MODULE in FLUID MECHANICS and

HYDRAULICS

Celeste Acedera De Asis

Master in Civil Engineering
(Water Resources Management)
 Module 2 Fundamental Properties of Fluids

Overview
This module presents the definition the term fluid and its characteristics relevant to civil
engineering such as specific gravity, specific weight, density, modulus of elasticity, viscosity,
etc. Sample problems are also presented to give the students addition working knowledge on
the application of the theories being presented.
However, mostly of the sample of the problems are for academic discussion purposes.

Learning Objective
Students are expected to
• determine the dimensions and units of physical quantities.
• identify the key fluid properties used in the analysis of fluid behavior.
• calculate common fluid properties given appropriate information.
• explain effects of fluid compressibility.
• use the concepts of viscosity, vapor pressure, and surface tension

Topics
This module will present the following topics
• Fluids
• Units Used in Fluid Mechanics
• General Properties of Fluids

Introduction
In civil engineering, applications of fluid mechanics is more on liquid than gas. Some
structures are built in a location where water is part of the foundation thus should be
considered in the design. Hence, working knowledge on the properties of fluids is imperative.

Discussion
Lesson 1 Fluids
What is a fluid? Several authors defined fluids. Fluid is any material or substance that
flows or moves, whether in a semisolid, liquid, sludge, gas, or any other form or state. More
generally, it is an inelastic substance that assumes the shape of its container and can flow
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and deform continuously under the effect of a shear force without returning to its original
disposition (Adrein, 2004).
King et al (1968) defined fluids as the substances capable of flowing, having particles easily
move and change their relative position without a separation of the mass. They offer
practically no resistance to change in form. They readily conform to the shape of the solid
body with which they come in contact.
It is necessary to develop a system for describing these characteristics both
qualitatively and quantitatively. The qualitative aspect serves to identify the nature, or type,
of the characteristics (such as length, time, stress, and velocity), whereas the quantitative
aspect provides a numerical measure of the characteristics.
The quantitative description requires both a number and a standard by which various
quantities can be compared. A standard for length might be a meter or foot, for time an hour
or second, and for mass a slug or kilogram. Such standards are called units, and several
systems of units are in common use as described in the following section.
The qualitative description is conveniently given in terms of certain primary quantities,
such as length, L, time, T, mass, M, and temperature, These primary quantities can then be
used to provide a qualitative description of any other secondary quantity: for example, and so
on, where the symbol is used to indicate the dimensions of the secondary quantity in terms
of the primary quantities. Thus, to describe qualitatively a velocity, V, we would write and say
that “the dimensions of a velocity equal length divided by time.” The primary quantities are
also referred to as basic dimensions. For a wide variety of problems involving fluid mechanics,
only the three basic dimensions, L, T, and M are required. Alternatively, L, T, and F could be
used, where F is the basic dimensions of force. Since Newton’s law states that force is equal
to mass times acceleration, it follows that secondary quantities expressed in terms of M can
be expressed in terms of F through the relationship above.

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 Table 2.1. Common Physical Quantities

Source: Munson, Bruce R., Young, Donald F., Okiishi, Theodore H., Huebsch, Wade W. 2010. Fundamentals of
Fluid Mechanics. United States of America. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Class, before we proceed with our discussion on the properties of fluids, let us define
first answer the following questions:
1. What is the difference between a solid and a fluid?
2. What is the difference between liquid and gas?

You will recall from physics that a substance exists in three primary phases: solid,
liquid, and gas. (At very high temperatures, it also exists as plasma.) A substance in the liquid
or gas phase is referred to as a fluid. Distinction between a solid and a fluid is made on the
basis of the substance’s ability to resist an applied shear (or tangential) stress that tends to
change its shape. A solid can resist an applied shear stress by deforming, whereas a fluid
deforms continuously under the influence of shear stress, no matter how small. In solids stress
is proportional to strain, but in fluids stress is proportional to strain rate. When a constant
shear force is applied, a solid eventually stops deforming, at some fixed strain angle, whereas
a fluid never stops deforming and approaches a certain rate of strain.
A solid is “hard” and not easily deformed, whereas a fluid is “soft” and is easily
deformed (we can readily move through air). Although quite descriptive, these casual

