EAH 221

July 9th

FLUID MECHANICS
for
CIVIL ENGINEERING

Dr H Md Azamathulla
Lecturer,REDAC,
USM
 Solid State Fluid State

Liquids Gases

Physical Properties
FM is the study of
behaviour of fluids,
Behaviour of fluids either at rest
(Fluid Statics) or in motion
(Fluid dynamics)
 Fluid Mechanics

• Fluid Mechanics: the study of forces that

develop when an object moves through a
fluid medium.

• Two fluids of interest

– Water
– Air
Why should study Fluid Mechanics ?

• There are many ways fluids affect our life

for e.g., Fluid Storage Tanks, Water

distribution system in Homes, Systems that
delivers fluids to industrial processes., fluid
power systems, etc.

• This FM course will help you to under stand

how fluids can be controlled.
 Development of FM
• The earlier development in the science of Fluid
Flow has been influenced by two basic schools
of thought.

• One dealing with theoretical aspect and the

other with the practical aspect of fluid flow.

• In 17th Century, mathematicians and

mathematical physicists studied the behaviour of
the ideal fluid.
 Definition of a Fluid
• A fluid is a substance that flows under the action
of shearing forces. If a fluid is at rest, we know
that the forces on it are in balance.
• A gas is a fluid that is easily compressed. It fills
any vessel in which it is contained.
• A liquid is a fluid which is hard to compress. A
given mass of liquid will occupy a fixed volume,
irrespective of the size of the container.
• A free surface is formed as a boundary between
a liquid and a gas above it.
 Density
The density of a fluid is defined as its mass per unit
volume. It is denoted by the Greek symbol, ρ.
kg
ρ water= 998 kgm-3
ρ= m
kgm-3 V m3 ρair =1.2kgm-3

If the density is constant (most liquids), the flow is

incompressible.
If the density varies significantly (eg some gas
flows), the flow is compressible.
(Although gases are easy to compress, the flow may be treated as
incompressible if there are no large pressure fluctuations)
 Pressure
Pressure is the force per unit area, where the force is
perpendicular to the area.
N
F pa= N/m2
p=
Nm-2 A m2
(Pa)

This is the Absolute pressure, the pressure compared to

a vacuum.
The pressure measured in your Car tyres is the gauge
pressure, p-pa.
Pressure in a Fluid
 SHEAR STRESS
• Shear stress, greek letter ζ (tau) , can be
defined as the force required to slide one
unit area layer of a substance over
another.

• ζ = force/area N/ m2 (Pa)
 Shear in Different Fluids
• Shear-stress relations for
different types
of fluids
• Newtonian fluids: linear
relationship
• Slope of line (coefficient of
proportionality) is “viscosity”

dV
τ∝
dy
dV
τ =μ
dy
 Viscosity
• viscosity (μ) can be defined
resistance to flow of a liquid

• Viscosity generally decreases as

temperature increases; (for liquids)
• In case of gases viscosity increases when
temperature increases
 Basic Units
In any Technical work the units in which
physical properties are measured must be
stated.
A system of units specifies the units of the
BASIC quantities of LENGTH, TIME, FORCE,
and MASS.
Length = meter (m)
Time = second (s)
Mass =Kilogram (Kg)
Force = Newton (N) or Kg.m/s2
F = ma
 Different type of units
• The international system of Units (SI)

• FPS system (foot – pound-second)

 Rules & Conversions in Using
SI units
• The equations are often complex, and it is
extremely important that the results be
dimensionally correct.
• They must have their proper units
• Otherwise the answers will have the wrong
numerical value (if units in the equation
are not consistent).
• Unit Cancellation procedure
SI Units for common quantities used in FM

• Quantity Standard SI Units

• Length meter (m)
• Time seconds (s)
• Mass Kilogram (Kg)
• Force or weight Newton (N)
• Energy N-m or Joule (J)
• Power N-m/s or watt
• Volume flow rate (discharge) m3/s
• Specific weight N/m3

• Density Kg/m3
Velocity change (dv) =12 cm/s
dy= 12 cm
Viscosity =10 pa.s
if shear stress = 98 kg/m 2

now check consistency in units?

share stress (tau)=viscosity (mu) * dv/dy
dV What is conversion factor in new equation if Shear stress
τ∝
dy In kg/m2
dV
τ =μ
dy
 Prefix SI symbol Factor
• Giga G 109 = 1000 000 000

• Mega M 106 = 1000 000

• Kilo K 103 = 1000

• Milli m 10 -3 = 0.001

• Micro μ 10-6 = 0.000 001

• Nano n 10 -9 =0.000 000 001

 Specific weight
Specific weight y (gamma-Greek letter)=w/v
Units N/m3
W=m.g

Specific gravity
Specific gravity is the ratio of the density of a substance to the density of
water at 40 C

Specific gravity is the ratio of the specific weight of a substance to the

specific weight of water at 40 C
 Relation between density and specific
weight of water
• Gamma spe. weight=ρg
• g (acceleration due to gravity)
• Also we know spe. Weight =W/V ,
• Now we will multiply both the numerator &
denominator of this equation by g we obtain
spe. Weight =wg/Vg , but m=w/g
so becomes spe. weight=mg/V
We also know ρ =m/V.
spe. Weight = ρg
• Recommended Text Book

• Mott, Applied Fluid Mechanics’, Sixth

edition, Prentice Hall, 2006