Dr.

Qais Bu-Ali

Fluid Mechanics
CHENG 214

CHAPTER 2

Properties of Fluids

1 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

MAIN TOPICS
2–1 INTRODUCTION
2–2 DENSITY AND SPECIFIC GRAVITY

2 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

What is meant by:

• Property
• Intensive property
• extensive property
• specific property

3 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–1 INTRODUCTION
• Any characteristic of a system
is called a property.

• Some familiar properties are

pressure P, temperature T,
volume V, and mass m.

• Intensive properties are

those that are independent of
the mass of the system.

4 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–1 INTRODUCTION
• Extensive properties are
those whose values depend on
the size—or extent—of the
system.

• Extensive properties per

unit mass are called specific
properties.

5 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

What is meant by:

• Density
• Specific volume
• Specific gravity
• Specific weight

6 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–2 DENSITY AND SPECIFIC GRAVITY

• Density is defined as mass per unit volume:

• The reciprocal of
density is the specific
volume, which is
defined as volume per
unit mass.

7 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–2 DENSITY AND SPECIFIC GRAVITY

• The specific gravity, or
relative density, and is
defined as the ratio of the
density of a substance to the
density of some standard
substance at a specified
temperature (usually water at
4°C, for which H2O = 1000
kg/m3).

8 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–2 DENSITY AND SPECIFIC GRAVITY

• The weight of a unit volume of a substance is
called specific weight, or weight density, and is
expressed as:

9 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

Density of Ideal Gases

• Any equation that relates the pressure,
temperature, and density (or specific volume) of a
substance is called an equation of state.

10 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

Density of Ideal Gases

• The simplest equation of state is called the ideal-gas
equation of state, or simply the ideal-gas relation,
and a gas that obeys this relation is called an ideal
gas:

11 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

Density of Ideal Gases

12 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

Density of Ideal Gases

• The thermodynamic temperature scale in the SI
is the Kelvin scale, and the temperature unit on
this scale is the kelvin, designated by K.

• In the English system, it is the Rankine scale,

and the temperature unit on this scale is the
rankine, R.

13 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

Density of Ideal Gases

• Various temperature scales are related to each
other by:

14 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

Density of Ideal Gases

EXAMPLE 2–1 Density, Specific Gravity,
and Mass of Air in a Room

Determine the density, specific

gravity, and mass of the air in
a room whose dimensions are
4m X 5m X 6m at 100 kPa and
25°C.

15 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

MAIN TOPICS
2–3 VAPOR PRESSURE AND
CAVITATION

16 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

What is meant by:

• Saturation pressure
• Saturation temperature
• Vapor pressure
• Partial pressure

17 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–3 VAPOR PRESSURE AND

CAVITATION
• Temperature and pressure are dependent
properties for pure substances during phase-
change processes.
• at a given temperature, the pressure at which a
pure substance changes phase is called the
saturation pressure Psat.
• At a given pressure, the temperature at which a
pure substance changes phase is called the
saturation temperature Tsat.
18 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–3 VAPOR PRESSURE AND

CAVITATION
• The vapor pressure Pv of a pure substance is
defined as the pressure exerted by its vapor in phase
equilibrium with its liquid at a given temperature.

• Partial pressure is defined as the pressure of

a gas or vapor in a mixture with other gases.

19 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–3 VAPOR PRESSURE AND

CAVITATION
• Vapor pressure increases
with temperature.

• A substance at higher
pressure boils at higher
temperature.

20 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–3 VAPOR PRESSURE AND

CAVITATION
• The reason for the interest in vapor pressure is
the possibility of the liquid pressure in liquid-flow
systems dropping below the vapor pressure at
some locations, and the resulting unplanned
vaporization.
• For example, water at 10 °C may vaporize and
form bubbles at locations (such as the tip regions of
impellers or suction sides of pumps) where the
pressure drops below 1.23 kPa.
21 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–3 VAPOR PRESSURE AND

CAVITATION
• The vapor bubbles (called cavitation bubbles
since they form “cavities” in the liquid) collapse as
they are swept away from the low pressure regions,
generating highly destructive, extremely high-
pressure waves.