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observations of the differences between solids and fluids are not very satisfactory from a
scientific or engineering point of view.
A closer look at the molecular structure of materials reveals that matter that we
commonly think of as a solid (steel, concrete, etc.) has densely spaced molecules with large
intermolecular cohesive forces that allow the solid to maintain its shape, and to not be easily
deformed. However, for matter that we normally think of as a liquid (water, oil, etc.), the
molecules are spaced farther apart, the intermolecular forces are smaller than for solids, and
the molecules have more freedom of movement. Thus, liquids can be easily deformed (but
not easily compressed) and can be poured into containers or forced through a tube. Gases
(air, oxygen, etc.) have even greater molecular spacing and freedom of motion with negligible
cohesive intermolecular forces and as a consequence are easily deformed (and compressed)
and will completely fill the volume of any container in which they are placed. Both liquids and
gases are fluids. Although the differences between solids and fluids can be explained
qualitatively on the basis of molecular structure, a more specific distinction is based on how
they deform under the action of an external load.
Specifically, a fluid is defined as a substance that deforms continuously when acted
on by a shearing stress of any magnitude. A shearing stress (force per unit area) is created
whenever a tangential force acts on a surface as shown by the figure in the margin. When
common solids such as steel or other metals are acted on by a shearing stress, they will
initially deform (usually a very small deformation), but they will not continuously deform
(flow). However, common fluids such as water, oil, and air satisfy the definition of a fluid—
that is, they will flow when acted on by a shearing stress.
For gases at normal pressures and temperatures, the spacing is on the order of and
for liquids it is on the order of the number of molecules per cubic millimeter is on the order of
for gases and for liquids. It is thus clear that the number of molecules in a very tiny volume is
huge and the idea of using average values taken over this volume is certainly reasonable.
We thus assume that all the fluid characteristics we are interested in (pressure, velocity, etc.)
vary continuously throughout the fluid—that is, we treat the fluid as a continuum. One area
of fluid mechanics for which the continuum concept breaks down is in the study of rarefied
gases such as would be encountered at very high altitudes. In this case the spacing between
air molecules can become large and the continuum concept is no longer acceptable.

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 Fig. 2.1 Deformation of a rubber eraser placed between two parallel
plates under the influence of a shear force.
(Source: Cengel, Yunus A. and John M. Cimbala. 2006. Fluid Mechanics: Fundamentals and
Applications. New York. McGraw-Hill.)

Consider a rectangular rubber block tightly placed between two plates. As the upper
plate is pulled with a force F while the lower plate is held fixed, the rubber block deforms, as
shown in Fig. 2.1. The angle of deformation α (called the shear strain or angular displacement)
increases in proportion to the applied force F.
Assuming there is no slip between the rubber and the plates, the upper surface of the
rubber is displaced by an amount equal to the displacement of the upper plate while the lower
surface remains stationary. In equilibrium, the net force acting on the plate in the
horizontal direction must be zero, and thus a force equal and opposite to F must be
acting on the plate. This opposing force that develops at the plate–rubber interface due to
friction is expressed as
F= t A

where t is the shear stress and

A is the contact area between the upper plate and the rubber

When the force is removed, the rubber returns to its original position. This phenomenon would
also be observed with other solids such as a steel block provided that the applied force does
not exceed the elastic range. If this experiment were repeated with a fluid (with two large
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parallel plates placed in a large body of water, for example), the fluid layer in contact with the
upper plate would move with the plate continuously at the velocity of the plate no matter how
small the force F is. The fluid velocity decreases with depth because of friction between fluid
layers, reaching zero at the lower plate.

Fig. 2.2 The normal stress and shear stress at the surface of a fluid element. For fluid
at rest, the shear stress is zero and pressure is only normal stress (Source: Cengel,
Yunus A. and John M. Cimbala. 2006. Fluid Mechanics: Fundamentals and
Applications. New York. McGraw-Hill.)

