CHAPTER 1

Introduction To Fluid
Mechanics

KMJ30203 – Fluid Mechanics

Sem 1, 2023/2024
Prepared by: Assoc Prof Dr Liew Yun Ming
Objectives

• Understand the basic concepts of Fluid Mechanics.

• Have a working knowledge of the basic properties of fluids
and understand the continuum approximation.
• Have a working knowledge of viscosity and the
consequences of the frictional effects it causes in fluid flow.
• Calculate the capillary rise (or drop) in tubes due to the
surface tension effect.

2
Introduction
• Fluid Mechanics:
• Deals with the behavior of fluids at rest (fluid statics) or in
motion (fluid dynamics)
• The interaction of fluids with solids or other fluids at the
boundaries.
• Also referred to as fluid dynamics by considering fluids at rest as
a special case of motion with zero velocity.

Video source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gq3tR3fkM0

3
 Fluid

• A fluid deforms
continuously under the
influence of a shear stress,
no matter how small.
• Fluid can be liquid or gas
phase.

4
Intermolecular bonds are strongest in solids and weakest in
gases.
Solid: The molecules in a solid are arranged in a pattern that is repeated
throughout.
Liquid: In liquids molecules can rotate and translate freely.
Gas: In the gas phase, the molecules are far apart from each other, and
molecular ordering is nonexistent.

The arrangement of atoms in different phases: (a) molecules are at relatively fixed
positions in a solid, (b) groups of molecules move about each other in the liquid phase,
and (c) individual molecules move about at random in the gas phase.
5
Fluids Versus Solids

Fluid (gas or liquid) Solid

Deforms continuously under the Can resist an applied shear stress
influence of a shear stress by deforming

Never stop deforming and When constant shear force applied,

approaches a constant rate of strain solid finally stop deforming at some
fixed strain angle

6
Normal & Shear Stress
Normal stress: normal
component of a force acting on a
surface per unit area.
Shear stress: tangential
component of a force acting on a
surface per unit area.

Fluid at rest:
normal stress = pressure
Shear stress = 0

When the walls are removed or a liquid

container is tilted:
Shear develops as the liquid moves to re-establish a
horizontal free surface

7
Classification of Fluid Flows

1) Viscous vs. inviscid

2) Internal vs. external
3) Compressible vs. incompressible
4) Laminar vs. turbulent
5) Natural vs. forced
6) Steady vs. unsteady
7) 1, 2, 3-dimensional

8
Dimension &
SI Units

9
 Fluid as Continuum
• Continuum - continuous, homogeneous
distribution of liquid/ gas throughout a
region, with no holes
• The continuum idealization allows us to treat
properties as point functions and to assume
the properties vary continually in space with
no jump discontinuities.
• This idealization is valid as long as the size of
the system we deal with is large relative to
the space between the molecules. Despite the relatively large gaps
between molecules, a substance
can be treated as a continuum
because of the very large number
of molecules even in an extremely
small volume.

10
Density & Specific Gravity

Density (ρ) – mass Specific gravity (SG) -

per unit volume ratio of the substance
density to the density of
m standard substance at a
= unit : kg/m 3 specified temperature
V (usually water at 4°C)


SG = unit : -
H O
2

Specific volume (v)

– reciprocal of
density/ volume per
unit mass Specific weight (γ) -
V 1
weight of a unit volume of a
substance W = mg
v= =
m   s = g unit : N/m 3 g = gravity
= 9.81 m/s2
11
 g = 9.81m / s 2
Example 1 1N = kgm / s 2

A hydrometer is used to measure the specific gravity of liquids. For

a certain liquid a hydrometer reading indicates a specific gravity of
1.15. what is the density of liquid and its specific weight?

12
Density of Ideal Gases
• Equation of state - Any equation that relates the pressure,
temperature, and density (or specific volume) of a substance.
• Ideal-gas equation of state - simplest and best-known
equation of state for substances in the gas phase.

Ru = universal gas contant =

Pv = RT or P = RT 8.314 kJ/kmol.K
P = pressure
R = Ru / M ρ = density
T = temperature (K)
PV = mRT or PV = NRuT M = molecular mass of gas
m = mass
v = specific volume
V = volume
T ( K ) = T (C ) + 273 .15 N = number of moles = m/M
13
14
• An ideal gas is a hypothetical substance that obeys the
relation Pv = RT.
• In the range of practical interest, many familiar gases
such as air, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, helium, argon,
neon, and krypton and even heavier gases such as
carbon dioxide can be treated as ideal gases with
negligible error.
• Dense gases such as water vapor in steam power plants
and refrigerant vapor in refrigerators, however, should
not be treated as ideal gases since they usually exist at a
state near saturation.

15
Vapor Pressure
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 spaces 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 the vapor exerts on the liquid surface is
termed vapor pressure, pv.

16
Boiling, which is the formation of vapor bubbles within a
fluid mass is initiated when the absolute pressure in the
fluid reach the vapor pressure.

17
• Saturation temperature, Tsat - temperature at which a
pure substance changes phase at a given pressure.
• Saturation pressure, Psat - pressure at which a pure
substance changes phase at a given temperature.
• Vapor pressure (Pv) - pressure exerted by its vapor in phase
equilibrium with its liquid at a given temperature. It is identical
to the saturation pressure Psat of the liquid (Pv = Psat).
• Partial pressure: pressure of a gas or vapor in a mixture with
other gases.
Eg: Atmospheric air is a mixture of dry air and water vapor,
and atmospheric pressure is the sum of the partial pressure of
dry air and the partial pressure of water vapor.

