Nature of Fluids

A fluid is a substance which undergoes continuous deformation when subjected

to a shear stress.
A
F
= t
Shear stress, t:
Within the fluid, a linear velocity profile is established
due to no-slip condition:
|
.
|

\
|
=
H
y
V u
Velocity gradient (a.k.a. shear rate):
dy
du
=

Viscosity:

=
Note(s) on VISCOSITY:
ABSOLUTE VISCOSITY () or shear viscosity

SI unit kg/ms or Pas
cgs unit poise (P)
1 Pas = 10 P = 1000 cP = 0.672 lb
m
/fts

KINEMATIC VISCOSITY (v)





SI unit m
2
/s
cgs unit stoke (S)
1 S = 1 cm
2
/s

v =
RHEOLOGY
RHEOLOGY is the discipline of fluid mechanics which studies the relationship between
fluid deformation and stress.

Classification of fluids:

1. PURELY VISCOUS fluids without any solid-like elastic behavior which do not undergo
any reverse deformation when shear stress is removed. Here the shear stress depends
(only) on the extent of deformation (strain).
1.1 TIME-INDEPENDENT FLUIDS
Newtonian viscosity varies with shear rate
Dilatant shear-thickening fluid; show increasing viscosity with increasing shear rate
Shear-thinning (pseudoplastic) show decreasing viscosity with increasing shear rate
Bingham plastic requires finite stress before continuous deformation occurs
1.2 TIME-DEPENDENT FLUIDS
Thixotropic show decreasing shear stress with time at constant shear rate
Rheopectic show increasing shear stress with time at constant shear rate

2. VISCOELASTIC fluids which exhibit both viscous and elastic properties
Rheograms for Time-independent Fluids
n
dy
du
K
|
|
.
|

\
|
= t
Power law model
Newtonian n = 1
Shear-thinning n < 1
Dilatant n > 1
Bingham plastic
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ =
dy
du
y
t t
Examples of Time-dependent Fluids
Thixotropic show decreasing shear stress with time at
constant shear rate
Mayonnaise
Clay suspensions used as drilling muds
Some paints and inks

Rheopectic show increasing shear stress with time at
constant shear rate
Gypsum suspension in water
Sols (e.g., bentonite, vanadium pentoxide)
Polyester solutions

Viscoelastic Fluids
These are fluids which exhibit elastic recovery from
deformation when stress is removed.

Relaxation time a property of viscoelastic fluids, which
is a measure of the time required for elastic effects to
decay.

Deborah number the ratio of the characteristic
relaxation time of the fluid to the characteristic time
scale of the flow.
Correlations for Viscosity (for LIQUIDS)
RT
B
Ce =
Method 1
Method 2 (Hsu et al., 2002) / Eq. 2-97 ChE HB

= = = =
|
.
|

\
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ + + =
|
.
|

\
|

N
i
c
N
i
i
N
i
i
N
i
i i
bar
P
d c
T
b T a
s mPa
1 1 1
2
1
ln
1
ln

The constants a, b, c and d are group contributions (Table 2-
356 ChE HB).