Introduction to Fluid Mechanics

• Fluid Mechanics is concerned with the behavior of fluids at rest and in

motion

• Distinction between solids and fluids:

– According to our experience: A solid is “hard” and not easily
deformed. A fluid is “soft” and deforms easily.
– Fluid is a substance that alters its shape in response to any force
however small, that tends to flow or to conform to the outline of its
container, and that includes gases and liquids and mixtures of solids
and liquids capable of flow.
– A fluid is defined as a substance that deforms continuously when
acted on by a shearing stress of any magnitude.

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 Introduction
Fluid statics: Fluid is at rest
Fluid mechanics
Fluid dynamics: Fluid is moving

 Fluid statics: Pressure, measurement of pressure, hydrostatic

forces, buoyancy
 Fluid dynamics: Mass, energy and momentum balances
 Applications in Engineering: Flow in pipes, turbo machines,
flow over immersed bodies, flow through porous media
 Dimensional analysis and modeling

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 Dimensions and Units
In fluid mechanics we must describe various fluid characteristics
in terms of certain basic quantities such as length, time and mass
• A dimension is the measure by which a physical variable is expressed
qualitatively, i.e. length is a dimension associated with distance, width,
height, displacement.
 Basic dimensions: Length, L
(or primary quantities) Time, T
Mass, M
Temperature, 
 We can derive any secondary quantity from the primary quantities
i.e. Force = (mass) x (acceleration) : F = M L T-2

• A unit is a particular way of attaching a number to the qualitative

dimension: Systems of units can vary from country to country, but
dimensions do not
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 Operations with Units
• Only add and subtract numbers with the same associated
units
2 kg + 3 m Invalid
• If the dimensions are the same but the units differ,
first convert to a common set of units
1 lb + 400 g Invalid
1 lb + 400 g 1 lb + 0.88 lb = 1.88 lb Valid
• You can multiply and/or divide unlike units, but you
cannot cancel units unless they are the same
3 kg 3 kg 30 kg
Valid  
(100 g) ( 2 m) (0.1 kg)(1 m) m

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 Dimensions and Units
British English
Primary
SI Unit Gravitational Engineering (EE)
Dimension
(BG) Unit Unit
Pound-mass
Mass [M] Kilogram (kg) Slug
(lbm)

Length [L] Meter (m) Foot (ft) Foot (ft)

Time [T] Second (s) Second (s) Second (s)

Temperature [] Kelvin (K) Rankine (°R) Rankine (°R)

Newton
Force [F] Pound (lb) Pound-force (lbf)
(1N=1 kg.m/s2)

 Conversion factors are available in the front page of many text books.
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 Units of Force: Newton’s Law F=m.g

• SI system: Base dimensions are Length, Time, Mass, Temperature

 A Newton is the force which when applied to a mass of 1 kg
produces an acceleration of 1 m/s 2.
 Newton is a derived unit: 1N = (1Kg) .(1m/s2)
• BG system: Base dimensions are Length, Force, Time, Temperature
 A slug is the mass which produces an acceleration of 1 ft/s 2 when
a force of 1lb is applied on it:
 Slug is a derived unit: 1slug=(1lb) (s 2)/(ft)
• EE system: Base dimensions are Length, Time, Mass, Force and
Temperature
 The pound-force (lbf) is defined as the force which accelerates
1pound-mass (lbm), 32.174 ft/s2.
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 Units of Force – EE system
To make Newton’s law dimensionally consistent we must include a dimensional
proportionality constant:
g
F  m
gc
where

(lb m )(ft )
g c  32.1740
(lbf )(s) 2

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 Dimensional Homogeneity

• All theoretically derived equations are dimensionally homogeneous: dimensions of

the left side of the equation must be the same as those on the right side.
– Some empirical formulas used in engineering practice are not dimensionally
homogeneous

• All equations must use consistent units: each term must have the same units.
Answers will be incorrect if the units in the equation are not consistent. Always chose
the system of units prior to solving the problem

