MIZAN - TEPI UNIVERSITY

College of Engineering and Technology

Department of Mechanical Engineering
Fluid Mechanics MEng2113
Assignment one

By:

Dawit Bekele ID. NO ETR0317/11

Group - I

Submitted to:

Mr. Diriba B.

October 30, 2020

Part –I

Answer the following questions:

(1) What is the fundamental difference between a fluid and a solid?

 The distinction lies with the reaction of the two to an applied shear or tangential stress. A solid
can resist a shear stress by a static deflection; a fluid cannot . Any shear stress applied to a fluid,
no matter how small, will result in motion of that fluid. The fluid moves and deforms
continuously as long as the shear stress is applied. As a corollary, we can say that a fluid at rest
must be in a state of zero shear stress, a state often called the hydrostatic stress condition in
structural analysis.
 Again the distinction is concerning the effect of cohesive forces. A liquid, being composed of
relatively close-packed molecules with strong cohesive forces, tends to retain its volume and will
form a free surface in a gravitational field if unconfined from above. Free-surface flows are
dominated by gravitational effects.
 There are two classes of fluids, liquids and gases. Since gas molecules are widely spaced with
negligible cohesive forces, a gas is free to expand until it encounters confining walls. A gas has
no definite volume, and when left to itself without confinement, a gas forms an atmosphere that
is essentially hydrostatic. Gases cannot form a free surface, and thus gas flows are rarely
concerned with gravitational effects other than buoyancy.
(2) Explain briefly. (a) Streamline, (b) particle path, (c) streak line. Illustrate with a figure.

(a) Streamline:

 A streamline is a line everywhere tangent to the velocity vector at a given instant. It is

instantaneous line and is convenient to calculate mathematically.
 In fluid mechanics the most common mathematical result for visualization purposes is the
streamline pattern.

Fig -1 shows an arbitrary velocity vector. If the elemental

arc length dr of a streamline is to be parallel to V, their
respective components must be in proportion:

Streamline:

The velocities (u, v, w) are known functions of position

and time.
Fig -1. Geometric relations for defining streamline

(b) Pathline:

 A pathline is the actual path traversed by a given fluid particle. It is easier to generate
experimentally by the passage of time.
 The pathline, or displacement of a particle, is defined by integration of the velocity components:

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 Pathline:

Given (u, v, w) as known functions of position and time, the integration is begun at a specified
initial position (x0, y0, z0, t0).

(c) Streakline:

 A streakline is the locus of particles that have earlier passed through a prescribed point and it
can be easily generated experimentally by the passage of time with smoke, dye, or bubble
releases, are very difficult to compute analytically.
(3) Why are gases easier to compress than liquids and solids?
 The atoms or molecules of a gas are very far apart compared to the intermolecular or
interatomic distances in solids and liquids. Solids and liquids are typically about 1000 times as
dense as the same material as a gas. Because they are very far apart, it is easy to squeeze them
a little closer together. Also, there is very little interaction between the atoms or molecules of a
gas, so no forces favor their current separation in favor of being closer or farther apart; that is,
the atoms or molecules don’t experience forces resisting compression, so compression is easy.
 In contrast, both solids and liquids have (relatively) strong intermolecular or interatomic
attractions. Why does that make it hard to compress them is that they are attracted to be as
close as they can be until other forces start to dominate and prevent going any closer. The
electrons from each constitute the outer part of each atom or molecule. As the electrons from
different atoms or molecules get closer and closer, they repel each other more and more
strongly - until this repulsive force balances all attractive forces. (The nuclei are not very
involved at this point because they are deep inside the electron cloud.) So there are strong
forces that resist pushing molecules of solids or liquids any closer together.
(4) Differentiate Newtonian fluids and Non-Newtonian fluids.

(a) Newtonian Fluids:

 A Newtonian fluid's viscosity remains constant, no matter the amount of shear applied for a
constant temperature.
 The applied shear is proportional to the velocity gradient for the common linear fluids. The
constant of proportionality is the viscosity coefficient µ; this resistance law is first postulated by
Sir Isaac Newton in 1687.

Examples:
 Water
 Mineral oil
 Gasoline
 Alcohol

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(b)Non-Newtonian Fluids:

 When shear is applied to non-Newtonian fluids, the viscosity of the fluid changes. They do
not follow the above linear resistance law. The behavior of the fluid can bedescribed one of
four ways:
1. Dilatant - Viscosity of the fluid increases when shear is applied. For example:
 Quicksand
 Cornflour and water
 Silly putty
2. Pseudoplastic - Pseudoplastic is the opposite of dilatant; the more shear applied, the
less viscous it becomes. For example:
 Ketchup
3. Rheopectic - Rheopectic is very similar to dilatant in that when shear is applied, viscosity
increases. The difference here, is that viscosity increase is time dependent. For example:
 Gypsum paste
 Cream
4. Thixotropic - Fluids with thixotropic properties decrease in viscosity when shear is
applied. This is a time dependent property as well. For example:
 Paint
 Cosmetics
 Asphalt
 Glue
(5) The viscosity of liquids decreases with the increase of temperature while the viscosity of gases
increases with the increase of temperature. Explain the reason.

