Fundamentals

of
Fluid Flow
INTRODUCTION

Principles relating to fluids at rest can be obtained with no

ambiguity by purely rational methods. Some natural
principles which are universally true are the basis of
calculations. In flowing fluid, however, the laws that govern
the motion are complex and most of the time defies
mathematical expressions. Thanks to experimental data
combined with mathematical theories which solved
countless engineering problems in the past.
Steady Flow- The flow in
which the velocity of fluid is
constant at any point is called
as steady flow.
Unsteady Flow-When the
flow is unsteady , the fluid
velocity differs between any
two points.

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uniform flow: flow velocity is the same
magnitude and direction at every
point in the fluid.
non-uniform: If at a given instant, the velocity is
not the same at every point the flow. (In
practice, by this definition, every fluid that
flows near a solid boundary will be non-
uniform - as the fluid at the boundary must
take the speed of the boundary, usually zero.
However if the size and shape of the of the
cross-section of the stream of fluid is
constant the flow is considered uniform.)

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steady: A steady flow is one in which the conditions
(velocity, pressure and cross-section) may
differ from point to point but DO NOT change
with time.
unsteady: If at any point in the fluid, the
conditions change with time, the flow is
described as unsteady. (In practice there is
always slight variations in velocity and
pressure, but if the average values are
constant, the flow is considered steady.)

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Uniform Flow, Steady Flow (cont.)

•Steady uniform flow:

§Conditions: do not change with position in the
stream or with time.
§Example: the flow of water in a pipe of constant
diameter at constant velocity.
•Steady non-uniform flow:
§Conditions: change from point to point in the
stream but do not change with time.
§Example: flow in a tapering pipe with constant
velocity at the inlet-velocity will change as you
move along the length of the pipe toward the exit.
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Uniform Flow, Steady Flow (cont.)
•Unsteady uniform flow:
§At a given instant in time the conditions at every
point are the same, but will change with time.
§Example: a pipe of constant diameter connected to a
pump pumping at a constant rate which is then
switched off.
•Unsteady non-uniform flow:
§Every condition of the flow may change from point
to point and with time at every point.
§Example: waves in a channel.

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Laminar Flow

• Flow is said to be laminar when the paths of the individual

particles do not cross or intersect. By many careful
experiments to commercial pipes of circular cross section,
the flow is laminar when the Reynolds’ number Re is less
than 2100.
•Laminar flow
§ all the particles proceed along smooth parallel paths
and all particles on any path will follow it without
deviation.
§ Hence all particles have a velocity only in the
direction of flow.

Typical
particles path

Figure 3.1a: Laminar flow 9

Turbulent Flow
§The particles move in an irregular
manner through the flow field.
§Each particle has superimposed on its
mean velocity fluctuating velocity
components both transverse to and in
the direction of the net flow.
Figure 3.1b: Turbulent flow

Particle
paths

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Turbulent Flow

The flow is said to be turbulent when its path lines are

irregular curves and continuously cross each other. The
paths of particles of a stream flowing with turbulent motion
are neither parallel nor fixed but it aggregates to forward
motion of the entire stream. Reynolds’ number greater than
2100 normally defines turbulent flow but in highly controlled
environment such as laboratories, laminar flow can be
maintained up to values of Re as high as 50,000. However,
it is very unlikely that such condition can occur in the
practice.
TransiTion Flow
§exists between laminar and turbulent
flow.
§I n t h i s r e g i o n , t h e f l o w i s v e r y
unpredictable and often changeable
back and forth between laminar and
turbulent states.
§M o d e r n e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n h a s
demonstrated that this type of flow
may comprise short ‘burst’ of
turbulence embedded in a laminar flow.
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 Laminar Flow- The flow in
which the fluid particles move
in the same direction is called as
Laminar Flow.
 Turbulent Flow- The flow in
which the fluid particles move
randomly in any direction is
called as Turbulent Flow.

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 Observer

Observer

Boat moving
Flow pattern moves along channel with boat
Boat stationary
 changes with time
Fluid moving past boat
 UNSTEADY
pattern stationary relative to
boat
 does not change with time
 STEADY
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Figure 3.2: Relative motion
§ All fluids are compressible - even water - their density
will change as pressure changes.
§ Under steady conditions, and provided that the
changes in pressure are small, it is usually possible to
simplify analysis of the flow by assuming it is
incompressible and has constant density.
§ As you will appreciate, liquids are quite difficult to
compress - so under most steady conditions they are
treated as incompressible.

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• Compressible Flow- When the density of flow
varies with pressure it is termed as compressible
flow.

• Incompressible Flow- When the density of flow

does not varies with pressure it is termed as
incompressible flow.
• Viscous/Non-viscous flow- When the viscosity of
the fluid is zero, it is termed as non-viscous
otherwise it is viscous.
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Dimensional Flow
§ In general, all fluids flow three-dimensionally,
with pressures and velocities and other flow
properties varying in all directions.
§ In many cases the greatest changes only occur
in two directions or even only in one.
§ In these cases changes in the other direction
can be effectively ignored making analysis
much more simple.

