UNIVERSITY OF CEBU (UC)

College of Engineering (COE)

CE EC 2 – ENHANCEMENT COURSE 2

FUNDAMENTALS OF FLUID FLOW

FLUID FLOW
Fluid flow may be steady or unsteady; uniform or non-uniform; laminar or turbulent
(Chapter 8); one-dimensional, two-dimensional, or three-dimensional; and rotational or non-
rotational.
True one-dimensional flow of an incompressible fluid occurs when the direction and
magnitude of the velocity at all points are identical. However, one-dimensional flow analysis is
acceptable when the single dimension is taken along the central streamline of the flow and when
velocities and accelerations normal to the streamline are negligible. In such cases, average values
of velocity, pressure, and elevation are considered to represent the flow as a whole, and minor
variations can be neglected. For example, flow in curved pipelines is analyzed by means of
onedimensional flow principles despite the fact that the structure has three dimensions and the
velocity varies across any cross section normal to the flow.
Two-dimensional flow occurs when fluid particles move in planes or parallel planes and
the streamline patterns are identical in each plane.
For an ideal fluid in which no shear stresses occur and hence no torques exist, fluid
particles cannot experience rotational motion about their own mass centers. Such ideal flow,
which can be represented by a flow net, is called non-rotational flow. In this chapter, liquid in the
rotating tanks illustrates rotational flow where the velocity of each particle varies directly as the
distance from the center of rotation.

UNIFORM FLOW
Uniform flow occurs when the magnitude and direction of the velocity do not change from point
!"
to point in the fluid, or !#
= 0. This statement implies that other fluid variables do not change
!$ !%
with distance, or !# = 0, !#
= 0, etc. Flow of liquids under pressure through long pipelines of
constant diameter is uniform flow whether the flow is steady or unsteady. Non-uniform flow

Prepared by: Engr. Joseph P. Sicadsicad

 !"
occurs when velocity, depth, pressure, etc., change from point to point in the fluid flow, or !# ≠
0, etc.

STREAMLINES
Streamlines are imaginary curves drawn through a fluid to indicate the direction of motion
in various sections of the flow of the fluid system. A tangent at any point on the curve represents
the instantaneous direction of the velocity of the fluid particles at that point. The average
direction of velocity may likewise be represented by tangents to streamlines. Since the velocity
vector has a zero component normal to the streamline, it should be apparent that there can be
no flow across a streamline at any point.

STREAM TUBES
A stream tube represents elementary portions of a flowing fluid bounded by a group of
streamlines that confine the flow. If the stream tube’s cross-sectional area is sufficiently small,
the velocity of the midpoint of any cross section may be taken as the average velocity for the
section as a whole. The stream tube will be used to derive the equation of continuity for steady
one-dimensional incompressible flow.
FLOW NETS
Flow nets are drawn to indicate flow patterns in cases of two-dimensional flow, or even
three dimensional flow. The flow net consists of (a) a system of streamlines so spaced that rate
of flow q is the same between each successive pair of lines, and (b) another system of lines normal
to the streamlines and so spaced that the distance between normal lines equals the distance
between adjacent streamlines. An infinite number of streamlines are required to describe
completely the flow under given boundary conditions. However, it is usual practice to use a small
number of such streamlines, as long as acceptable accuracy is obtained.

EQUATION OF CONTINUITY
The equation of continuity results from the principle of conservation of mass. For steady
flow, the mass of fluid passing all sections in a stream of fluid per unit of time is the same. This
can be evaluated as:
𝝆𝟏 𝑨𝟏 𝑽𝟏 = 𝝆𝟐 𝑨𝟐 𝑽𝟐 = 𝑪𝑶𝑵𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑵𝑻
Discharge or flow rate – the amount of fluid passing through a section per unit of time.
𝑽𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝑭𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝑹𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝑸 = 𝑨 𝒗
Prepared by: Engr. Joseph P. Sicadsicad
 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝑭𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝑹𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝑴 = 𝝆𝑨 𝒗
𝑾𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝑭𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝑹𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝑾 = 𝜸𝑨 𝒗
Energy and head
Energy is defined as the ability to do work. Work is the result of the application of a force
through a distance and is generally defined mathematically as the product of a force and the
distance traversed in the direction of application. Both energy and work can therefore be
expressed in units of ft-lb or N-m. One N-m is a joule (J).

