unit volume)
3) Relative density (σ = ratio of mass density of
substance to mass density of water at 40C).
Another name for this is specific gravity.
Viscosity
As explained earlier, viscosity, µ, is the property of
a fluid, due to cohesion and interaction between
molecules, which offers resistance to sheer
deformation.
Different fluids deform at different rates under the
same shear stress.
A fluid with a high viscosity such as honey, deforms
more slowly than a fluid with a low viscosity, such
as water.
All fluids are viscous. "Newtonian Fluids" obey the
𝑑𝑢
linear relationship τ = µ
𝑑𝑦
There are two ways of expressing viscosity namely:

1) Coefficient of Dynamic (or Absolute) Viscosity, µ

The Coefficient of Dynamic (or Absolute)
Viscosity, µ , is defined as:

The shear force per unit area, (or shear stress),

required to drag one layer of fluid with unit
velocity, past another layer a unit distance away.

Therefore:
𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆
𝝉 𝑨𝒓𝒆𝒂 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒙 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒔
𝝁= 𝒅𝒖 = 𝑽𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 = =
𝑨𝒓𝒆𝒂 𝑳𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉 𝒙 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆
𝒅𝒚 𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆
The units of dynamic viscosity are therefore Newton
seconds per square metre (Nsm-2 ) or Kilograms per
meter per second (kgm-1s-1)
Dynamic viscosity µ is often expressed in Poise, P,
where 10 Poise = 1 kgm-1s-1.

Typical values at room temperature are:

Air = 1.78x10-5 kgm-1s-1
Water = 1.14x10-3 kgm-1s-1
Paraffin = 1.9 kgm-1s-1
Mercury = 1.552 kgm-1s-1
2) Kinematic Viscosity, ν

Kinematic viscosity, ν, is the ratio of dynamic

viscosity to mass density.

Hence,
𝝁
ν= (5)
𝝆

Can you derive the units of Kinematic Viscosity?

The units are:
m2s-1

Typical values are:

Air = 1.46x10-5 m2s-1
Water = 1.14x10-6 m2s-1
Paraffin = 2.375x10-3 m2s-1
Mercury = 1.145x10-4 m2s-1
Physical origins of viscosity
Viscosity arises on molecular scales due to two
main physical effects namely intermolecular
cohesion and transfer of molecular momentum.
The former would be important (often dominant) in
most liquids for which molecules are relatively
densely packed, and the latter would be more
important in gases in which the molecules are fairly
far apart, but moving at high speed.
This is why the viscosity of a liquid decreases as
temperature increases, while that of a gas increases
with increasing temperature.
Bulk Modulus

Another fluid property that can be of interest but

will not feature much in this course is the Bulk
Modulus.

Bulk Modulus K is defined as the ratio of the

change in unit pressure to the corresponding
volume change per unit volume expressed as:
𝒅𝒑
𝑲= −𝑽
𝒅𝑽