CHARACTERISTIC OF FLUIDS

A fluid is defined as a substance that

deforms continuously when acted on by
a shearing stress at any magnitude.

In a fluid at rest, normal stress is called

“pressure”.

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Dimensions, Dimensional homogeneity
and Units

Fluid has qualitative and quantitative

characteristic.

Qualitative :
To identify the nature of fluid such as
length, time, stress and velocity.

Quantitative :
Numerical measure of the characteristic.
Quantitative requires both a number and
a standard. Such standards are called
“unit”.

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Primary quantity :

L : Length
T : Time
M : Mass
θ: Temperature

Secondary quantity :

L2 : Area
LT-1 : Velocity
ML-3 : Density

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All theoretically derived equations are
“dimensionally homogeneous”. The
dimension of the left side of the equation
must be the same as those on the right
side, and all additive separate terms must
have the same dimensions.

Example :

V = Vo + at
LT −1 = LT −1 + LT −1

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 UNIT

3 major systems that are commonly used

in engineering.

1. British Gravitational (BG) System

Length – foot (ft)
Time – second (s)
Force – pound (lb)
Temperature – Fahrenheit (ºF)

2. International System (SI)

Length – meter (m)
Time – second (s)
Mass – kilogram (kg)
Temperature – Kelvin (K)

The relation of Kelvin and Celsius is;

K = °C + 273.15

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3. English Engineering (EE) System
Length – foot (ft)
Time – second (s)
Mass – pound mass (lbm)
Force – pound (lb or lbf)
Temperature – Rankine (ºR)

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 MEASURES OF
FLUID MASS AND WEIGHT

Density

Designated by the Greek symbol ρ (rho).

Defined as its mass per unit volume.

mass kg
ρ= = 3
volume m

Specific volume, is the volume per unit

mass. This property is not commonly
used in fluid mechanics but is used
widely in thermodynamics.

volume 1
υ= =
mass ρ

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Specific weight

Designated by the Greek symbol γ

(gamma). Defined as its weight per unit
volume.

weight mg kg ⋅ g
γ= = = 3
= ρg
volume volume m

Specific gravity

Designated as SG.
Defined as the ratio of the density of the
fluid to the density of water at some
specified temperature.
Usually the specified temperature is
taken as 4ºC.

ρ
SG =
ρ H O @ 4°C
2

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Ideal gas law

Gases are highly compressible in

comparison to liquids, with changes in
gas density directly related to changes in
pressure and temperature through the
equation ;

P = ρRT
P : pressure
ρ : density
R : gas constant
T : temperature

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The pressure in the ideal gas law must be
expressed as an absolute pressure (abs),
which means that it is measured relative
to absolute zero pressure (a pressure that
would only occur in a perfect vacuum)

Standard sea-level atmospheric pressure

is 14.7 psi and 101 kPa, respectively.

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VISCOSITY

The property of viscosity is described the

“fluidity” of the fluid.

To resist the applied force, P, a shearing

stress, τ, would be developed at the
plate-material interface.

The equilibrium is ;
P = τA

It revealed that as the shearing stress, τ,

is increased by increasing P.

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We can say that shear stress, τ, has direct
proportion with the velocity gradient –
that is ;
τ ∝ du
dy

The shearing stress and velocity gradient

can be related with a relationship of the
form ;
τ = µ du
dy
µ (mu) is dynamic viscosity.

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Fluids for which the shearing stress is
linearly related to the rate of shearing
strain are designated as Newtonian fluids.

Fluids for which the shearing stress is

not linearly related to the rate of shearing
strain are designated as non-Newtonian
fluids.

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 BULK MODULUS

A property that is commonly used to

characterize compressibility is the bulk
modulus.

Defined as ;
dP dP
Eυ = − = dρ
dV
V ρ

we conclude that liquids can be

considered as incompressible for most
practical engineering applications.

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 COMPRESSION & EXPANSION OF
GAS

When gases are compressed (or

expanded) the relationship between
pressure and density depends on the
nature of the process.

If the compression or expansion takes

place under constant temperature
conditions (isothermal process), then ;
P
= constant
ρ

If the compression or expansion is

frictionless and no heat is exchanged
with the surroundings (isentropic
process), then ;
P
= constant
ρ k

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k is the ratio of the specific heat at
constant pressure, cp, to the specific heat
at constant volume, cv.
cp
k=
cv

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 SURFACE TENSION

The intensity of the molecular attraction

per unit length along any line in the
surface is called the surface tension.

Designated by the Greek symbol, σ

(sigma)

Unit is N/m.

The forces balance of half-cut spherical

is shown as ;
2πRσ = ∆PπR 2

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The forces balance of capillary action is
shown as ;
2πRσ cosθ = ρghπR 2

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PROBLEMS FOR CHAPTER 1 – FLUID PROPERTIES

QUESTION 1

According to information found in an old hydraulics book, the energy loss per unit weight
of fluid flowing through a nozzle connected to a hose can be estimated by the formula

h = (0.04 to 0.09)( D / d ) 4 V 2 / 2 g

where h is the energy loss per unit weight, D the hose diameter, d the nozzle tip diameter,
V the fluid velocity in the hose, and g the acceleration of gravity. Do you think this
equation is valid in any system of units? Explain.

