Prof.

Saad Benmansour

Introduction
Fluid properties and definitions
A fluid is defined as a substance that deforms continuously when acted on by a shearing stress of any
magnitude. A shearing stress (force per unit area) is created whenever a tangential force acts on a surface.
In another words, it is a material in which the application of any shear stress (no matter how small) will
cause motion.
A fluid is either a gas or a liquid.
The broad subject of fluid mechanics can be generally subdivided into fluid statics, in which the fluid is at
rest, and fluid dynamics, in which the fluid is moving.
Before studying these subjects, it is necessary to define and discuss certain fluid properties that are
intimately related to fluid behaviour.

Density:

The specific volume, , is the volume per unit mass and is therefore the reciprocal of the density that is :

Specific Weight :
The air density can be obtained from the ideal gas law expressed as:

Viscosity :
It is defined as:

Newtonians fluids obey this law.

Variation of shearing stress rate for several types of fluids, including common non-Newtonian fluids

Variation of viscosity with temperature

Prof. Saad Benmansour

--For gases the Sutherland equation can be expressed as:

where C and S are empirical constants, and T is absolute temperature.

--For liquids an empirical equation that has been used is:

where D and B are constants and T is absolute temperature.

The kinematic viscosity is denoted with the Greek symbol :
in m2/s

Compressibility of Fluids (Compression and Expansion of Gases)

For isothermal process:

For isentropic process:

For incompressible fluids ( ex. Water) the density is constant

Speed of Sound
( Ideal

gas law)

Reynolds number Re= VL / = V L/

It gives the nature of the flow or the transition from laminar to turbulent flow.
In a pipe L = D and Re critical= 2100-2300

Specific gravity SG
It is defined as:
SG= fluid / water

Pressure P
It is defined as:
P = F/A where F is a force and A the area . The unit of pressure is Pascal = Pa = 1N/m2

Volumetric flow rate Q

It is defined as

Q=VA

unit= m3/s

Mass flow rate

It is defined as m = VA

unit Kg/s

Vapor Pressure
It is a common observation that liquids such as water and gasoline will evaporate if they are simply placed
in a container open to the atmosphere.
Evaporation takes place because some liquid molecules at the surface have sufficient momentum to
overcome the intermolecular cohesive forces and escape into the atmosphere.
If the container is closed with a small air space left above the surface, and this space evacuated to form a
vacuum, a pressure will develop in the space as a result of the vapor that is formed by the escaping
molecules. When an equilibrium condition is reached so that the number of molecules leaving the surface
is equal to the number entering, the vapor is said to be saturated and the pressure that the vapour exerts on
the liquid surface is termed the vapor pressure.

Prof. Saad Benmansour