You will recall from statics that stress is defined as force per unit area and is determined
by dividing the force by the area upon which it acts. The normal component of the force acting
on a surface per unit area is called the normal stress, and the tangential component of a
force acting on a surface per unit area is called shear stress (Fig.2.2).
In a fluid at rest, the normal stress is called pressure. The supporting walls of a
fluid eliminate shear stress, and thus a fluid at rest is at a state of zero shear stress. When
the walls are removed or a liquid container is tilted, a shear develops and the liquid splashes
or moves to attain a horizontal free surface. In a liquid, chunks of molecules can move relative
to each other, but the volume remains relatively constant because of the strong cohesive
forces between the molecules. As a result, a liquid takes the shape of the container it is in,
and it forms a free surface in a larger container in a gravitational field. A gas, on the other
hand, expands until it encounters the walls of the container and fills the entire available space.
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This is because the gas molecules are widely spaced, and the cohesive forces between them
are very small.
Unlike liquids, gases cannot form a free surface (Fig. 2.3).

Fig. 2.3 Unlike a liquid, a gas does not form a free surface, and it expands to fill the entire
available space
(Source: Cengel, Yunus A. and John M. Cimbala. 2006. Fluid Mechanics: Fundamentals and
Applications. New York. McGraw-Hill.)

Fig. 2.4 The arrangement of atoms in different phases:

(a) molecules are relatively fixed positions in a solid, (b) groups of molecules move about
each other in the liquid phase, and
(c) molecules move about at random in the gas phase.
(Source: Cengel, Yunus A. and John M. Cimbala. 2006. Fluid Mechanics: Fundamentals and
Applications. New York. McGraw-Hill.)

Although solids and fluids are easily distinguished in most cases, this distinction is not
so clear in some borderline cases. For example, asphalt appears and behaves as a solid
since it resists shear stress for short periods of time. But it deforms slowly and behaves like
a fluid when these forces are exerted for extended periods of time. Some plastics, lead, and
slurry mixtures exhibit similar behavior. Intermolecular bonds are strongest in solids and
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weakest in gases. One reason is that molecules in solids are closely packed together,
whereas in gases they are separated by relatively large distances (Fig. 2.4). The molecules
in a solid are arranged in a pattern that is repeated throughout. Because of the small distances
between molecules in a solid, the attractive forces of molecules on each other are large and
keep the molecules at fixed positions. The molecular spacing in the liquid phase is not much
different from that of the solid phase, except the molecules are no longer at fixed positions
relative to each other and they can rotate and translate freely. In a liquid, the intermolecular
forces are weaker relative to solids, but still strong compared with gases. The distances
between molecules generally increase slightly as a solid turns liquid, with water being a
notable exception. In the gas phase, the molecules are far apart from each other, and a
molecular order is nonexistent. Gas molecules move about at random, continually colliding
with each other and the walls of the container in which they are contained. Particularly at low
densities, the intermolecular forces are very small, and collisions are the only mode of
interaction between the molecules. Molecules in the gas phase are at a considerably higher
energy level than they are in the liquid or solid phase. Therefore, the gas must release a large
amount of its energy before it can condense or freeze.

Fig. 2.5 On a microscopic scale, pressure is determined by the interaction of individual gas
molecules. However, we can measure the pressure on a macroscopic scale with a pressure
gage.
(Source: Cengel, Yunus A. and John M. Cimbala. 2006. Fluid Mechanics: Fundamentals and
Applications. New York. McGraw-Hill.)

Gas and vapor are often used as synonymous words. The vapor phase of a substance
is customarily called a gas when it is above the critical temperature. Vapor usually implies
a gas that is not far from a state of condensation. Any practical fluid system consists of a large

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number of molecules, and the properties of the system naturally depend on the behavior of
these molecules.

Lesson 2 Units Used

The magnitude (or dimensions) of physical variables is expressed in engineering units.
The metric system, which was accepted by most professional societies in the mid-1970s. This
International system, (SI for Systeme International) of units is based on the decimal system
and is much easier to use than other (e.g., British) systems of units.
For example the basic length is measured in meters (m): 1000 m is a kilometer (km)
and 1/100 of a meter is a centimeter (cm). Along the same line, 1/1000 m is a millimeter (mm).
Mass is measured in grams (g), which is the mass of one cubic centimeter (1 cm3) of
water. One thousand grams are one kilogram (kg), and 1000 kg are one metric ton.
Time is still measured the old-fashioned way, in hours (h), 1/60 of an hour is a minute
(min), and 1/60 of a minute is a second (s).
Velocity is one of the most important variables, and its basic measure therefore is
meters per second (m/s). Vehicle speeds are usually measured in kilometers per hour (km/h)
and clearly 1 km/h = 1000/3600 = 1/3.6 m/s.
Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity and therefore it is measured in meters per
second squared (m/s2). Newton’s second law defines the units for the force F when a mass
m is accelerated at a rate of a

