Defining Fluid

A substance in liquid/gas phase is referred as ‘fluid’. Distinction between a solid and a fluid is
made based on substance’s ability to resist an applied shear (tangential) stress that tends to
change its shape. A solid can resist an applied shear by deforming its shape. In contrast, a fluid
deforms continuously under the influence of shear stress, no matter how small is its shape. In
solids, stress is proportional to strain, but in fluids, stress is proportional to ‘strain rate’.
Although liquids and gases share some common characteristics, they have many distinctive
characteristics on their own. It is easy to compress a gas whereas, liquids are incompressible. A
given mass of the liquid occupies a fixed volume, irrespective of the size and shape of the
container. A gas has no fixed volume and will expand continuously unless restrained by the
containing vessel. A gas will completely fill any vessel in which it is placed and therefore, does
not have a free surface.
Fluids are generally divided into two categories: ideal and real fluids.
Ideal fluids
• Assumed to have no viscosity
• Incompressible
• Have uniform velocity when flowing
• No friction between moving layers of fluid
• No eddy currents or turbulence
Real fluids
• Exhibit infinite viscosity
• Non-uniform velocity distribution when flowing
• Compressible
• Experience friction and turbulence in flow

Real fluids are further divided into Newtonian fluids and non-Newtonian fluids.
Most fluid problems assume real fluids with Newtonian characteristics for convenience. This
assumption is appropriate for water, air, gasses, steam, and other simple fluids like alcohol,
gasoline, acid solution, etc. However, slurries, pastes, gels, suspensions may not behave
according to simple fluid relationships.

Properties of Fluid
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. An easy way to
determine whether a property is intensive or extensive is to divide the system into two equal parts
with an imaginary partition. Each part will have the same value of intensive properties as the
original system, but half the value of the extensive properties.

The following are some of the important properties of fluid from the viewpoint of fluid mechanics.

1. Density (ρ) is the ratio of mass of a given quantity of a substance to the volume occupied
by that quantity.

𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑, 𝑀
𝜌=
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒, 𝑉
 Units:
English : slugs/ft3
Metric : gram/cm3
SI : kg/m3
For an ideal gas, its density can be found from the specific gas constant and ideal gas
law:
𝑝
𝜌=
𝑅𝑇
where: 𝑝= absolute pressure of gas in Pa
R= gas constant Joule/kg-˚K

for air:
R= 287J/kg-˚K
R= 1,716 lb-ft/slug- ˚R
T= absolute temperature in Kelvin

Table 1. Approximate room temperature densities of common fluids

Fluid 𝝆 in kg/m3
Air (STP) 1.29
Air (21ºF) 1.20
Alcohol 790
Ammonia 602
Gasoline 720
Glycerin 1,260
Mercury 13,600
Water 1,000

2. Specific Volume, Vs, is the volume occupied by a unit mass of fluid.

1
𝑉𝑠 =
𝜌

3. Specific weight or unit weight, γ, is the ratio of weight of a given quantity of a substance
to the volume occupied by that quantity. An alternative definition is that specific weight
equals the product of density and gravitational acceleration.

𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑, 𝑊
𝛾=
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒, 𝑉

𝛾 = 𝜌𝑔
 Units:
English : lb/ft3
Metric : dyne/cm3
SI : kN/m3

4. Specific Gravity or Relative Density, s, is a dimensionless ratio of a fluid’s density to

some standard reference density. For liquids and solids, the reference density is water at
4˚C (39.2˚F).
𝜌 𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑
𝑠=
𝜌 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟

In gases, the standard reference to calculate the specific gravity in the density of air.
𝜌 𝑔𝑎𝑠
𝑠=
𝜌 𝑎𝑖𝑟
For water at 4ºC:
γ = 62.4 lb/ft3 = 9.81 kN/m3
ρ = 1.94 slugs/ft3 = 1000 kg/m3
s = 1.0

5. Viscosity, μ, represents the susceptibility of a given fluid to shear deformation and is

defined by the ratio of the applied shear stress to rate of shear strain.

𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠, 𝜏
𝜇=
𝑑𝑉/𝑑𝑦
Where
𝜏= shear stress in lb/ft2 or Pa
μ= absolute viscosity in lb sec/ft2 (poises) or Pa-sec.
y= distance between the plates in ft or m
V= velocity in ft/s or m/s

6. Kinematic Viscosity, ν, is the ratio of the dynamic viscosity of the fluid to its mass density.
𝜇
𝜈=
𝜌
Where
𝜇= absolute viscosity in Pa-sec.
ρ= density in kg/m3

7. Surface Tension, σ, is the tensile force per unit length at the free surface of a liquid. The
reason for the existence of this force arises from intermolecular attraction (Figure 1a). In
the body of the liquid, a molecule is surrounded by other molecules, and intermolecular
forces are symmetrical and in equilibrium. At the surface of the liquid (Figure 1b), a
molecule has this force acting only through 180°. This imbalance of forces means that the
molecules at the surface tend to be drawn together, and they act rather like a very thin
membrane under tension. This causes a slight deformation at the surface of a liquid (the
meniscus effect).
Figure 1. Surface tension. (a) Balance of forces on the immersed molecule. (b) Imbalance of forces on molecule at the
surface of the liquid. (c) Meniscus effect. (Source: A. Chadwick and J. Morfett, “Hydraulics in Civil and Environmental
Engineering”)

Pressure inside a Droplet of Liquid

4𝜎
𝑝=
𝑑
Where
𝜎= surface tension in N/m
d= diameter of the droplet in m
p= gage pressure in Pa

Capillarity or capillary action is the name given to the behavior of the liquid in a thin-
bore tube. The rise or fall in a capillary tube is caused by surface tension. It depends on
the relative magnitudes of the cohesion of the liquid to the walls of the containing vessel.
Liquids rise in tubes they wet (adhesion>cohesion) and fall in tubes they do not wet
(cohesion>adhesion). Capillary is important when tubes smaller than about 3/8 inch (9.5
mm) in diameter.

4𝜎𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
ℎ=
𝛾𝑑

For complete wetting, as with the water on clean glass, the angle θ is 0º. Hence, the
formula becomes

4𝜎
ℎ=
𝛾𝑑
Where
h= capillary rise or depression in m
 γ= unit weight in N/m3
d= diameter of the tube in m
σ= surface tension in Pa

8. Compressibility, β, also known as the coefficient of compressibility, is the fractional

change in the volume of a fluid per unit change in pressure in a constant temperature
process.

𝛥𝑉
−
𝛽= 𝑉 = 1
𝛥𝑝 𝐸𝐵
𝑑𝑉/𝑉
or 𝛽 =
𝑑𝑝
Where
ΔV= change in volume
V= original volume
Δp= change in pressure
dV/V= change in volume (usually in percent)

9. Bulk Modulus of Elasticity, EB, expresses the compressibility of the fluid. It is the ratio of
the change in unit pressure to the corresponding volume change per unit of volume.

𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝛥𝑝
𝐸𝐵 = =
𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝛥𝑉
𝑉
Ideal Gas Law
The ideal gas law relates important thermodynamic properties and is often used to calculate.
One form of the law is

where p is the absolute pressure, V is the volume, n is the number of moles, Ru is the universal
gas constant (the same for all gases), and T is absolute temperature.
The universal gas constant is 8.314 kJ kmol-K in the SI system and 1545 ft-lbf lbmol-°R in the
traditional system. Thus, it can be rewritten as:

where is the molecular weight of the gas. The product of the number of moles and the
molecular weight is the mass of the gas. Thus is the mass per unit volume, or density.
The quotient is the gas constant, R. Thus, a second form of the ideal gas law is
𝒑 = 𝝆𝑹𝑻