Fluid Mechanics

Topic: Fluid Resistance, Laminar and Turbulent Flows in closed conduits.

Lecturer: Engr. Dr. Innocent O. Arukalam (Department of Polymer &
Textile Engineering)

Learning Outcomes
At the end of the lecture, students should be able to
 interpret and measure fluid resistance.
 define laminar and turbulent flow by using the Reynold’s number.
 derive mathematical expressions for the analysis of laminar and turbulent
fluids flow.
 learn about unsteady flows.
What is a fluid?
A fluid is a substance that flows when subjected to a shearing stress. A fluid
may be a liquid or a gas, and it offers resistance to a change of shape. Thus,
fluid mechanics is the study of the flow of gases and liquids. It is the science
that deals with fluids at rest and in motion.
Liquid and gas are distinguished as follows:
•A gas completely fills the space in which it is contained; a liquid usually has a
free surface.
•A gas is a fluid which can be compressed relatively easily and is often treated
as such; a liquid can be compressed only with difficulty.
Type of Fluid
Fluids can be classified according to their behaviours under stress as Newtonian
fluids or non-Newtonian fluids.
Newtonian fluids
These are fluids which obey Newton’s law of viscosity that says the shear stress
is directly proportional to shear rate or velocity gradient.
δV
τα (1)
δy

τ =ηγ (2)
 τ (N/mm2)

γ (s-1)

Examples of common Newtonian fluids include water, gasoline, ethanol, etc.

Non-Newtonian Fluids
These are fluids which do not obey Newton’s law of viscosity. There are
different categories of non-Newtonian fluids: time-independent fluids, time-
dependent fluids and plastic fluids.
Furthermore, the time-independent fluids are subdivided into two – dilatant
fluids and pseudoplastic fluids. They are defined by the power law equation.
n
τ =η(γ ) (3)
where n is the power law index.

Dilatant fluid, n>1

τ (N/mm2) Newtonian fluid, n=1

Pseudoplastic fluid, n<1

γ (s-1)

In dilatant fluid, the dynamic viscosity increases as the rate of shear increases,
whereas in pseudoplastic fluid, the viscosity of the fluid decreases as the rate of
shear increases.
Time-dependent fluids are of two types:
Thioxotropic fluids. The dynamic viscosity decreases with the time for which
shearing forces are applied e.g. thioxotropic jelly paints.
Rheopectic fluids. The dynamic viscosity of these fluids increases with the time
for which shearing forces are applied.
Plastic fluid. This is a non-Newtonian fluid whereby certain critical (minimum)
value of shear stress must be overcome before flow commences following a
Newtonian pattern. This is illustrated using equation (4).
τ =τ y + η(γ )
n
(4)
Where τ ythe critical shear stress that must be overcome before flow commences.
If n=1, it is called Bingham plastic fluid, but if n<1 or n>1, the fluid is called
Casson platic fluid.

Physical Properties of Fluid

These are those characteristics common to all fluids which are directly of
interest to engineers.
•Density
•Specific weight
•Relative density or specific gravity
•Viscosity
•Surface tension
•Compressibility
•Pressure

Fluid Resistance
Fluid resistance refers to the forces a fluid places on a moving object in the
opposite direction to the movement, also known as drag. Drag is the force
created by a fluid to resist the motion of an object through it. There are 2 main
sources of drag: pressure and friction.

Figure 1: Fluid flow in a cylindrical tube

Fluid resistance equation

 4
πr ∆P
According to Poiseuille’s equation of flow, Q= = π r 4 ¿ ¿ (5)
8 ηl

There is a very simple relationship between horizontal flow and pressure. Flow
rate is in the direction from high to low pressure. The greater the pressure
differential between two points, the greater the flow rate. This relationship can
be stated as

Q=¿ ¿ (6)

where P1 and P2 are the pressures at two points, and R is the resistance to flow.
The resistance R includes everything, except pressure, that affects flow rate. For
example, R is greater for a long tube than for a short one. The greater the
viscosity of a fluid, the greater the value of R. Turbulence greatly increases R,
whereas increasing the diameter of a tube decreases R.

If viscosity is zero, the fluid is frictionless and the resistance to flow is also
zero.

The resistance R to laminar flow of an incompressible fluid having viscosity η

through a horizontal tube of uniform radius r and length l, is given by

8 ηl
R= 4 (7)
πr

Equation (7) is obtained by substituting equation (6) into equation (5). This
equation is called Poiseuille’s law for fluid resistance.

Problem 1.
Fluid flows through a length of pipe at a flow rate of 0.05 m 3/sec. It undergoes a
pressure drop of 1000 N/m2. What is the fluid resistance (RF) of the pipe?