• Kinetic energy – the ability of the fluid mass to do work by virtue of its velocity.
• Potential energy – the energy possessed by the fluid by virtue of its position or
elevation with respect to a datum line or by virtue of the pressure experience by
the fluid at that point.
• Head – the amount of energy per pound or newton of fluid.

Power and efficiency

• Power - is the rate at which work is done.

𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 = 𝑸𝜸𝑬
• Efficiency – is the ratio of the output power to the input power.
𝑷𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒑𝒖𝒕
ŋ=
𝑷𝒊𝒏𝒑𝒖𝒕

ENERGY EQUATION
The energy equation results from application of the principle of conservation of energy
to fluid flow. The energy possessed by a flowing fluid consists of internal energy and energies
due to pressure, velocity, and position. In the direction of flow, the energy principle is
summarized by the general equation energy at,
𝑬𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚 𝒂𝒕 𝟏 + 𝑬𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚 𝑨𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅 − 𝑬𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚 𝑳𝒐𝒔𝒕 − 𝑬𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚 𝑬𝒙𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 = 𝑬𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚 𝒂𝒕 𝟐

Bernoulli’s energy equation

No head added or lost:

𝒗 𝟏 𝟐 𝑷𝟏 𝒗𝟐 𝟐 𝑷𝟐
+ + 𝒁𝟏 = + + 𝒁𝟐
𝟐𝒈 𝜸 𝟐𝒈 𝜸

Prepared by: Engr. Joseph P. Sicadsicad

With increase or decrease in head:
𝑬𝟏 + 𝒉𝑨 − 𝒉𝑳 = 𝑬𝟐
𝑬𝑮𝑳 = 𝑬𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚 𝑮𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝑳𝒊𝒏𝒆 = 𝑷𝑬 + 𝑲𝑬
𝑯𝑮𝑳 = 𝑯𝒚𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝑮𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝑳𝒊𝒏𝒆 = 𝑷𝑬
VELOCITY HEAD
Velocity head represents the kinetic energy per unit weight that exists at a particular
point. If the velocity at a cross section were uniform, then the velocity head calculated with this
uniform or average velocity would be the true kinetic energy per unit weight of fluid.

APPLICATION OF THE BERNOULLI THEOREM

Application of the Bernoulli theorem should be rational and systematic. Suggested procedure is
as follows.
(1) Draw a sketch of the system, choosing and labeling all cross sections of the stream under
consideration.
(2) Apply the Bernoulli equation in the direction of flow. Select a datum plane for each
equation written. The low point is logical in that minus signs are avoided and mistakes
reduced in number.
(3) Evaluate the energy upstream at section 1. The energy is in units of ft-lb/lb (or N-m/N),
which reduce to feet (or meters) of fluid. For liquids the pressure head may be expressed
in gage or absolute units, but the same basis must be used for the pressure head at section
2. Gage units are simpler for liquids and will be used throughout this book. Absolute
pressure head units must be used where specific weight is not constant. As in the
equation of continuity, V1 is taken as the average velocity at the section, without loss of
acceptable accuracy.
(4) Add, in feet (or meters) of the fluid, any energy contributed by mechanical devices, such
as pumps.
(5) Subtract, in feet (or meters) of the fluid, any energy lost during flow.
(6) Subtract, in feet (or meters) of the fluid, any energy extracted by mechanical devices, such
as turbines.
(7) Equate this summation of energy to the sum of the pressure head, velocity head, and
elevation head at section 2.
(8) ) If the two velocity heads are unknown, relate them to each other by means of the
equation of continuity.

Prepared by: Engr. Joseph P. Sicadsicad

ENERGY LINE
The energy line is a graphical representation of the energy at each section. With respect
to a chosen datum, the total energy (as a linear value in feet or meters of fluid) can be plotted at
each representative section, and the line so obtained is a valuable tool in many flow problems.
The energy line will slope (drop) in the direction of flow except where energy is added by
mechanical devices.

HYDRAULIC GRADE LINE

The hydraulic grade line lies below the energy line by an amount equal to the velocity
head at the section. The two lines are parallel for all sections of equal cross-sectional area. The
ordinate between the center of the stream and the hydraulic grade line is the pressure head at
the section.