Therefore this unit is called a newton (N = kg-m/s2 ). Sometimes the unit kilogramforce (kgf)
is used because the gravitational pull of 1-kg mass at sea level is 1 kgf. If we approximate the
gravitational acceleration as g = 9.8 m/s2, then

The pressure, which is the force per unit area, is measured with the previous units,

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this unit is named for the French scientist Blaise Pascal (1623–1662). Sometimes an
atmosphere (atm) is used to measure pressure, and this unit is about 1 kgf/cm2, or, more
accurately,

Table 2.2 Basic Dimensions and Their Units

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 Table 2.3 Derived Dimensions and Their Units

Lesson 3 General Properties of Fluids

Fluids, in general, may have many properties related to thermodynamics, mechanics, or
other fields of science.

Specific Weight
The specific weight of a fluid, designated by the Greek symbol Ƴ gamma, is defined as its
weight per unit volume. Thus, specific weight is related to density through the equation

where g is the local acceleration of gravity. Just as density is used to characterize the mass
of a fluid system, the specific weight is used to characterize the weight of the system.

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Specific Gravity
The specific gravity of a fluid, designated as SG, is defined as the ratio of the density of the
fluid to the density of water at some specified temperature. Usually the specified temperature
is taken as and at this temperature the density of water is or in equation form, specific gravity
is expressed as

and since it is the ratio of densities, the value of SG does not depend on the system of units
used. For example, the specific gravity of mercury at is 13.55.

Density
Density, by definition, is mass per unit volume.
In the case of fluids, we can define the density (with the aid of Fig. 2.6) as the limit of
this ratio when a measuring volume V shrinks to zero. We need to use this definition because
density can change from one point to the other.

Fig. 2.6 Mass m in a control volume V. Fig. 2.7 Pressure acts Density is the ratio of
m/V. normal to the surface dS
( ñ is the unit vector normal to the surface)

(Source: Cengel, Yunus A. and John M. Cimbala. 2006. Fluid Mechanics: fundamentals and applications. New
York. McGraw-Hill)

Pressure
Pressure p as the normal force F per unit area acting on a surface S.

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 The fluid pressure acting on a solid surface is normal to the surface, as shown in Fig.
2.7. Consequently the force direction is obtained by multiplying with the unit vector ñ normal
to the surface. Because the pressure acts normal to a surface the resulting ΔF force is

Here the minus sign is a result of the normal unit vector pointing outside the surface
while the force that is due to pressure points inward. Also note that the pressure at a point
inside a fluid is the same in all directions. The observation about the fluid pressure at a point
acting equally in any arbitrary direction was documented first by Blaise Pascal (1623–
1662) and is called as “Pascal’s Law.” The pascal is a small unit; the units used more often
are the kilopascal (kP), the atmosphere (atm), or the bar (bar has no abbreviation; hence the
correct use is: 1 bar or 5 bars):

Figure 2.8 Absolute and gage pressure

(Source: Potter, Merle C. 2009. Fluid Mechanics Demystified. United Sates of America. McGraw Hill)

Temperature
Temperature is a measure of the internal energy at a point in the fluid.
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 Over the years different methods have evolved to measure temperature; for example,
the freezing point of water is considered zero in the Celsius system and the boiling
temperature of water under standard conditions is 100°C. Kelvin units (K) are similar to
Celsius; however, they measure the temperature from absolute zero, a temperature found in
space, and they represent a condition when molecular motion will stop. The relation between
the two temperature-measuring systems is

The Celsius system is widely used in European countries whereas in the United States,
Fahrenheit units are still used. In this case, 100°F was set to be close to the human body’s
temperature. The conversion between these temperature-measuring systems is

which indicates that 0ºC = 32ºF . The absolute temperature in these units is in Rankine units
(ºR) and this scale is higher by 459.69º:

Now that we have introduced density, pressure, and temperature, it is important to

recall the ideal-gas relation, in which these properties are linked together by the gas constant
R:

If we define v as the volume per unit mass then v = 1/ρ, and we can write

However, R is different for various gases or for their mixtures, but it can be easily
calculated with the universal gas constant R (R = 8314.3 J/mol K). Then we can find R by
dividing this universal R by the average molecular weight M of the mixture of gases.