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§ Flow is one dimensional if the flow parameters (such as velocity,
pressure, depth etc.) at a given instant in time only vary in the
direction of flow and not across the cross-section. The flow may
be unsteady, in this case the parameter vary in time but still not
across the cross-section.

§ An example of one-dimensional flow is the flow in a pipe. Note

that since flow must be zero at the pipe wall - yet non-zero in the
center - there is a difference of parameters across the cross-
section.
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§ Should this be treated as two-dimensional flow? Possibly - but it
is only necessary if very high accuracy is required. A correction
factor is then usually applied.

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§ Flow is two-dimensional if it can be assumed that the
flow parameters vary in the direction of flow and in one
direction at right angles to this direction.

§ Streamlines in two-dimensional flow are curved lines on

a plane and are the same on all parallel planes.

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§ An example is flow over a weir for which typical
streamlines can be seen in the figure below. Over
the majority of the length of the weir the flow is the
same - only at the two ends does it change slightly.
Here correction factors may be applied.

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Discharge (also called flow rate)

The amount of fluid passing a section of a stream in unit

time is called the discharge. If v is the mean velocity and A
is the cross sectional area, the discharge Q is defined by Q
= Av which is known as volume flow rate. Discharge is also
expressed as mass flow rate and weight flow rate.
Discharge (also called flow rate)
Volume flow rate, Q=Av
Mass flow rate, M=ρQ
Weight flow rate, W=γQ

Where:
Q = discharge in m3/sec or ft3/sec
A = cross-sectional area of flow in m2 or ft2
v = mean velocity of flow in m/sec or ft/sec
ρ = mass density of fluid in kg/m3 or slugs/ft3
γ = unit weight of fluid in N/m3 or lb/ft3
Continuity Equations
• For incompressible fluids:
Q=A1v1=A2v2=A3v3= constant
WHERE:
Q = DISHCARGE
A1 = cross sectional area of flow at pt.1
v1 = velocity at pt 1
A2 = coss-sectional of flow area at pt. 2
v2 = velocity at pt 2
A3 = cross sectional are of flow at pt.3
v3 = velocity at point 3
For compressible fluids:

M = mass flow rate

W = weight flow rate
Ƴ = weight density or unit weight of fluid
ρ = mass density of fluid
A = cross sectional area of flow
DIFFERENT TYPES OF HEADS (OR ENERGIES)
OF A LIQUID IN MOTION
DIFFERENT TYPES OF HEADS (OR ENERGIES)
OF A LIQUID IN MOTION
Potential head or potential energy:
TOTAL ENERGY OF FLOW
Bernoulli’s Energy Theorem
• Applying the law of
conservation of energy to fluids
that may be considered
incompressible, Bernoulli’s
theorem may be stated as
follows:
• Neglecting head lost, the total
amount of energy per unit
weight is constant at any point
Daniel Bernoulli
in the path of flow.
(1700 - 1782)
Bernoulli's Energy Equations
Energy Equation Neglecting Head Loss
Without head losses, the total energy at point
(1) is equal to the total energy at point (2).
No head lost is an ideal condition leading to
theoretical values in the results
Energy Equation without Head Loss
Energy Equation Considering Head Loss
The actual values can be found by considering
head losses in the computation of flow energy.
Energy Equation Considering Head Loss
 Energy Equation with Pump

• In most cases, pump is used

to raise water from lower
elevation to higher elevation.
In a more technical term, the
use of pump is basically to
increase the energy of flow.
The pump consumes
electrical energy (Pinput) and
delivers flow energy (Poutput).
Energy Equation with Pump
Energy Equation with Turbine

• Turbines extract flow

energy and converted it
into mechanical energy
which in turn converted
into electrical energy.
Energy Equation with Turbine
Hydraulic and Energy Grade Lines

• Hydraulic Grade Line (HGL)

• Hydraulic grade line, also called hydraulic gradient and
pressure gradient, is the graphical representation of the
potential head (pressure head + elevation head). It is the
line to which liquid rises in successive piezometer tubes.
The line is always at a distance (p/γ + z) above the datum
plane.
Characteristics of HGL

• HGL slopes downward in the direction of flow but it may

rise or fall due to change in pressure.
• HGL is parallel to EGL for uniform pipe cross section.
• For horizontal pipes with constant cross section, the drop
in pressure gradient between two points is equivalent to
the head lost between these points.
Energy Grade Line (EGL)

Energy grade line is always above the hydraulic grade line

by an amount equal to the velocity head. Thus, the distance
of energy gradient above the datum plane is always (v2/2g
+ p/γ + z). Energy grade line therefore is the graphical
representation of the total energy of flow.
Characteristics of EGL

• EGL slopes downward in the direction of flow and will only

rise with the presence of pump.
• The vertical drop of EGL between two points is the head
lost between those points.
• EGL is parallel to HGL for uniform pipe cross section.
• EGL is always above the HGL by v2/2g.
• Neglecting head loss, EGL is horizontal.