Lecture 1 Fluids and Fluid Properties

FLUIDS AND
FLUID PROPERTIES
General Concepts
Fluid
• A fluid is any substance that deforms continuously when it
subjected to a tangential stress or shear force. Liquids and gases
are fluids.
The rate at which the fluid deforms continuously depends on the

following:
• (a) the magnitude of the force applied;
• (b) the resistance of the fluid to deformation and flow (viscosity).
General Concepts
Stresses
• Defined as force per unit area, stress is particularly important when
considering a specific surface in contact with the liquid.
Normal stress
• Acting perpendicularly to the surface, normal stress can be tensile or
compressive, depending on whether it tends to stretch or compress
the fluid on which it acts.
Shear stress
• Shear stress (t) acts tangentially to the surface; it is defined as F/A,
where F is the tangential stress and A is the area on which it acts.
General Concepts
General Concepts
Pressure
• In fluids at rest, practically all of which are in a state of compression, the
normal compressive force per unit area of the surface is a stress known as the
pressure.
• For the pressure acting normally on a plane located in the fluid, the value of
pressure at a point is independent of the orientation of such plane.
• For moving fluids, the normal stresses include both a pressure and extra
stresses caused by the motion of the fluid.
• The amount by which a certain pressure exceeds that of the atmosphere is
termed the gauge pressure.
• Absolute pressure equals the gauge pressure plus the atmospheric pressure
General Concepts
Velocity
• Having both a magnitude and a direction, the velocity of fluid at
a point is equal to the rate of change of the position of a fluid
particle with time.
• On a macroscopic viewpoint, variations of the velocity with
position may be ignored; however, it is invariably essential to
consider variations of velocity with position from the microscopic
viewpoint.
General Concepts
• Velocity leads to three fluxes or flow rates. If denotes a uniform
velocity:
(1) If the fluid passes through a perpendicular plane of area A, the
corresponding volumetric flow rate (Q) of fluid through the plane of area
A is Q = uA.
(2) The corresponding mass flow rate is = rQ = ruA, where r is the fluid
density.
(3) When velocity is multiplied by mass it gives momentum: =mu=ρu2 A

Physical and Transport Properties of Fluids
Density
• The density (r) of a fluid is defined as its mass per unit volume,
and indicates its inertia or resistance to an accelerating force.
Specific gravity (s)
Reference fluid
• For liquids Water at 4oC, where r = 1000 kg m-3
• For gases Air at 60oF and 14.7 psia, where r = 0.0759 lbm ft-3
or, air at STP
For natural gas, consisting primarily of CH4 and other hydrocarbons
Densities of liquids
• For liquids, density depends primarily on the particular liquid and, to a much
smaller extent, on its temperature. Density values of pure-component organic and
inorganic liquids and aqueous solutions of organic and inorganic compounds at
different temperatures are given in Perry’s CHE Handbook as follows:
• Densities of pure substances (some liquid)
• Densities of aqueous inorganic solutions
• Densities of aqueous organic solutions
• For most liquids at moderate temperature ranges:
• where ro is the density at a reference temperature To and a is the

coefficient of thermal expansion of the liquid, defined as
Industry-specific methods of expressing gravity
• API scale: Degrees API (American Petroleum Institute)
Industry-specific methods of expressing gravity
• Baume scale: Chemical and related industry
For liquids heavier than water:
For liquids lighter than water:

Densities of gases
• For ideal gas: r = PM/RT
• For nonideal gas: r = PM/ZRT
where: P absolute pressure
M molecular weight of gas
R universal gas constant
T absolute temperature
Z Compressibility factor
Data from Handbook
Table for water
Viscosity
• The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of its resistance to flow under
an applied stress.
Consider the simple shear flow
between parallel plates shown in the
Figure. The system is initially at rest. At
time t = 0, the lower plate is set in
motion in the positive x direction at a
constant velocity V. In time, the fluid
gains momentum, and ultimately the
linear steady-state velocity profile is
established. It is required that the flow
be laminar. At steady-state, a constant
force F is required to maintain the
motion of the lower plate. This force
acting on the area A is
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• The force is proportional to the area and to the velocity, and

inversely proportional to the distance between the plates. The
proportionality constant µ is the property of the fluid, called
viscosity.
The Newton’s Law of Viscosity
• The shear stress tyx, which will replace F/A in equation, is the
force in the x direction on a unit area perpendicular to the y
direction. In addition, V/Y will be replaced by –dvx/dy.
• The equation known as the Newton’s law of viscosity, states that

the shearing force per unit are is proportional to the negative of
the velocity gradient .
Kinematic viscosity (n)
• Also known as momentum diffusivity, kinematic viscosity is
defined as
Dimensions and units of viscosity
• For absolute or dynamic viscosity, µ:
Dimensions: µ [=] M/L T
Units and conversion:
1 Pa.s = 1 kg m-1 s-1
1 poise = 1 P = 1 g cm-1 s-1
1 centipoise = 1 cP = 6.72 x 10-4 lbm ft-1 s-1 = 0.001 kg m-1 s-1
• For kinematic viscosity, n:
Dimensions: n [=] L2 / T
Units and conversion:
1 stokes = 1 St = 1 cm2 s-1
1 centistokes = 1 cSt = 1 x 10-6 m2 s-1
Viscosities of liquids
• A nomograph for
viscosities of
liquids at 1 atm is
given in Figure 2-
32 on page 2- 449
of Perry’s CHE
Handbook. The
coordinates for
use with Figure 2-
32 is given on
page 2-448.
Viscosities of liquids
• The viscosities of liquids can also be approximated using the
following equation:
µ = lnA + BlnT
where T is temperature (in K or oR) and A and B are
parameters, some of which are given in next Table.
The Eyring’s equation
• The simple “hole” model for liquids has been combined with the
theory of absolute reaction rates to yield an expression for the
variation of liquid viscosity with temperature:
where T is the absolute temperature, R is the gas constant, and B

and C are constants that depend upon the liquid under
consideration. The equation should only be used over short
temperature ranges.
• The application of Eyring’s theory allows approximation of the
constant B and C when no viscosity data are available.
where V is the molar volume at temperature T (m3 mol-1), T is the

temperature (K), Tb is the normal boiling point (K) and µ is the
viscosity (kg m-1 s-1).
• This Equation is approximate and is inadequate for polar liquids
and long molecules.
Viscosities of gases
• The viscosity of many gases may also be approximated by the
following formula:
in which T is the absolute temperature, µo is the viscosity at

absolute reference temperature, and n is an empirical constant
that best fits the experimental data. The values of µo at To = 273 K
and n for some gases at 1 atm are given in next Table.
Viscosity rating by SAE (Society of American Engineers)
• SSU (Saybolt Seconds Universal): the time t required for a specific
quantity of liquid to drain out of a tube through an orifice.
From Handbook
For water

Lecture 1 Fluids and Fluid Properties

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FLUIDS AND

The rate at which the fluid deforms continuously depends on the

(3) When velocity is multiplied by mass it gives momentum: =mu=ρu2 A

• where ro is the density at a reference temperature To and a is the

For liquids lighter than water:

• The force is proportional to the area and to the velocity, and

• The equation known as the Newton’s law of viscosity, states that

where T is the absolute temperature, R is the gas constant, and B

where V is the molar volume at temperature T (m3 mol-1), T is the

in which T is the absolute temperature, µo is the viscosity at

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