Temperature has a strong effect on viscosity.

 Gas viscosity increases with temperature. Two common approximations are the power law and the
Sutherland law:

where µo is a known viscosity at a known

0
absolute temperature T (usually 273 K). The constants n and S are fit to the data, and both
formulas are adequate over a wide range of temperatures. For air, n ≈ 0.7 and S ≈ 110 K =199oR.

 Liquid viscosity decreases with temperature and is roughly exponential, µ≈ ae-bT; but a better fit is
the empirical result that ln µ is quadratic in 1/T, where T is absolute temperature:

For water, with T0 273.16 K, µ0 0.001792 kg/(m s), suggested

values are a = -1.94, b = -4.80, and c = 6.74, with accuracy about ± 1 percent.

(6) What are the different types of fluid flow? Explain each fluid flows.

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Fluid flow has all kinds of aspects; steady or unsteady, compressible or incompressible, viscous or
nonviscous, and rotational or irrotational, to name a few. Some of these characteristics reflect
properties of the liquid itself, and others focus on how the fluid is moving.

 Fluid evenness: Steady or unsteady flow

Fluid flow can be steady or unsteady, depending on the fluid’s velocity:
 Steady. In steady fluid flow, the velocity of the fluid is constant at any point.
 Unsteady. When the flow is unsteady, the fluid’s velocity can differ between any two points.
 Fluid squeezability: Compressible or incompressible flow
Fluid flow can be compressible or incompressible, depending on whether you can easily compress
the fluid. Liquids are usually nearly impossible to compress, whereas gases (also considered a fluid)
are very compressible. Gases, on the other hand, are very compressible.
 Fluid thickness: Viscous or nonviscous flow
Liquid flow can be viscous or nonviscous . Viscosity is a measure of the thickness of a fluid, and very
gloppy fluids such as motor oil or shampoo are called viscous fluids. Viscosity is actually a measure
of friction in the fluid.
 Fluid spinning: Rotational or irrotational flow
Fluid flow can be rotational or irrotational . If, as you travel in a closed loop, you add up all the
components of the fluid velocity vectors along your path and the end result is not zero, then the
flow is rotational. To test whether a flow has a rotational component, you can put a small object in
the flow and let the flow carry it. If the small object spins, the flow is rotational; if the object doesn’t
spin, the flow is irrotational. Flows that have no apparent rotation can actually be rotational.

Part – II Workout

(1) Two parallel plates, one moving at 4 m/s and the other fixed, are separated by a 5-mm thick layer of
oil of specific gravity 0.80 and kinematic viscosity 1.25 E-4 m2/s. What is the average shear stress in
the oil?

Given:

Velocity of the moving plate v = 4m/s, distance between the plates dy = 5mm = 5*10-3m, specific gravity
SG = 0.8, kinematic viscosity v = 1.25*10-4m2/s

Required:

average shear stress τ =?

Solution:

µ = SGv = 0.80*1.25*10-4m2/s = 0.1kg/m.s

τ =μ ( vt )  τ =0.1 kg /m. s
( 5∗10
4 m/ s
−3
m)
,

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 τ =0.1∗800 pa=80 pa

(2) A capillary tube of a uniform bore is dipped vertically in water which rises by 7 cm in the tube. Find
the radius of the capillary if the surface tension is 70 dynes/cm. g = 9.8 m/s2

Given:

Rise in tube h = 7cm = 7*10-2m , surface tension T = 70 dynes/cm = 70*10-3 N/m, acceleration
due to gravity g = 9.8 m/s2, density of water ρ = 1*103 kg/m3, angle of contact θ
= 00

Required:

Radius of the tube r =?

Solution:

2Tcosθ 2Tcosθ
The raise in tube is given by h = ,  r= ,
rρg hρg

−3 0
2∗70∗10 N /m∗cos 0 0.14∗1
∴r = 2 ,
r= m
−2 3 3
7∗10 m∗1∗10 kg /m ∗9.8 m/ s 686

0.14 −4
r= m=2∗10 m=0.2 m
686

(3) A capillary tube of radius 0.5 mm is immersed in a beaker of mercury. The mercury level inside the
tube is found to be 0.8 cm below the level of the reservoir. Determine the angle of contact between
mercury and glass. Surface tension of mercury = 0.465 N/m and density is 13.6 kg/m3, g = 9.8 m/s2.

Given:

Radius of capillary tube r = 0.5 mm = 0.5*10-3m, level inside tube h= 0.8 cm = 0.8*10-2m, surface
tension of mercury T = 0.465 N/m, density of mercury ρ=13.6∗10 3 kg /m 2 , acceleration
due to gravity g = 10m/s2

Required:

Angle of contact θ=?

Solution:

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h=
2 Tcos θ
rρg
 cosθ=
hrρg
2T
 θ=cos−1 ( hrρg
2T )

( )
−2 −3 3 2 2
0.8∗10 m∗0.5∗10 m∗13.6∗10 kg /m ∗10 m/s
∴ θ=cos−1 ,
2∗0.465 N /m

θ=cos−1 ( 0.544
0.93 )
=cos −1
( 0.58 ) θ=54.5
0