Fluid flow measurements

Device coefficients
coefficient of discharge, c or 𝐶0
it is the ratio of the actual discharge to the theoretical discharge
coefficient of velocity, 𝐶1
it is the ratio of the actual velocity to the theoretical velocity.
coefficient of contraction, 𝐶2
it is the ratio of the area of the stream of jet to the area of the opening.
𝐶 = 𝐶1 𝐶2

• Orifice – an opening having a closed perimeter in a wall or partition used for

measuring flow of fluids.
• Venturi meters – are flow measurement instruments which use a converging
section of pipe to give an increase in the flow velocity and a corresponding
pressure drop from which the flow rate can be deduced.
• Pitot tube – it can be used to measure fluid flow velocity by converting the kinetic
energy in a fluid flow to potential energy.
• Gate – is an opening in a dam or other hydraulic structure.

Prepared by: Engr. Joseph P. Sicadsicad

Examples:
Situation 1:
A gas flows through a square conduit. At one point along the conduit, the conduit sides are 100
mm, the velocity is 7.55 m/s, and the gas’s mass density is (for its particular pressure and
temperature) 1.09 kg/m3. At a second point, the conduit sides are 250 mm, and the velocity is
2.02 m/s. Find the mass flow rate of the gas and its mass density at the second point.

Situation 2:
In a bakery, water enters a mixing chamber at the rate of 150 liters per second through pipe A,
while cooking oil with specific gravity of 0.80 is forced at 30 liters per second through pipe B.
Assuming the liquids are incompressible and form a homogeneous mixture of oil globules in
water, evaluate the density of the mixture in 𝑘𝑔⁄𝑚3 leaving through a pipe C of diameter
300𝑚𝑚.

Situation 3:
A 50mm diameter siphon is drawing oil (s = 0.82) from an oil reservoir, as shown in the figure
below. If the head loss from point 1 to point 2 is 1.50m and from point 2 to point 3 is 2.40m.
a. Find the discharge of oil from the siphon.
b. Determine the oil pressure at point 2.

Situation 5:

Prepared by: Engr. Joseph P. Sicadsicad

Water is issued by a 25 mm diameter nozzle at a rate of 5 m/s. The nozzle is inclined at an angle
of 30° with the horizontal. Neglecting air resistance, determine:
a. The vertical distance from the highest point to the tip of the nozzle
b. The area of the jet at the highest point of the projectile.

Situation 6:
Water enters a motor through a 60 cm diameter pipe under a pressure of 14 kPa. It leaves
through a 90 cm diameter exhaust pipe with a pressure of 4 kPa. A vertical distance of 2.5 m
separates the centers of the two pipes at the points where the measurement of pressures was
taken. If 500 liters of water pass thru the motor, compute the efficiency of the motor if it is
rated at 15 kW.

Situation 7:
During a flow of 500 liters/s, the gage pressure is 68 kPa in the horizontal 300 mm supply line of
a turbine and -40 kPa at a 450 mm section of the draft tube 2 m below the turbine. Estimate
the power output of the turbine under such conditions assuming 85% efficiency.

Situation 8:
A pump draws water from reservoir A and lifts it to reservoir B as shown. The loss of head from
A to 1 is 3 times the velocity head in the 15 cm pipe and the loss of head from 2 to B is 20 times
the velocity head in the 10 cm pipe. Compute the power output of the pump and the pressure
heads at 1 and 2 when the discharge is 20 liters/s.

Situation 9:
The jet from a standard 1.25 cm orifice, in a vertical wall, under a head of 5.50 m, strikes a point
1.50 m horizontally and 12 cm vertically from the jet’s vena contracta, the discharge is 450 liters
in 570 seconds. Find the three coefficients of the orifice.

Situation 10:
A pitot tube with a 90° bend is used to determine the velocity flow of oil (SG = 0.82) in a close
conduit. The pitot tube is open at both ends and is inserted into the flow so that the opening is

Prepared by: Engr. Joseph P. Sicadsicad

directed upstream and the other is directed upwards. The difference between water levels in
the pitot tube and the fluid surface is 80 mm. What is the velocity of flow?

Situation 11:
A sluice gate flows into a horizontal channel as shown in the figure. Determine the flow through
the gate per meter width when y = 1.0 m and d1 = 6m. Assume that the pressure distribution at
sections 1 and 2 to be atmospheric and neglect friction losses in the channel. Use coefficient of
contraction Cc = 0.85 and coefficient of velocity Cv = 0.95.

Prepared by: Engr. Joseph P. Sicadsicad