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 Properties of Fluids
 Fundamental approach: Study the behavior of individual molecules
when trying to describe the behavior of fluids
 Engineering approach: Characterization of the behavior by considering
the average, or macroscopic, value of the quantity of interest, where the
average is evaluated over a small volume containing a large number of
molecules

Treat the fluid as a CONTINUUM: Assume that all the fluid

characteristics vary continuously throughout the fluid

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 Measures of Fluid Mass and Weight
• Density of a fluid, (rho), is the amount of mass per unit volume of a substance:
=m/V
  ( P, T )
– For liquids, weak function of temperature and pressure
– For gases: strong function of T and P

from ideal gas law:  = P MR T

where R = universal gas constant, M=mol. weight

R= 8.314 J/(g-mole K)=0.08314 (liter bar)/(g-mole K)=

0.08206 (liter atm)/(g-mole K)=1.987 (cal)/(g-mole K)=
10.73 (psia ft3)/(lb-mole °R)=0.7302 (atm ft3)/(lb-mole °R)

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 Measures of Fluid Mass and Weight

• Specific volume: =1/

• Specific weight is the amount of weight per unit volume of a substance:

=w/V=g

• Specific Gravity (independent of system of units)


SG 
 H 2 O @ 4 C

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 Pressure

Pressure is defined as the amount of force exerted on a unit area of a substance:

P=F/A

Pascal’s Laws
Pascals’ laws:
Pressure acts uniformly in all directions on a small volume (point) of a
fluid
In a fluid confined by solid boundaries, pressure acts perpendicular to
the boundary – it is a normal force.
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 Direction of fluid pressure on
boundaries

Furnace duct Pipe or tube

Heat exchanger

Pressure is due to a Normal Force

(acting perpendicular to
the surface)
It is also called a Surface Force

Dam

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 Absolute and Gauge Pressure
• Gauge pressure: Pressure expressed as the difference
between the pressure of the fluid and that of the surrounding
atmosphere.
 Usual pressure gauges record gauge pressure. To calculate
absolute pressure:

Pabs = Patm + Pgauge

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 Units for Pressure

Unit Definition or Relationship

1 pascal (Pa) 1 kg m-1 s-2

1 bar 1 x 105 Pa

1 atmosphere (atm) 101,325 Pa

1 torr 1 / 760 atm

760 mm Hg 1 atm

14.696 pounds per sq. in. (psi) 1 atm

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 Pressure distribution for a fluid at rest
We will determine the pressure distribution in a fluid at rest in which the only body force
acting is due to gravity
 The sum of the forces acting on the fluid must equal zero
 Consider an infinitesimal rectangular fluid element of dimensions x, y, z

x
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 Pressure distribution for a fluid at rest

Let Pz and Pz+z denote the pressures at the base and top of the cube, where
the elevations are z and z+z respectively.
-Force at base of cube: Pz A=Pz (x y)
-Force at top of cube: Pz+z A= Pz+z (x y)
-Force due to gravity: m g=V g =  (x y z) g
A force balance in the z direction gives:

Pz  z  Pz
 g
z

For an infinitesimal element (z0)

dP
  g
dz
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 Incompressible fluid
Liquids are incompressible i.e. their density is assumed to be constant

P2  P1  g( z 2  z1 )

When we have a liquid with a free surface the pressure P at any depth
below the free surface is:

P  gh  Po where Po is the pressure at the free surface

(Po=Patm) and h = zfree surface - z

By using gauge pressures we can simply write:

P  gh
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 Examples

SG= 13.6

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Solution:
1.1

1.2

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1.3

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 Example 1: 5.6m3 of oil weighs 46 800 N. Find its mass density, and
relative density, g.

Example 2: In a fluid the velocity measured at a distance of 75mm from the boundary is
1.125m/s. The fluid has absolute viscosity 0.048 Pa s and relative density 0.913. What
is the velocity gradient and shear stress at the boundary assuming a linear velocity
distribution.

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 Solution 1: Weight 46 800 = mg
Mass m = 46 800 / 9.81 = 4770.6 kg
Mass density  = Mass / volume = 4770.6 / 5.6 = 852 kg/m 3
Relative density

Solution 2
 = 0.048 Pa s
 = 0.913

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