Viscosity
The viscosity is a very important property of fluids, particularly when fluid motion is
discussed.
In fact, the schematic diagram of Fig. 2.9 is often used to demonstrate the difference
between solids and fluids. A fluid must be in motion in order to generate a shear force,
whereas a solid can support shear forces in a stationary condition.

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 Figure 2.9. The flow between two parallel plates.
The lower is stationary while the upper moves at a velocity of U∞.
(Source: Katz, Jonathan. 2010. Introductory Fluid Mechanics. New York. Cambridge University Press)

a shear force, whereas a solid can support shear forces in a stationary condition.
In this figure the upper plate moves at a velocity of U∞ while the lower surface is at rest.
A fluid is placed between these parallel plates, and when the upper plate is pulled, a force F
is needed.
At this point we can make another important observation. The fluid particles in
immediate contact with the plates will not move relative to the plates (as if they were glued to
it). This is called the no-slip boundary condition. Consequently we can expect the upper
particles to move at the upper plate’s speed while the lowest fluid particles attached to the
lower plate will be at rest. Newton’s law of friction states that

Here t is the shear force per unit area (shear stress) and μ is the fluid viscosity. In this case

the resulting velocity distribution is linear and the shear will be constant inside the fluid (for h

> z > 0). For this particular case we can write

A fluid that behaves like this is called a Newtonian fluid, indicating a linear relation between
the stress and the strain. As noted earlier, this is an important property of fluids because
without motion there is no shear force.

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 Table 2.3. Approximate properties of some common fluids at 20 ◦C
(ρ = density, μ = viscosity, σ = surface tension)

(Source: Katz, Jonathan. 2010. Introductory Fluid Mechanics. New York. Cambridge University Press)

Also note that the viscosity of most fluids depends on the temperature, and this is shown for
several common fluids in Fig. 2.10.

Figure 2.10. Variation of viscosity versus temperature for several fluids

(Source: Katz, Jonathan. 2010. Introductory Fluid Mechanics. New York. Cambridge University Press)

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Energy and Specific Heat
Fluids have several thermodynamic properties, and only two, related to heat exchange
are mentioned here. For example, if heat Q is added in a constant pressure process to a mass
m, then the relation between temperature change and heat is stated by the simple formula

Here cp is the specific-heat coefficient used in a constant-pressure process. However,

if the fluid is not changing its volume during the process, then cv is used for the specific heat
in this constant-volume process:

The ratio between these two specific-heat coefficients is denoted by

The heat (energy) required for raising the temperature of 1 g of water by 1ºC is called
a calorie (cal). Therefore, the units for cp or cv are cal kgºC and 1 cal = 4.2 J (J = joule).
Work in mechanics is force times distance, and therefore units of 1 J are

Also, for an ideal gas undergoing an adiabatic process, the two heat capacities relate to the
gas constant R

Surface Tension σ and Capillary Effect

Molecules in a liquid attract each other equally, but near the surface this equilibrium is
changed, resulting in the surface tension σ. A simplistic visualization of this effect is provided
in Fig. 2.11. The molecule, deep in the fluid, is attracted equally by its neighbors and therefore
is in equilibrium. However, on the surface (as shown), the vertical force is not balanced and
this inward force is balanced by the surface tension, very much like a thin cover stretched
over the surface of a pool. Near the wall this surface tension may change direction and pull
the surface up or down, depending on the wetting angle.
This wetting angle or the contact angle θ is used to define the direction of the force. An
example to demonstrate surface tension is shown in Fig. 2.11. Here a movable link is closing

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the open end of a U-shaped wire. After dipping it, say in soapy water, a film is visible. A load
F may be applied, as shown, to measure the magnitude of the surface tension σ, which has
units of force per unit length. We can therefore estimate the total force resulting from the
surface tension by multiplying the contact length L by the surface tension σ:

Fig. 2.11 A film of liquid forming inside a wire Fig. 2.12 The forces on one half of a frame.
bubble or droplet.