22 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–3 VAPOR PRESSURE AND

CAVITATION
• This phenomenon, is called cavitation, and it is
an important consideration in the design of hydraulic
turbines and pumps.
• Cavitation must be avoided
(or at least minimized) in most
flow systems since it reduces
performance, generates
annoying vibrations and noise,
and causes damage to
equipment.
23 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–3 VAPOR PRESSURE

AND CAVITATION
EXAMPLE 2–2 Minimum
Pressure to Avoid
Cavitation
In a water distribution
system, the temperature of
water is observed to be as
high as 30°C. Determine
the minimum pressure
allowed in the system to
avoid cavitation.
24 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–3 VAPOR PRESSURE AND

CAVITATION
EXAMPLE 2–2 Minimum Pressure to Avoid
Cavitation
In a water distribution system, the temperature of
water is observed to be as high as 30°C.
Determine the minimum pressure allowed in the
system to avoid cavitation.

25 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

MAIN TOPICS
2–6 VISCOSITY

26 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

What is Newton’s first law

of motion?
What is Newton’s second
law of motion?
What is Newton’s third law
of motion?
27 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

Newton's First Law of Motion:

An object at rest will remain at rest unless
acted on by an unbalanced force. An object in
motion continues in motion with the same
speed and in the same direction unless acted
upon by an unbalanced force.
This law is often called
"the law of inertia ."

28 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

Newton's Second Law of Motion:

Acceleration is produced when a force acts on a

mass. The greater the mass (of the object being
accelerated) the greater the amount of force needed
to accelerate the object.

29 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

Newton's Third Law of Motion:

For every action there is an equal and

opposite re-action .

30 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
• There is a property that represents the internal
resistance of a fluid to motion or the “fluidity,” and
that property is the viscosity.

31 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
• Consider a fluid layer between two very large
parallel plates separated by a distance L.
• Now a constant parallel force F is applied to the
upper plate while the lower plate is held fixed.

What will happen?

32 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
• Consider a fluid layer between two very large
parallel plates separated by a distance L.
• Now a constant parallel force F is applied to the
upper plate while the lower plate is held fixed.

• It is observed that
the upper plate moves
continuously under the
influence of this force at
a constant velocity V.

33 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
• The fluid in contact with the upper plate sticks to the
plate surface and moves with it at the same velocity.

• The shear stress  acting on this fluid layer is:

where A is the contact

area between the plate
and the fluid.
34 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
• The fluid in contact with the lower plate assumes
the velocity of that plate, which is zero (because of
the no-slip condition).
• In steady laminar flow, the
fluid velocity between the
plates varies linearly between 0
and V, and thus the velocity
gradient (deformation rate)
is:

College of Engineering
35
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
• it can be verified experimentally that
for most fluids the velocity gradient is
directly proportional to the shear stress :

• Fluids for which the velocity gradient is proportional

to the shear stress are called Newtonian fluids after
Sir Isaac Newton, who expressed it first in 1687.

• Most common fluids such as water, air, gasoline,

and oils are Newtonian fluids.

36 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
• Shear stress can be expressed by the linear
relationship:

where the constant of proportionality  is called

the coefficient of viscosity or the dynamic (or
absolute) viscosity of the fluid.

37 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

What is the unit of

viscosity?

38 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
• The viscosity unit is kg/m·s, or equivalently, N·s/m2
(or Pa.s where Pa is the pressure unit pascal).

• A common viscosity unit is poise, which is

equivalent to 0.1 Pa.s (or centipoise, which is one-
hundredth of a poise).

• The viscosity of water at 20°C is 1 centipoise,

and thus the unit centipoise serves as a useful
reference.

39 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

Jean Louis Marie Poiseuille

Poiseuille was born in Paris,
France, and he died there on
December 26, 1869.
He was trained in physics and
mathematics. He was
interested in the flow of human
blood in narrow tubes.

40 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

Jean Louis Marie Poiseuille

The poise, the unit of viscosity
in the CGS system, was named
after him.

