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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Course Organization
Textbook: Fluid Mechanics BY WILEY
Introduction (Chapter 1) / Dimensions, Units
Fluid statics: Fluid is at rest
Fluid mechanics
Fluid dynamics: Fluid is moving
Fluid statics (Chapter 2): Pressure, measurement of pressure, hydrostatic
forces, buoyancy
Fluid dynamics (Chapters 3-5, ): Mass, energy and momentum balances
Applications in Engineering (Chapters 8): Flow in pipes, flow through
porous media
Dimensional analysis and modeling (Chapter 7)

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MCB 2013- FLUID MECH 1

Introduction

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Fluid Mechanics Overview

Fluid Mechanics

Gas
Air, He, Ar, N2,
etc.

Liquid
s

Water, Oils,
Alcohols, etc.

Static
s Fi 0

Stability
Pressure

Dynami
cs Fi 0 , Flows

Buoyancy

Compressible/
Incompressible

Compressibility

Density

Viscosity

Surface

Laminar/

Tension

Turbulent
Steady/Unsteady

Vapor

Viscous/Inviscid

Pressure

Chapter 1:
Introduction
Intoduction

Chapter 2: Fluid
Statics
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Fluid Dynamics:
Rest of Course
1.4

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:
(or primary quantities)

Length, L
Time, T
Mass, M
Temperature, Q
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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Dimensions and Units

Primary
Dimension

British
Gravitational
(BG) Unit

SI Unit

English
Engineering
(EE) Unit

Mass [M]

Kilogram (kg)

Slug

Pound-mass
(lbm)

Length [L]

Meter (m)

Foot (ft)

Foot (ft)

Time [T]

Second (s)

Second (s)

Second (s)

Temperature [Q]

Kelvin (K)

Rankine (R)

Rankine (R)

Force [F]

Newton
(1N=1 kg.m/s2)

Pound (lb)

Pound-force (lbf)

Conversion factors are available in the textbook inside of front cover.

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Units of Force: Newtons 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/s2.
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/s2 when
a force of 1lb is applied on it:

Slug is a derived unit: 1slug=(1lb) (s2)/(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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Characteristics of Fluids

Gas or liquid state

Large molecular spacing relative to a solid
Weak intermolecular cohesive forces
Can not resist a shear stress in a stationary
state
Will take the shape of its container
Generally considered a continuum
Viscosity distinguishes different types of fluids

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Properties of Fluids
Pressure
Pressure in a fluid acts equally in all directions
Pressure in a static liquid increases linearly with depth

p= g h
pressure
increase

increase in
depth (m)

The pressure at a given depth in a continuous, static body of

liquid is constant.
p1
Intoduction

p2

p3

p1 = p2 = p3
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Density
The density of a fluid is defined as its mass per unit
volume. It is denoted by the Greek symbol, .

=
kgm-3

m
V

kg
m3

water= 998 kgm-3

air =1.2kgm-3

If the density is constant (most liquids), the flow is

incompressible.

If the density varies significantly (eg some gas

flows), the flow is compressible.
(Although gases are easy to compress, the flow may be treated as
incompressible if there are no large pressure fluctuations)

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Measures of Fluid Mass and Weight: Density

The density of a fluid is defined as mass per unit

m
volume.

m = mass, and v = volume.

v
Different fluids can vary greatly in density
Liquids densities do not vary much with pressure and
temperature

Gas densities can vary quite a bit with pressure and

temperature
Density of water at 4 C : 1000 kg/m

Density of Air at 4 C : 1.20 kg/m

Alternatively, Specific Volume:

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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

(1.1)

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 Weight

The specific weight of fluid is its weight per unit
volume.

g = local acceleration of gravity, 9.807 m/s2

Specific weight characterizes the weight of the fluid

system
Specific weight of water at 4 C : 9.80 kN/m

Specific weight of air at 4 C : 11.9 N/m

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Measures of Fluid Mass and Weight: Specific Gravity

The specific gravity of fluid is the ratio of the density
of the fluid to the density of water @ 4 C.

SG

H O
2

Gases have low specific gravities

A liquid such as Mercury has a high specific gravity,

13.2
The ratio is unitless.
Density of water at 4 C : 1000 kg/m

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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

Intoduction

H 2O @ 4 C

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Viscosity: Introduction
The viscosity is measure of the fluidity of the fluid which is not
captured simply by density or specific weight. A fluid can not resist a
shear and under shear begins to flow. The shearing stress and shearing
strain can be related with a relationship of the following form for
common fluids such as water, air, oil, and gasoline:

du
dy

is the absolute viscosity or dynamics viscosity of the fluid, u is the

velocity of the fluid and y is the vertical coordinate as shown in the
schematic below:

No Slip
Condition

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Pressure
Pressure is the force per unit area, where the force is
perpendicular to the area.

Nm-2
(Pa)

p=

F
A

N
m2

pa= 105 Nm-2

1psi =6895Pa

This is the Absolute pressure, the pressure compared to

a vacuum.
The pressure measured in your tyres is the gauge pressure,
p-pa.
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Pressure
Pressure in a fluid acts equally in all directions
Pressure in a static liquid increases linearly with depth

p= g h
pressure
increase

increase in
depth (m)

The pressure at a given depth in a continuous, static body of

liquid is constant.
p1
Intoduction

p2

p3

p1 = p2 = p3
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Measuring pressure (1)

Manometers

p1

p2=pa

p1 = px

(negligible pressure
change in a gas)

px = py

(since they are at

the same height)

pz= p2 = pa

py - pz = gh
p1 - pa = gh

liquid
density

So a manometer measures gauge pressure.

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Measuring Pressure (2)

Barometers
A barometer is used to measure
the pressure of the atmosphere.
The simplest type of barometer
consists of a column of fluid.

vacuum

p1 = 0

p2 - p1 = gh

p2 = pa

pa = gh
examples
water: h = pa/g =105/(103*9.8) ~10m
mercury: h = pa/g =105/(13.4*103*9.8)
~800mm
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Intoduction

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Intoduction

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