(Source: Katz, Jonathan. 2010. Introductory Fluid Mechanics. New York. Cambridge University Press)

Typical values for the surface tension for an air–water surface at standard conditions are σ =
0.073 N/m and for an air–mercury surface at standard conditions σ = 0.48 N/m.
The surface tension for several other fluids is listed in Table 2.3.

Fig. 2.13 The effect of surface tension when a capillary tube is dipped in a fluid container. θ is
the contact angle.
(Source: Katz, Jonathan. 2010. Introductory Fluid Mechanics. New York. Cambridge University Press)

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To demonstrate the effect of surface tension and wetting angle, let us consider a case in
which a capillary tube is inserted vertically into a container filled with a liquid (Fig. 2.13) and
the parameters θ and σ are known. Let us observe the vertical force balance. This force that
is due to the surface tension on the upper, circular contact area is

The weight of the raised liquid column is

Because the liquid in the column is in equilibrium, we can write

and by solving for h we get

This means, for example, that for tubes with smaller radius R the liquid will rise higher (in the
case of θ < 90◦). Also note that for θ < 90◦ the liquid inside the tube will rise while a capillary
depression will be observed (the level inside the tube will be lower then in the outer container)
for θ > 90◦. If a liquid droplet is positioned on a surface, then this last condition is called a
nonwetted surface, as illustrated in Fig. 2.14b. Along the same line, for θ < 90◦ we may call
the surface a wetted.

Fig. 2.14 Effect of the wetting angle on the shape of a droplet placed on a solid
surface.
(Source: Katz, Jonathan. 2010. Introductory Fluid Mechanics. New York. Cambridge University Press)

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Modulus of Elasticity E
The modulus of elasticity E is a measure of compressibility. It can be defined as

The second form indicates how much pressure is needed to compress a material having a
modulus of E. Also, the change in volume is directly related to the change in density, and we
can write

and by substituting dV/V for dρ/ρ

Most liquids are not very compressible, but gases are easily compressed and for an ideal gas
we already introduced this relation

Therefore,

The units for E

Vapor Pressure
Vapor pressure is a property related to the phase change of fluids. One way to describe
it is to observe the interface between the liquid and the gas phase of a particular fluid; the
vapor pressure indicates that there is an equilibrium between the molecules leaving and
joining the liquid phase.
The best example is to examine the vapor pressure of water as shown in Fig. 2.15.
Because molecular energy is a function of the temperature, it is clear that vapor pressure will
increase with temperature. The vapor pressure is zero at 0 ◦C, and of course is equal to 1
atm at 100 ◦C, which is the standard boiling point of water. In later chapters we shall see that
the pressure can change in a moving fluid. So even if there is no temperature change, there
could be a situation in which the pressure in the fluid falls below the vapor pressure. The
result is the formation of bubbles, because at this condition the liquid will evaporate locally.
This phenomenon is called cavitation, and Fig. 2.16 shows an example of the bubble trail
created near the tip of a propeller (where a tip vortex creates a high local velocity). Cavitation
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in pumps or fast-moving objects through fluid can result in mechanical damage that is due to
pitting of the surface and vibration. In the case of liquid pumps, cavitation will reduce flow rate
and performance and will affect the pump efficiency.

Figure 2.15. Vapor pressure of water versus temperature.

(Source: Katz, Jonathan. 2010. Introductory Fluid Mechanics. New York. Cambridge University Press)

Figure 2.16. Cavitation: bubble trail forming inside the fluid when the local pressure falls
below the vapor pressure.
In this case the bubbles originate near the propeller tip where the pressure is the lowest.
Courtesy of Garfield Thomas Water Tunnel, Pensylvania State University.)
(Source: Katz, Jonathan. 2010. Introductory Fluid Mechanics. New York. Cambridge University Press)

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 My dear students, now that you already know the properties of fluids and their
corresponding formula, let us proceed to sample problems for you to understand more the
applications.

The following sample problems were taken from the book of Cengel, Yunus A.
and John M. Cimbala.

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Student Activity 2. Solve the following problems.
1. A uniform pressure is acting on a plate 0.75 m tall and 3.5 m wide. Assuming the
pressure difference between the two sides of the plate is 0.05 atm, calculate the
resultant force

2. A 2-mm inner-diameter tube is ins erted into a container with mercury, as shown in
the figure. Assume that for this condition the surface tension is σ = 0.514 N/m, θ =
140◦ , and ρ = 13,600 kg/m3. Calculate how far the meniscus is depr essed.

3. Two circular tubes are insertedvertically into a large container filled with a liquid
that has a surface tension of σ = 0.07 N/m and a contact angle of θ = 10◦. The
density of the liquid is 960 kg/m3, the diameter of the first tube is 1.5 mm, and the
diameter of the second tube is 2.75 mm. Calculate how high the liquid columns will
rise in each tube.

4. A small steel ball is placed gently on the surface in a largewater tank. Estimate the
largest diameter of the ball that will float on the surface because of the surface
tension (assume σ = 0.073 N/m, θ = 15◦, and ρsteel = 7800 kg/m3). Assume the
surface tension is acting at the maximum perimeter (as shown).

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Feedback
The answers in the problems are indications that you understand now the basic properties
in fluid mechanic thus we can proceed to more complex applications of these concepts and
principles.

Summary
In this module, fluid mechanics has defined by several authors as well as the categories
or classifications are presented. Also, the term fluid has been defined also in different ways
but reflecting the essential characteristics.
Summary of formulas:

References
(1) Adrien, Nicolas G. 2004. Computational Hydraulics and Hydrology: An
Illustrated dictionary. Boca Raton, Florida. CRC Press LLC.
(2) Cengel, Yunus A. and John M. Cimbala. 2006. Fluid Mechanics: Fundamentals and
Applications. New York. McGraw-Hill.
(3) Gillesania, D. I. T. 2015. Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulics. Cebu City. Cebu DG
Print, Inc.
(4) Katz, Jonathan. 2010. Introductory Fluid Mechanics. New York. Cambridge
University Press
(5) King, H. W., J.O. Wisler and J.G. Woodburn. 1980. Hydraulics. R. E. Krieger Publishing
Company.
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(6) Munson, Bruce R., Young, Donald F., Okiishi, Theodore H., Huebsch, Wade W. 2010.
Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics. United States of America. John
Wiley & Sons, Inc.
(7) Potter, Merle C. 2009. Fluid Mechanics Demystified. United Sates of America.
McGraw Hill
(8) R.W. Fox and T.A. McDonald. 1978. Introduction to Fluid Mechanics. New York.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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 APPENDIX A UNITS AND CONVERSION

Table A.1 English Units, SI Units, and Their Conversion Factors

*The reversed initials come from the French form of the name: Systeme International.

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Table A.2 Conversions of Units

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 APPENDIX B FLUID PROPERTIES

Table B.1a Properties of Water (SI Unit)

Table B.1a Properties of Water (SI Unit)

Table B.1a Properties of Water (SI Unit)

Table B.1b Properties of Water (English Unit)

Table B.2a Properties of Air at Atmospheric Pressure (SI Unit)

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Table B.2b Properties of Air at Atmospheric Pressure (English Unit)

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 Table B.3a Properties of the Standard Atmosphere (SI Unit)

Table B.3b Properties of the Standard Atmosphere (English Unit)

Table B.4 Properties of Ideal Gases at 300 K (cv = cp − k, k = cp/cv)

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Table B.5 Properties of Common Liquids at Atmospheric Pressure and
Approximately 16°C to 21°C (60°F to 70°F)

*In contact with air.

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 Figure B.1 Viscosity as a function of temperature.
(Source: R.W. Fox and T.A. McDonald. 1978. Introduction to Fluid Mechanics. New York. John Wiley
& Sons, Inc.)

37
 Figure B.2 Kinematic viscosity as a function of temperature, at atmospheric pressure.
(Source: R.W. Fox and T.A. McDonald. 1978. Introduction to Fluid Mechanics. New York. John Wiley
& Sons, Inc.)

38