41 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
• A plot of shear stress
versus the rate of
deformation (velocity
gradient) for a Newtonian
fluid is a straight line
whose slope is the
viscosity of the fluid.

42 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY

How to calculate the shear force?

• The shear force acting on a Newtonian fluid
layer (or, by Newton’s third law, the force acting on
the plate) is:

where again A is the contact area between the plate

and the fluid.
43 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
• Then the force F required to move the upper
plate at a constant velocity of V while the lower
plate remains stationary is:

44 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
• For non-
Newtonian fluids, the
relationship between
shear stress and
rate of deformation
is not linear.

• The slope of the curve on the  versus du/dy

chart is referred to as the apparent viscosity of
the fluid.
45 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY

• Fluids for which

the apparent
viscosity increases
with the rate of
deformation are
referred to as
dilatant or shear
thickening fluids.

46 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY

• Fluids for which

the apparent
viscosity decreases
with the rate of
deformation are
referred to as
pseudoplastic or
shear thinning
fluids.

47 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
• Some materials
can resist a finite
shear stress and thus
behave as a solid, but
deform continuously
when the shear stress
exceeds the yield
stress and behave as
a fluid.
• Such materials are referred to as Bingham
plastics.
48 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
• In fluid mechanics and heat transfer, the ratio of
dynamic viscosity to density appears frequently.

• For convenience, this ratio is given the name

kinematic viscosity  and is expressed as:

=

What is the unit of kinematic viscosity?

49 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
• In fluid mechanics and heat transfer, the ratio of
dynamic viscosity to density appears frequently.

• For convenience, this ratio is given the name

kinematic viscosity  and is expressed as:

=

• Two common units of kinematic viscosity are
m2/s and stoke (1 stoke 1 cm2/s 0.0001 m2/s).

50 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

Sir George Stokes

Sir George Gabriel Stokes,
(13 August 1819 – 1
February 1903), was a
mathematician, physicist,
politician and theologist.

51 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

Sir George Stokes

Stokes made important
contributions to fluid
dynamics (including the
Navier–Stokes equations),
optics, and mathematical
physics (including the first
version of what is now
known as Stokes' theorem).
He was secretary, then
president, of the Royal
Society.
52 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
• For liquids, both the dynamic and kinematic
viscosities are practically independent of pressure,
and any small variation with pressure is usually
disregarded, except at extremely high pressures.

• The viscosity of liquids decreases with temperature.

53 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
• For gases the dynamic
viscosity is independent of
pressure (at low to moderate
pressures).
• The viscosity of gases
increases with temperature.

• The kinematic viscosity is

affected by the pressure since the
density of a gas is proportional to
its pressure.
54 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

The viscosity of
liquids decreases
with increasing
temperature while
that of gases
increasing with
increasing
temperature.
Why?
55 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
• Viscosity is caused by the cohesive forces
between the molecules in liquids and by the
molecular collisions in gases, and it varies greatly
with temperature.
• In a liquid the molecules possess more energy at
higher temperatures, and they can oppose the
large cohesive intermolecular forces more strongly.

• As a result, the energized liquid molecules can

move more freely.

56 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
• In a gas, the
intermolecular forces are
negligible, and the gas
molecules at high
temperatures move randomly
at higher velocities.
• This results in more
molecular collisions per
unit volume per unit time
and therefore in greater
resistance to flow.
57 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
• Torque is the tendency of a force to rotate an
object about an axis. In other words, torque is a
measure of the turning force on an object.

• Torque is calculated by:

T = FR
where F is the force and R is the moment arm.

58 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
• The angular velocity of a particle traveling on
a circular path is the ratio of the angle traversed
to the amount of time it takes to traverse that
angle i.e., it is simply a measure of the angular
displacement per unit time.

• The relation between the angular velocity and

the tangential velocity is:

V = R
59 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
• Surface area = circumference X height

A = 2 RL

60 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY

• Consider a fluid layer of

thickness l within a small
gap between two
concentric cylinders, such
as the thin layer of oil in a
journal bearing.