QUESTION 2

The “no-slip” condition means that a fluid “sticks” to a solid surface. This is true for both
fixed and moving surfaces. Let two layers of fluid be dragged along by the motion of an
upper plate as shown in Figure 1. The bottom plate is stationary. The top fluid puts a
shear stress on the upper plate, and the lower fluid puts a shear stress on the bottom plate.
Determine the ratio of these two shear stresses.

Figure 1

QUESTION 3

A 25-mm-diameter shaft is pulled through a cylindrical bearing as shown in Figure 2. The

lubricant that fills the 0.3-mm gap between the shaft and bearing is an oil having a
kinematic viscosity of 8.0 × 10−4 m2/s and a specific gravity of 0.91. Determine the force
P required to pull the shaft at a velocity of 3 m/s. Assume the velocity distribution in the
gap is linear.

Figure 2

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QUESTION 4

A layer of water flows down an inclined fixed surface with the velocity profile shown in
Figure 3. Determine the magnitude and direction of the shearing stress that the water
exerts on the fixed surface for U = 2 m/s and h = 0.1 m.

Figure 3

QUESTION 5

The viscosity of liquids can be measured through the use of a rotating cylinder
viscometer of the type illustrated in Figure 4. In this device the outer cylinder is fixed and
the inner cylinder is rotated with an angular velocity, ω. The torque T required to develop
ω is measured and the viscosity is calculated from these two measurements. Develop an
equation relating µ, ω, T, ℓ, Ro, and Ri. Neglect end effects and assume the velocity
distribution in the gap is linear.

Figure 4

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QUESTION 6

A conical body rotates at a constant angular velocity of 600 rpm in a container as shown
in Figure 5. A uniform 0.001-ft gap between the cone and the container is filled with oil
that has a viscosity of 0.01 lb · s/ft2. Determine the torque required to rotate the cone.

Figure 5

QUESTION 7

A 12-in.-diameter circular plate is placed over a fixed bottom plate with a 0.1-in. gap
between the two plates filled with glycerin as shown in Figure 6. Determine the torque
required to rotate the circular plate slowly at 2 rpm. Assume that the velocity distribution
in the gap is linear and that the shear stress on the edge of the rotating plate is negligible.

Figure 6

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QUESTION 8

Surface tension forces can be strong enough to allow a double-edge steel razor blade to
“float” on water, but a single-edge blade will sink. Assume that the surface tension forces
act at an angle θ relative to the water surface as shown in Figure 7.

(a) The mass of the double-edge blade is 0.64 × 10−3 kg, and the total length of its sides is
206 mm. Determine the value of θ required to maintain equilibrium between the blade
weight and the resultant surface tension force.

(b) The mass of the single-edge blade is 2.61 × 10−3 kg, and the total length of its sides is
154 mm. Explain why this blade sinks. Support your answer with the necessary
calculations.

Figure 7

Answer :

1. Valid. Similarity in units

2. 1
3. P = 286 (N)
4. τ = 4.48 × 10-2 (N/m2). Acting in the direction of flow.
2πR13 lµω
5. Torque =
Ro − R1
6. Torque = 0.197 ft.lb
7. Torque = 0.0772 ft.lb
8. (a) sinθ = 0.415 (float)
(b) sinθ = 2.265 (impossible, sink)

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PAST YEAR QUESTION

QUESTION 1

Rajah S1

(a) Sebuah cakera berdiameter 75mm berputar pada kelajuan ω = 4 rad/s dalam sebuah bekas
yang berputar pada kelajuan ω = 2 rad/s seperti dalam rajah S1. Bekas dipenuhi minyak
berkelikatan 8×10-3 Ns/m2. Dengan mengabaikan kesan kelikatan dihujung cakera, buktikan
bahawa daya kilas yang diperlukan untuk memutarkan satu permukaan cakera ialah :

T = 4.97×10-8 / h

dengan h ialah kelegaan antara cakera dengan bekas.

(b) Jika kelegaan dibahagian atas cakera dalam soalan 1(a) ialah 3m dan dibahagian bawah ialah
2mm, tentukan daya kilas yang diperlukan untuk memutar cakera tersebut.
QUESTION 2

Figure Q1

(a) State and explain the Newton’s law of viscosity.

(b) A viscous clutch is to be made from a pair of closely spaced parallel discs enclosing a
thin layer of viscous liquid a shown in Figure Q1. Develop algebraic expression for the
torque and the power transmitted by the disc pair, in term of liquid viscosity, µ, disc
radius, R, disc spacing, a, and the angular speed, ωi, of the input disc and ωo of the
output disc.

(c) Develop an expression for the slip ratio, s = ∆ω/ωi, in term of ωi and the torque
transmitted. ∆ω is the difference of angular speed between the disc pair.

Answer :
1. (b) Total Torque = 4.1 × 10-5 (N.m)
(ω1 − ωo) R4
2. (b) Torque = µ ⋅ ⋅π ⋅
a 2
2aT
(c) S =
ω1πµR 4