FLUID MECHANICS (MEC 214)

1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 FLUIDS
Definition: Fluid is a substance which deforms continuously under the action of shearing forces
no matter how small they may be. That is, it offers negligible resistance to change of shape. The
rate of deformation of the fluid depends on the fluid’s viscosity μ. We refer to solids as being
elastic and fluids as being viscous.
1.2 Classification of fluids
Fluid can be classified according their state of matter into liquid and gas.
1.2.1 Liquids: - Liquids have definite volumes and the volume may vary likely with temperature
and pressure; and normally have free surface. e.g. water, oil, petrol, kerosene, paint, e.t.c.
1.2.2 Gases: - Gases normally occupy the volume of their containers and they can easily be
compressed. The fundamental difference between liquid and gas is that liquid is hard to be
compressed while gas can easily be compressed. E.g. of Gases are: Oxygen, carbon dioxide,
Nitrogen e.t.c
Differences between liquid and gas
Liquid Gas

1. Difficult to compress, may be regarded as 1. A gas is comparatively easy to

Incompressible. Compress

2. A given mass of liquid occupies a fixed 2. A given mass of gas has no fixed volume
and will expand continuously unless restrained
Volume irrespective of the size or shape of its
by a containing vessel.
container.

3. A free surface is formed of the container if It will completely fill any vessel in which it is
greater than that of the liquid. placed and does not forma free surface.

4. The molecular structure of liquid are less 5. Gasses have no formal structure, the spaces
densely packed, making the structure looser. between molecules are large and the molecules
The individual molecules have greater freedom can move freely.
of movement causing change of structure.

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1.3 Types of Fluids
There are two types of fluids (for the purpose of analysis) namely, Ideal and Real or non-ideal
fluids.
 The ideal fluid: a fluid is said to be ideal if it is assumed to be both incompressible and
invicid (non-viscous). It also has no surface tension ( γ ¿. That is: the density ρ=constant ,
and viscosity μ=0 , also γ =0.
This type of fluids does not exhibit viscous properties and cannot sustain frictional and shear
stresses when in motion. It is imaginary fluids that do not exist in nature. However, most
common fluids such as water and air have very low values of viscosity and can be treated as
ideal fluid for all practical purpose without introducing any appreciable error.
 On the other hand, the real fluids have viscosity ( μ ¿ compressibility (K) and surface
tension ( γ ¿ .It possesses viscous properties sustains frictional and shear stresses and
dissipates mechanical energy into heat.
In practice, the ideal fluid does not exist, but the flow of many real fluids can be analyzed by
assuming that they are ideal especially if their viscosities are low.
The fluids could also be classified in to Newtonian and Non-Newtonian fluids as follows:
 Newtonian fluids:- The fluids that obey Newton’s law of viscosity and for which μ has a
constant value are known as Newtonian fluids. These fluids are the ones whose
viscosities are not dependent on the rate of shear or the duration and conform to
Newton’s basic law of viscous resistance.
du
τ ∝μ
dy
du
τ =μ
dy
In fluid mechanics the ratio of absolute viscosity, μ, to density, ρ, often arises. This ratio is
given the name kinematic viscosity and is represented by the symbol ν.
 Non- Newtonian fluids: - Fluids which do not obey Newton’s law of viscosity are known
as non-Newtonian fluids. Fluids in which shear stress is not directly proportional to
deformation rate are nonNewtonian. Although we will not discuss these much in this text,
many common fluids exhibit non-Newtonian behavior. Example is toothpaste.
(Quiz: State the Newton’s law of viscosity)
1.4 Properties of Fluids

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  Density: - The density of a substance: is the quantity of matter contained in unit volume
of the substance. Density is highly variable in gases and increases nearly proportionally
to the pressure level. Density in liquids is nearly constant; the density of water (about
1000 kg/m3) increases only 1 percent if the pressure is increased by a factor of 220. Thus
most liquid flows are treated analytically as nearly “incompressible.”
Density = mass of substance/ volume of substance
Density of a substance can be expressed in three different ways namely;
(i) Mass density
(ii) Specific weight
(iii) Relative density.
(iv) Specific Volume
(i)Mass density: is defined as the mass of the substance per unit volume.
Density = m/V kgm3
(ii) Specific weight: -is defined as the weight per unit volume.
I.e. weight/volume= mg/V = ρ g
Typical values: water, 9.81 x 103kg/m3
Air, 12.07 kg/m3
(iii) Relative density or Specific gravity:-
Relative density: is defined as the ratio of the mass density of a substance to some standard mass
density.