61 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY

• Consider a fluid layer of

thickness l within a small
gap between two
concentric cylinders, such
as the thin layer of oil in a
journal bearing.

62 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
• taking the wetted surface area
of the inner cylinder to be A=2RL
by disregarding the shear stress
acting on the two ends of the inner
cylinder, torque can be expressed
as:

63 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY

where L is the length of the cylinder

and n is the number of revolutions per
unit time, which is usually expressed
in rpm (revolutions per minute).

• Note that the angular distance traveled during one

rotation is 2 rad, and thus the relation between the
angular velocity in rad/min and the rpm is =2n.
64 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
EXAMPLE 2–4 Determining the Viscosity of a Fluid
The viscosity of a fluid is to be
measured by a viscometer
constructed of two 40-cm-long
concentric cylinders. The outer
diameter of the inner cylinder is 12
cm, and the gap between the two
cylinders is 0.15 cm. The inner
cylinder is rotated at 300 rpm, and the
torque is measured to be 1.8 N.
Determine the viscosity and the type
of the fluid.
65 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
Solution The torque and the rpm of a double
cylinder viscometer are given. The viscosity of the
fluid is to be determined.
Assumptions
1- The inner cylinder is completely submerged in the
fluid.
2- The viscous effects on the two ends of the inner
cylinder are negligible.

66 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
Analysis The velocity profile is linear only when the
curvature effects are negligible, and the profile can
be approximated as being linear in this case
since l/R=0.025<<1. Solving Eq. 2–34 for viscosity
and substituting the given values, the viscosity of the
fluid is determined to be:

67 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY

68 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
The slid shown in the figure slides along on a thin horizontal layer of
water between the ice and the runners. The horizontal force that the water
puts on the runners is equal to 5.3 N when the sled’s speed is 15 m/s. The
total area of both runners in contact with the water is 0.007 m2, and the
viscosity of the water is 168 X 10-5 N·s/m2. Determine the thickness of the
water layer under the runners.

69 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
The slid shown in the figure slides along on a thin horizontal layer of
water between the ice and the runners. The horizontal force that the water
puts on the runners is equal to 5.3 N when the sled’s speed is 15 m/s. The
total area of both runners in contact with the water is 0.007 m2, and the
viscosity of the water is 168 X 10-5 N·s/m2. Determine the thickness of the
water layer under the runners. Assume a linear velocity distribution in the
water layer.

70 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY

71 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
Solution A thin flat plate is pulled horizontally through
an oil layer sandwiched between two plates, one
stationary and the other moving at a constant velocity.
The location in oil where the velocity is zero and the
force that needs to be applied on the plate are to be
determined.

72 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
Assumptions

1 The thickness of the plate is negligible.

2 The velocity profile in each oil layer is linear.

73 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
Properties

The absolute viscosity of oil is given to be  = 0.027

Pas = 0.027 Ns/m2.

74 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY
Analysis (a) The velocity profile in each oil layer relative to the
fixed wall is as shown in the figure below. The point of zero
velocity is indicated by point A, and its distance from the lower
plate is determined from geometric considerations (the similarity
of the two triangles in the lower oil layer) to be:

75 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Qais Bu-Ali

2–6 VISCOSITY

76 College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
Consider a 30-cm-long journal
bearing that is lubricated with oil
whose viscosity is 0.1 kg/m.s at 20°C
at the beginning of operation and
0.008 kg/m.s at the anticipated
steady operating temperature of
80°C. The diameter of the shaft is 8
cm, and the average gap between the
shaft and the journal is 0.08 cm.
Determine the torque needed to
overcome the bearing friction initially
and during steady operation when
the shaft is rotated at 500 rpm.

College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering


A 25 mm diameter shaft is pulled through a cylindrical

bearing as shown in the figure below. The lubricant that fills
the 0.3 mm gap between the shaft and bearing is an oil
having a kinematic viscosity of 8.010-4 m2/s and a specific
gravity of 0.91. Determine the shear stress and the force P
required to pull the shaft at a velocity of 3 m/s. Assume the
velocity distribution in the gap is linear.
College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering