CHE311P:
Fluid Mechanics I
▪ Chapter 1: Introduction
© Munier Elsherif-PhD University of Tripoli
• Overview
• Velocity Vector Field
• The No-slip Condition
• Fluid Properties:
• Density: 𝜌 Specific gravity: SG
• Specific weight: 𝛾
• Viscosity: μ, 𝑣
• Newton’s Law of Viscosity
• Non-Newtonian fluids
• Laminar and Turbulent Flow
• The Reynolds number
Velocity Field
• Fluid velocity is a vector field
• The velocity vector is a function of position 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧 and time 𝑡 :
𝑽 = 𝐢𝑢 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡 + 𝐣𝑣 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡 + k𝑤 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡
Where 𝑢, 𝑣 and 𝑤 are the velocities in the x, y, and z directions
• If 𝑽 depends on time 𝑡 , the flow is said to be transient or unsteady
No-slip Condition
• One of the most important concepts in fluid
mechanics!
• At a solid surface, fluid “sticks” to the surface
• Experimentally observed fact: Fluid has the same
velocity as a solid surface
• If the surface is stationary: 𝑢 = 0 at 𝑦 = 0
• Thus, at a solid stationary surface:
𝑢 = 𝑣 = 0 (for a solid impermeable surface)
No slip Impermeability
No-slip Condition
• The no-slip condition provides the boundary condition for
mathematical solutions of fluid flow (chapter 4)
No-slip Condition
• Everyday consequences of the no-
slip condition:
• Difficult to getting the last of the
ketchup out of the bottle
• Your care is still dirty after driving
fast. Dust particles are in a low
velocity region due to no-slip
Fluid Properties
Density, 𝜌 Table A.1 Density of liquid water as a
• Mass per unit volume: units’ function of temperature
𝑘𝑔 𝑠𝑙𝑢𝑔
ൗ𝑚3, ൗ𝑓𝑡 3
• Liquids can be considered
incompressible for most
engineering applications
̶ Liquid density is independent of
pressure: 𝜌 ≠ 𝑓(𝑝)
̶ Liquid density is a week function
of temperature (due to thermal
expansion)
Fluid Properties
• Density of gases at high temperature and low pressure (𝑇 >>
𝑇𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 and 𝑃 >> 𝑃𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 ) can be calculated using the ideal gas
equation:
𝑝
𝜌= where R is the gas constant
𝑅𝑇
For air: R = 287 Jൗ𝑘𝑔𝐾
• For example, the density of air at room conditions (𝑝 =
100𝑘𝑃𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑑 20𝑜𝐶)is:
𝑝 100 × 103 𝑁ൗ 2 𝑘𝑔
𝜌= = 𝑚 𝑚 = 1.19 3
𝑅𝑇 287 𝑁𝑚 𝑚 Check that units balance!
20 + 273 𝐾
𝑘𝑔𝐾
R for other gases in Table A.4 Be sure to use absolute temperature
Fluid Properties
• Specific Gravity, SG
• Ratio of the density to the density of water (at 4oC)
𝜌𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝜌𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑
𝑆𝐺𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑 = =
𝜌𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 1000 𝑘𝑔ൗ
𝑚3
• SG is dimensionless, no units
• SG indicates if substance will sink or float on water. If SG is less than 1.0, it
will float, e.g. most oils
Fluid Properties
• Specific Weight, 𝜸
• Weight per unit volume; units Nൗm3, Ibൗft3
γ = 𝜌𝑔
𝑘𝑔 𝑚
e.g. liquid water at 20 oC: 𝜌 = 998 9.81
𝑚3 𝑠2
𝑘𝑔 𝑚
𝛾𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = 998 3 9.81 2 = 9790 𝑁ൗ 3
𝑚 𝑠 𝑚
𝑠𝑙𝑢𝑔 𝑓𝑡
𝛾𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = 1.937 3 32.17 2 = 62.3 𝐼𝑏ൗ 3
𝑓𝑡 𝑠 𝑓𝑡
• We will use these values to calculate hydrostatic forces in chapter 2
Fluid Properties
• Dynamic Viscosity*, 𝜇 (Greek lower-case mu)
• Units, kgൗ(m s), slugൗft s
• Viscosity is the fluid’s resistance to flow, i.e., the resistance to applied shear stress
• High viscosity fluids, e.g., honey, engine oil
• Low viscosity fluids, e.g., water, air
Kinematic Viscosity, 𝑣 (Greek lower-case mu)
2 2 𝜇
• Units, m Τ s or ft Τ s 𝑣=
𝜌
*Note: Some textbooks call 𝜇 absolute viscosity
Fluid Properties
Viscosity
• For most fluids, the shear stress 𝜏 is linearly proportional to the rate
of shear strain of the fluid element
• Shear strain rate is equal to the local velocity gradient
𝑑𝜃 𝑑𝑢 Using arc length formula: 𝛿𝜃𝛿𝑦 = 𝛿𝑢𝛿𝑡
=
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑦
• For most fluids, the
relationship linear:
𝑑𝑢
𝜏~
𝑑𝑦
Fluid Properties
• Dynamic viscosity 𝜇 is the constant of proportionality
𝒅𝒖
𝝉=𝝁
𝒅𝒚
Shear stress Local velocity gradient
N/m2 𝑚/(𝑠. 𝑚) ≡ 1/𝑠
• Sometimes called “Newton’s law of viscosity”
Fluid
Properties
• Dynamic Viscosity, 𝜇
• For common fluids (air water, oils)
viscosity is a constant;
independent of shear rate
• Viscosity 𝜇 is the slope
• Such fluids are called Newtonian
fluids
• In this course, we will assume that
fluids are Newtonian
Fluid
Properties
• Dynamic Viscosity, 𝜇
• Very weak function of pressure
• Viscosity is a function of
temperature
• Viscosity of liquids decrease
as temperature increases
• Viscosity of gasses increase as
temperature increases
Measurement of Dynamic Viscosity 𝝁
• Commercial instruments (~$5000)
measure the torque required to turn a
spindle at a known speed
• Rotary viscometer
• Measures in “Centipoise” (cP)
1 cP=10-3 kg/(m s)
(After Jean Poiseuille, studied blood flow in 1800s)
Bigger spindles are less viscus fluid
• A plate in a machine is lubricated by a film of SAE50W oil at 20
Example: the Viscous oC with thickness t =1.5 mm. The Plate has length L=30 mm
Shear Force and depth w=130 mm (into the page). Calculate the shear
force (F) required to slide the plate at a velocity of V=2.1 m/s.
