Fluid Mechanics

Properties of FLUIDS
Fluid Mechanics
- branch of Mechanics which deals
with the behavior of fluids at rest and in
motion.
 Properties of Fluids
Mass Density ρ
- defined as the ratio of mass to volume.
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑
ρ=
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒
Units:
SI: (kg/m3) , Metric: (gram/cm3) , English: Slugs/ft3

The mass density ;

water : Air:
1000 kg/m31.2 kg/m3
62.4 lbm/ft3
 Properties of Fluids
Specific Weight or Unit Weight , γ
-The gravitational force per unit volume of fluid, or
simply the weight per unit volume.
Greek symbol γ (gamma).
𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑚𝑔
𝛾= 𝛾= = 𝜌𝑔
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑣
Units:
English: lb/ft3
Metric: dyne/cm3
SI: N/m3
Properties of Fluids
For gases:
𝑝
𝜌=
𝑅𝑇
Where:
p= absolute value of gas Pa
𝑗𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑒
R= gas constant 𝑘𝑔−𝑘

𝐽
For air: 𝑅= 287 𝑘𝑔−𝑘= 1716 lb-ft / slug –R
T= abs. temp.
 Properties of Fluids
Specific Gravity, S
-The ratio of the specific weight of a given fluid to the
specific weight of water at the standard condition.

𝛾𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 ρ𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑
𝑤= =
𝛾𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 ρ𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟
 Properties of Fluids
Viscosity, μ
Viscosity (also called dynamic viscosity, or absolute viscosity) is a
measure of a fluid's resistance to deformation under shear stress.
For example, crude oil has a higher resistance to shear than does water.
Crude oil will pour more slowly than water from an identical beaker
held at the same angle. This relative slowness of the oil implies a low
“speed” or rate of strain.
The symbol used to represent viscosity is μ (mu). To understand the
physics of viscosity, it is useful to refer back to solid mechanics and the
concepts of shear stress and shear strain. Shear stress, τ, tau, is the ratio
of force/area on a surface when the force is aligned parallel to the area.
Shear strain is a change in an interior angle of a cubical element, (φ, that
was originally a right angle. The shear stress on a material element in
solid mechanics is proportional to the strain, and the constant of
proportionality is the shear modulus:

𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 = 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑢𝑠 𝑥 (𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛)

Properties of Fluids
In fluid flow, however, the shear stress on a fluid
element is proportional to the rate (speed) of strain,
and the constant of proportionality is the
viscosity:

𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 = 𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑥 (𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛)

𝑑𝑉
And; 𝜏 = 𝜇 𝑑𝑦 , 𝜏 = 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠
Properties of Fluids
Surface Tension
The surface tension of a liquid is the work that must
be done to bring enough molecules from inside the
liquid to the surface to form a unit area of that
surface in ft-lb./ft2 or N-m/m2.
Pressure inside the droplet if liquid:
4𝜎
𝑝=
𝑑
𝜎= surface tension in N/m
d= diameter of the droplet in m.
p= gage pressure in pascal
End of the Lecture