Fluid Properties

Jagadeesh L
Fluid is anything whose layers shear each other when it is free to ow. In such a denition, gases, vapors and liquids can be called uids. Just like how the system is considered in thermodynamics, and how properties of the system are essential to determine the state and other parameters of interest, uids properties are essential for uid mechanics, id est, uid statics, uid kinematics and uid dynamics. Though the properties are called Fluid Properties, there wont be much more that that of thermodynamic properties. The basic properties of any uid are discussed below.

Mass-Density

The distribution of mass of the uid in space is indexed by its Mass-Density . Hence the index can be dened as the fractional mass of uid in its unit volume. Or, mathematically, m mass of the uid = = volume of the uid V Note Due to the three important uid properties starting with a v (Volume, specic Volume and Velocity), in order to avoid confusions, volume is assigned with a V, specic volume with a v and velocity with a v .

Specic Volume v

The space occupied by the uid of unit mass under given constraints is called its specic volume. The modier specic denotes that the property is a per mass quantity. Mathematically, Volume of the uid V 1 v= = = Mass of the uid m It is worth noting that the specic volume and mass density of any given uid are inverse-products. i.e., v = 1.

Relative density s

As the name suggests, it is the ratio of the mass-density of any given uid to the mass-density of a standard uid. In engineering, the standard uid for liquids 1

is water and for vapor and gases it is air. In other words, this index suggests if the uid is denser (if greater than 1) or not than the standard uid. Relative density is also often called by an obsolete term, Specic Gravity. s= density of uid density of standard uid

Viscosity

Viscosity is dened as the resistance of a uid to ow. It oers resistance to layers of the uid to move over their adjacent layers. Hence for each layer of uid, a shear stress is created. Recalling that every layer of the uid has its own velocity, Sir Isaac Newton showed that this stress is proportional to the rate of change of the uid velocity with respect the layers position from the base. Thus, for stress developed at a height y from the base for a uid with velocity v (y ), dv dy When the velocity is not just a function of y , and the velocity prole is not linear, the more realistic model is that v = v (x, y, t) and stress = (y ), where x, y are Cartestian co-ordinates and t is time, of suitable units. Then, (y ) v y

The constant of proportionality can be introduced in the above equation. Then, is called the coecient of dynamic viscosity. This is a uid-counterpart of shear modulus in solid mechanics. It has dimensions [Force][Time][Length]2 and hence, N s m2 is its SI unit. The uids that obey the above relation are called Newtonian uids and others are called Non-Newtonian uids. is also a function of temperature. It increases with raise in temperature for gases and vapors, while it decreases with increase in temperature for liquids. The change in can be quantitatively estimated with the following relations: = 0 1 1 + T + T 2 = 0 + T T 2 for liquids and, for gases and vapors

where, and are constants for given uid and T is the temperature in absolute Kelvin.