Solution
• Shear stress in fluid:
𝒅𝒖
𝝉=𝝁 (Engine oil is Newtonian)
𝒅𝒚
𝒅𝒖
• What is the velocity gradient, ?
𝒅𝒚
𝑑𝑢 ∆𝑢 𝑉 − 0 𝑚
2.1 Τ𝑠
= = =
𝑑𝑦 ∆𝑦 𝑡 0.0015𝑚
𝑑𝑢
= 1400 𝑠 −1
𝑑𝑦
Solution
𝑑𝑢
= 1400 𝑠 −1
𝑑𝑦
• Dynamic viscosity of SAE50W oil at 20 0C from Table
𝑘𝑔
A.3: 𝜇 = 0.86
𝑚𝑠
𝑑𝑢 𝑘𝑔 1 𝑘𝑔
𝜏=𝜇 = 0.86 1400 = 1204
𝑑𝑦 𝑚𝑠 𝑠 𝑚 𝑠2
𝑚 𝑁𝑠 2 𝒅𝒖
𝝉=𝝁
• From F=ma: 𝑁≡ 𝑘𝑔 2 𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑔 𝒅𝒚
𝑠 𝑚
Fluid viscosity opposes motion,
• Direction of the fluid shear stress on the plate? acts like “friction”
Solution
𝑑𝑢 𝑘𝑔 𝑁
𝜏 = 𝜇 𝑑𝑦 = 1204 𝑚 𝑠2 = 1204 𝑚2
• This shear stress acts over the surface area of the
plate (at fluid plate interface):
𝐴 = 𝐿𝑤 = 0.03𝑚 0.130𝑚 = 3.9 × 10−3 𝑚2
• Force (F) balances the fluid shear force σ 𝐹 = 0 :
𝐹 = 𝜏𝐴
𝑁
𝐹 = 1204 𝑚2 3.9 × 10−3 𝑚2 = 4.70𝑁 Ans,
Non-Newtonian Fluids
• Some fluids, viscosity depends
on shear rate and/or time
𝒅𝒖 More complex
𝝉≠𝝁 models are required
𝒅𝒚
• Viscosity is not constant
• Such fluids are called non-
Newtonian fluids
• Examples:
̶ Blood is shear thinning
𝒅𝒖
Non-Newtonian Fluids 𝝉≠𝝁
𝒅𝒚
• Examples:
̶ Ketchup is thixotropic (viscosity decreases with time)
̶ Egg whites are rheopectic
• Study of these unusual fluids is called Rheology (beyond current scope)
Corn Starch and Water
• A Non-Newtonian fluid
̶ Recommend trying this a home
Corn Starch and Water
• What does the shear stress-
velocity gradient curve look like?
• What type of non-Newtonian
fluid is corn starch and water
• Viscosity increases with shear
rate: Dilatant
Laminar & Turbulent Flows
• In turbulent flow, fluid “particles” move in
irregular paths
• The velocity at a fixed point varies randomly
(turbulent flow is a stochastic process; requiring
statistical analysis)
• Enhanced convective heat transfer good mixing
• Turbulent flows are most common
• While there are some good engineering models,
turbulence remains an unsolved problem in
modern physics
Video: Turbulent Jet flow
Laminar & Turbulent Flows
• In laminar flow, the fluid “particles” move along
smooth paths (from laminate, meaning thin
layers)
• Velocity at a point is constant in steady flow
• Laminar flow occurs a low fluid velocities, over
small objects or in highly viscous fluids
• Fluids viscosity dampens out the eddies (vortices
associated with turbulent flow
Video: Laminar flow over inclined airfoil
Transition from Laminar to turbulent Flow
• The character of a flow, laminar or turbulent, depends
mainly upon a dimensionless parameter called the
Reynolds number (Re):
𝝆𝑽𝑫
𝑹𝒆 = (e.g., Re<2300 laminar pipe flow)
𝝁
𝝆 Fluid density
𝝁 Fluid viscosity
𝑽 Fluid velocity
𝝆 pipe diameter
• You will learn more about the Reynolds number, later in this
course (and in lab 2 if you are a chemical engineer)
• We will show this famous results in Chapter 5
Osborne Reynolds (1842-1912
Irish a pioneer in fluid dynamics