Problem 2.
An intravenous (IV) system is supplying saline solution to a patient at the rate
of 0.12 cm3/s through a needle of radius 0.150 mm and length 2.50 cm. What
pressure is needed at the entrance of the needle to cause this flow, assuming the
viscosity of the saline solution to be 1.002 mPas? The gauge pressure of the
blood in the patient’s vein is 1.07x103 N/m2.

Forms of fluid flow

There are two main forms of fluid flow: laminar and turbulent fluid flow.
When a fluid is flowing through a closed channel such as a pipe or between two
flat plates, either of laminar flow or turbulent flow may occur depending on the
velocity and viscosity of the fluid.
Laminar flow is characterized by fluid particles following smooth paths in
layers, with each layer moving smoothly past the adjacent layers with little or
no mixing. At low velocities, the fluid tends to flow without lateral mixing, and
adjacent layers slide past one another like playing cards. There are no cross-
currents perpendicular to the direction of flow, nor eddies or swirls of fluids. In
laminar flow, the motion of the particles of the fluid is very orderly with
particles close to a solid surface moving in straight lines parallel to that surface.

Turbulent flow is a type of fluid flow in which the fluid undergoes irregular
fluctuations, or mixing, in contrast to laminar flow. In turbulent flow the speed
of the fluid at a point is continuously undergoing changes in both magnitude
and direction.

The velocity of flow is determined by a dimensionless parameter called the

Reynolds number, which also depends on the viscosity and density of the fluid
and dimensions of the channel.
The Reynolds number is the ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces. Thus,
inertia forces ρVD VD
Re = = =
viscous forces η ν

where V is the flow velocity (m/s), D is the diameter of channel (m), ρ fluid
η
density (kg/m3), η dynamic viscosity (kg/ms), and ν= ρ is kinematic viscosity
(m2/s).
Thus, when
0<Re<2000 laminar flow
2000<Re<4000 transition region
Re>4000 turbulent flow

Problem 3.
Oil of density 860 kg/m3 has a kinematic viscosity of 40 x 10 -6 m2/s. Calculate
the transitional critical velocity when it flows in a pipe 50 mm bore diameter.
Solution:
Re = VD/v; v=Re x v/D = 2000 x 40 x 10-6/0.05 = 1.6 m/s

Problem 4
A ventilation shaft of diameter 5 m passes an airflow of 200 m 3/s at a mean
density of 1.2 kg/m3 and viscosity of 17.81 x 10– 6 Ns/m2. Determine the
Reynolds number for the shaft.
Re = density x velocity x diameter/ viscosity
1.2 x (Q/A) x 5/
Problem 5.
Oil flows in a pipe 100 mm bore with a Reynolds number of 250. The dynamic
viscosity is 0.018 Ns/m2. The density is 900 kg/m3. Determine the pressure drop
per metre length and the average velocity.
Solution:
Re = density x velocity x diameter/ viscosity
velocity = Re x viscosity/(density x diameter)
250 x 0.018/(900 x 0.1) = 0.05 m/s

ANALYSIS OF LAMINAR AND TURBULENT FLUIDS FLOW (TO BE

CONTD.)
Pressure loss due to friction in a pipe
Until now, we have considered ideal fluids where there have been no
losses due to friction or any other factors. In reality, because fluids are viscous,
energy is lost by flowing fluids due to friction which must be taken into account.
The effect of the friction shows itself as a pressure (or head) loss.
In a pipe with a real fluid flowing, at the wall there is a shearing stress retarding the flow, as
shown below.

If a manometer is attached as the pressure (head) difference due to the energy lost by the fluid
overcoming the shear stress can be easily seen.
The pressure at 1 (upstream) is higher than the pressure at 2.
We can do some analysis to express this loss in pressure in terms of the forces acting on the
fluid.
The pressure at the upstream end is p, and at the downstream end the pressure has fallen by p
to (p-Δp).
The driving force due to pressure (F = Pressure x Area) can then be written
driving force = Pressure force at 1 - pressure force at 2.
2
πd
PA−( P−∆ P ) A=∆ PA=∆ P
4
The retarding force is that due to the shear stress by the walls
area
¿ shear stress X acts
which
¿ τ w X area of the pipe wall

¿ τ w X πdL

At equilibrium flow, driving force = retarding force

2
πd
∆P =τ w X πdL
4
τw 4 L
∆ P=
d
This is an expression for pressure loss in a pipe in terms of the pipe diameter and the shear
stress at the wall on the pipe.