For solids and liquids the standard mass density chosen is the maximum density of water.
For gases, the standard density is that of air at a specified temperature and pressure.
Relative density is dimensionless, since it is pure number. That is, it is the ratio of two densities.
Typical value: Water 1.0; oil 0.9.
(iv) Specific Volume: -This is defined as the reciprocal of mass density or specific weight; i.e
volume per unit mass or volume per unit weight.
V
specific volume v=
m

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v= (m3/kg)
ρ
Pressure: - Pressure is the intensity of a force measured per unit area of the surface on which the
force acts. Pressure is the (compression) stress at a point in a static fl uid (Fig. 1.3). Next to
velocity, the pressure p is the most dynamic variable in fl uid mechanics. Differences or
gradients in pressure often drive a fl uid fl ow, especially in ducts. In low-speed fl ows, the
actual magnitude of the pressure is often not important, unless it drops so low as to cause vapor
bubbles to form in a liquid.

The pressure exerted by a fluid has the following important properties:-

i. The pressure exerted by a fluid “at a point “that is, on a very small area, is the same in all
directions.
ii. The direction of the resultant pressure exerted by a fluid at rest on a solid surface is always
perpendicular (normal) to the surface.
 Viscosity
Viscosity is the internal resistance to movement of one layer of the fluid over an adjacent one.
It is the property of a fluid rather than that of a static fluid. Relative movement between two
layers requires shear forces parallel to the surface over which they act.
For a solid, stresses develop when the material is elastically deformed or strained; for a fluid,
shear stresses arise due to viscous flow (we will discuss a fluid’s normal stresses shortly). Hence
we say solids are elastic, and fluids are viscous (and it’s interesting to note that many biological
tissues are viscoelastic, meaning they combine features of a solid and a fluid). For a fluid at rest,
there will be no shear stresses. We will see that each fluid can be categorized by examining the
relation between the applied shear stresses and the flow (specifically the rate of deformation) of
the fluid.
 Surface Tension:- The property that causes the surface of a liquid to behave as if it were
covered with a weak elastic skin; this is why a needle can float on the smallest possible
area because of cohesive forces between molecules at the surface.

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  Capillarity:- This is the spontaneous movement of liquids up and down narrow tubes or
capillarity. The movement is due to unbalanced molecular attraction at the unbalanced
molecular attraction at the boundary between the liquid and the tube.
If liquid molecules near the boundary are more strongly attracted to molecules in the materials of
the tube than to other nearby liquid molecules, the liquid will rise in the tube. If liquid molecules
are less attracted to the material of the tube than to other liquid molecules, the liquid will fall.
 Compressibility: All materials whether solid, liquid, or gases are compressible, that is
the volume V of a given mass will be reduced to V+ δv when a force is exerted uniformly
all over its surface. If the force per unit area of surface increases to P+ δp, relationship
between change of pressure and change of volume depends on the bulk modulus of the
material.
Compressibility is a measure of the relative volume change of a fluid as a response to
pressure.

1.5 Fluid Mechanics: is defined as the branch of engineering-science which deals with the study
of behavior of fluids under the action of forces.
The fluid mechanics may be divided in to two parts.
i. Fluid statics: the study of fluids under static condition.

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 ii. Dynamics: the study of fluids in motion. It deals with the relation between velocities,
acceleration of fluid with forces and energy causing them.
1.6 Significance of Fluid Mechanics
The subject of fluid mechanics encompasses the study of the following areas such as:
 Design of wide range of hydraulic structures (dams, canals, weirs, etc) and machinery
(pumps turbines, fluid couplings etc).
 Design of complex network of pumping and pipelines for transporting liquids, flow of
water through pipes and its distribution to domestic service lines
 Fluid controlling devices (both hydraulic and pneumatic)
 Power generation from conventional methods such as hydroelectric, steam and gas
turbine etc.