FLUID MECHANICS

CLD 10603
Fluid Characteristics and Behaviors
 Universiti Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering technology

Objectives
Student should be able to:
i. Define and determine the fluid properties
such as:
Weight, mass, density, specific gravity, specific
weight, specific volume, absolute viscosity,
kinematic viscosity.
ii. Understand the liquid behavior:
Surface tension and capillary effect.

CLD 10603 2 Chapter 2: Fluid Characteristics and Behaviors

 Universiti Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering technology

Introduction
ƒ Any characteristic of a system is called a property.
o Familiar: pressure P, temperature T, volume V, and mass m.
o Less familiar: viscosity, thermal conductivity, surface tension.
Intensive  Extensive 
property property
are independent of are those whose value
the mass of the depends on the size of
system the system

Examples: Examples: Total mass,

temperature, total volume, and total
pressure, and density momentum

ƒ Extensive properties per unit mass are called specific properties.

Examples include specific volume v = V/m and specific total energy
e=E/m.

CLD 10603 3 Chapter 2: Fluid Characteristics and Behaviors

 Universiti Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering technology

Mass (m)

Defined as the amount of matter in an object.

Unit : kilograms (kg)/ pounds mass (lbm).

CLD 10603 4 Chapter 2: Fluid Characteristics and Behaviors

 Universiti Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering technology

Weight (W)
ƒ The magnitude of the force acting on the
object due to Earth’s gravity field.
W = mg
m = mass (kg)
g = standard earth gravity
= 9.81 m /s2 or 32.174 ft/s2

Unit in kg.m/s2 or Newton (N) / pounds force (lbf).

CLD 10603 5 Chapter 2: Fluid Characteristics and Behaviors

 Universiti Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering technology

Density (ρ)
ƒ The quantity of matter contained in a unit
volume of the substance.

mass m
ρ= =
volume v

Unit: kg /m3 or lbm/ft3

- Density of liquid is nearly constant
- Density of water = 998 kg / m3

CLD 10603 6 Chapter 2: Fluid Characteristics and Behaviors

 Universiti Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering technology

Density (ρ)
ƒ Density is highly variable in gases and is a
function of the gas composition, its
temperature and its pressure.
P
ρ=
RT
P = pressure
T = temperature
R = gas constant

CLD 10603 7 Chapter 2: Fluid Characteristics and Behaviors

 Universiti Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering technology

Example 1
• Find the mass of 250.0 mL of benzene. The density of 
benzene is 0.8765 g/mL. What is the weight of 
benzene?

CLD 10603 8 Chapter 2: Fluid Characteristics and Behaviors

 Universiti Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering technology

Specific Gravity (SG)

Ratio of a fluid density to a standard reference

fluid, water (for liquid) and air (for gases).

ρ liquid ρ liquid ρ gas ρ gas

SGliquid = = SGgas = =
ρ water 1000 kg / m 3 ρair 1.205 kg / m3

Unit : None

CLD 10603 9 Chapter 2: Fluid Characteristics and Behaviors

 Universiti Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering technology

Specific Gravity (SG)

Example 2

What is the specific gravity of mercury if ρ HG

= 13 580 kg / m3 ?

CLD 10603 10 Chapter 2: Fluid Characteristics and Behaviors

 Universiti Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering technology

Specific Weight (γ)

Defined as the weight per unit volume of fluid.

Weight W
γ = =
Volume V
γ = ρg

Unit : N/m3 (kg/m2s2) or lbf/ft3

CLD 10603 11 Chapter 2: Fluid Characteristics and Behaviors

 Universiti Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering technology

Example 3
a) If the specific volume of a gas is 0.70 m3/kg, what is its
specific weight in N/m3?

b) Although most modern thermometers contain alcohol,

older ones often contained mercury (Hg). During fabrication
of a certain thermometer, the Hg was inserted under
standard conditions so that it filled a reservoir of volume 50
mm3. Given that Hg has a specific gravity of 13.6 and the
density of water is 1 g/cm3, calculate the weight and mass
of the Hg in the thermometer.

CLD 10603 12 Chapter 2: Fluid Characteristics and Behaviors

 Universiti Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering technology

Specific Volume (ν)

Defined as a ratio of volume over mass.

volume 1
ν= =
mass ρ

Unit : m3 /kg or ft3/ slugs

CLD 10603 14 Chapter 2: Fluid Characteristics and Behaviors

 Universiti Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering technology

Viscosity (μ)
ƒ Viscosity is a property
that represents the
internal resistance of a
fluid to motion.

ƒ The force a flowing fluid

exerts on a body in the
flow direction is called
the drag force, and the
magnitude of this force
depends, in part, on
viscosity.

CLD 10603 15 Chapter 2: Fluid Characteristics and Behaviors

 Universiti Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering technology

Absolute Viscosity (μ)

ƒ Tangential force per unit area,
required to drag one layer of
fluid with unit velocity past
another layer a unit distance
away.

μ = absolute viscosity
τxy = shear stress
τ du/dy = velocity /distance
μ = xy
du
( ) Unit : kg/m.s or Pa.s or N.s/m2 or lbf.s/ft2 or
dy poise
(1 poise = 0.1 Pa.s)

CLD 10603 16 Chapter 2: Fluid Characteristics and Behaviors

 Universiti Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering technology

Kinematic Viscosity (ν)

Defined as the ratio of absolute viscosity to
density.
μ
ν=
ρ
Unit : m2/s or stoke (1 St = 10-4 m2/s)

μ and ν is a temperature dependent

- Gases : viscosity ↑ temperature ↑
- Liquids : viscosity ↓ temperature ↑

CLD 10603 17 Chapter 2: Fluid Characteristics and Behaviors