18
The vapor pressure (saturation pressure) of a
pure substance (e.g., water) is the pressure exerted
by its vapor molecules when the system is in phase
equilibrium with its liquid molecules at a given
temperature.

vapor pressure = saturation pressure of liquid

19
• The rate of evaporation from open water
bodies (eg, lakes) is controlled by
difference between vapor pressure
(Pv) & partial pressure.
• If pressure drops below Pv, liquid is
vaporized, creating cavities of vapor
• When P > Pv, vapor cavities collapse
• Collapse of cavities (cavitation) is a
violent process which can damage Cavitation damage. The sample was
machinery located at the cavity collapse region
downstream of a cavity generator
• Cavitation reduces performance, noisy specifically designed to produce
and causes structural vibrations high damage potential.
• It is an important consideration in the
design of hydraulic turbines and pumps.

20
Compressibility

• All fluid compress if the pressure increase,

result in an increase in density
• If sudden or great changes in pressure
happened, the compressibility become
important
• Fluids usually expand as they are heated or
depressurized and contract as they are
cooled or pressurized.
• we need to define properties that relate
volume changes to the changes in pressure
and temperature.
Fluids, like solids, compress
when the applied pressure is
increased from P1 to P2.

21
 𝑑𝑃
C𝑜𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝜅 = 𝑇 = constant
𝑑𝜌ൗ
𝜌
unit: Pascal (Pa)

• Also called bulk modulus of compressibility or bulk

modulus of elasticity for fluids
• Represents the change in pressure corresponding to a
fractional change in volume or density of the fluid
while the temperature remains constant.
• Fluid with a large  is essentially incompressible
• A liquid is usually considered as incompressible

22
 • The density of a fluid depends
more strongly on
temperature than it does on
pressure
• Example natural phenomena:
winds, currents in oceans, rise of
plumes in chimneys, the
operation of hot-air balloons, heat
transfer by natural convection,
and even the rise of hot air and
thus the phrase “heat rises”

𝑑𝜌ൗ
𝜌
C𝑜𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝛽 = −
𝑑𝑇

𝑃 = constant The coefficient of volume expansion is a

measure of the change in volume of a
unit: 1ൗK substance with temperature at constant
pressure.
23
The variation of the coefficient of volume expansion of
water with temperature in the range of 20°C to 50°C.

24
Viscosity

• A property that represents the internal resistance of a

fluid to motion or the “fluidity”.
• A measure of its “resistance to deformation”.
• The internal frictional force that develops between
different layers of fluids as they are forced to move relative to
each other.

 du 
 =    unit : N / m 2
 dy 
τ = shear stress (N/m2)
μ = dynamic viscosity (N.s/m2)
du/dy = velocity gradient (strain rate)
25
• Newtonian fluids - Fluids
for which the rate of
deformation is proportional to
the shear stress. (eg: air, water)
• Non-newtonian fluid - fluid
that shows a non-linear
relationship (eg: blood,
slurries, milk)
• No-slip condition - A fluid flowing over a stationary
condition where viscosity surface comes to a complete stop at
causes fluid to adhere to the the surface because of the no-slip
surface condition.

26
The rate of deformation (velocity gradient) of a Variation of shear stress with the rate of
Newtonian fluid is proportional to shear stress, deformation for Newtonian and non-
and the constant of proportionality is the Newtonian fluids (the slope of a curve at a
viscosity. point is the apparent viscosity of the fluid
at that point).

27
Surface Tension

• Surface tension, σs - The

pulling force that causes surface
tension acts parallel to the surface
and is due to the attractive forces
between the molecules of the
liquid.
• Unit – N/m
• This effect is also called surface
energy [per unit area] and is
expressed in the equivalent unit of
N  m/m2 or J/m2. Attractive forces acting on a liquid
molecule at the surface and deep
inside the liquid.

28
• Surface phenomena due to the unbalanced cohesive forces acting on the liquid
molecules at the fluid surface.
• Liquid droplets behave like small spherical balloons filled with liquid, and the
surface of the liquid acts like a stretched elastic membrane under tension.
• The pulling force that causes this is called surface tension σs.
• Attractive force on surface molecule is not symmetric.
• Repulsive forces from interior molecules causes the liquid to minimize its
surface area and attain a spherical shape.

29
Capillary Effect

• Capillary effect - The rise or fall

of a liquid in a small-diameter tube
inserted into the liquid.
• If attraction (adhesion) between the
meniscus
wall of the tubes and liquid molecule
is strong enough to overcome the
mutual attraction (cohesion) of the
molecules, the liquid is pulled up to
the capillary tube.

Adhesion  cohesion

• Hence, the liquid is said to wet the

solid surface.

30
• The strength of the capillary effect
is quantified by the contact (or   90 : wet the surface
wetting) angle,   90 : not to wet the surface
• Contact angle: angle that the
tangent to the liquid surface
makes with the solid surface at
the point of contact (a).
• If adhesion of molecules to the
solid surface is weak compared to
the cohesion between molecules,
the liquid will not wet the surface
and the level in a tube placed in
nonwetting liquid will actually The contact angle for wetting and
be depressed (b) nonwetting fluids.

Adhesion  cohesion

31
The forces acting on a liquid column The capillary rise of water and the
that has risen in a tube due to the capillary fall of mercury in a small-
capillary effect. diameter glass tube.

2 s cos
capillary rise : h= R = constant
gR
Capillary rise is inversely proportional to the radius of the tube
and density of the liquid.

32
Exercise
A fluid that occupies a volume of 24 L weighs 225 N at a location where
the gravitational acceleration is 9.80 m/s2. Determine the mass of this
fluid, density and specific gravity.

33
Applications of Fluid Mechanics

34
35