Chapter 2: Properties of Fluids

Eric G. Paterson
Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering
The Pennsylvania State University

Spring 2005
 Note to Instructors
These slides were developed1 during the spring semester 2005, as a teaching aid for the
undergraduate Fluid Mechanics course (ME33: Fluid Flow) in the Department of Mechanical
and Nuclear Engineering at Penn State University. This course had two sections, one taught
by myself and one taught by Prof. John Cimbala. While we gave common homework and
exams, we independently developed lecture notes. This was also the first semester that Fluid
Mechanics: Fundamentals and Applications was used at PSU. My section had 93
students and was held in a classroom with a computer, projector, and blackboard. While
slides have been developed for each chapter of Fluid Mechanics: Fundamentals and
Applications, I used a combination of blackboard and electronic presentation. In the student
evaluations of my course, there were both positive and negative comments on the use of
electronic presentation. Therefore, these slides should only be integrated into your lectures
with careful consideration of your teaching style and course objectives.

Eric Paterson
Penn State, University Park
August 2005

1
These slides were originally prepared using the LaTeX typesetting system (http://www.tug.org/)
and the beamer class (http://latex-beamer.sourceforge.net/), but were translated to PowerPoint for
wider dissemination by McGraw-Hill.

ME33 : Fluid Flow 2 Chapter 2: Properties of Fluids

 Introduction
Any characteristic of a system is called a property.
Familiar: pressure P, temperature T, volume V, and mass m.
Less familiar: viscosity, thermal conductivity, modulus of
elasticity, thermal expansion coefficient, vapor pressure, surface
tension.
Intensive properties are independent of the mass of the
system. Examples: temperature, pressure, and density.
Extensive properties are those whose value depends on
the size of the system. Examples: Total mass, total
volume, and total momentum.
Extensive properties per unit mass are called specific
properties. Examples include specific volume v = V/m
and specific total energy e=E/m.

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 Continuum
Atoms are widely spaced in the
gas phase.
However, we can disregard the
atomic nature of a substance.
View it as a continuous,
homogeneous matter with no
holes, that is, a continuum.
This allows us to treat properties
as smoothly varying quantities.
Continuum is valid as long as
size of the system is large in
comparison to distance between
molecules.

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 Density and Specific Gravity
Density is defined as the mass per unit volume = m/V.
Density has units of kg/m3
Specific volume is defined as v = 1/= V/m.
For a gas, density depends on temperature and
pressure.
Specific gravity, or relative density is defined as the
ratio of the density of a substance to the density of some
standard substance at a specified temperature (usually
water at 4°C), i.e., SG=/H20. SG is a dimensionless
quantity.
The specific weight is defined as the weight per unit
volume, i.e., s = g where g is the gravitational
acceleration. s has units of N/m3.

ME33 : Fluid Flow 5 Chapter 2: Properties of Fluids

 Density of Ideal Gases
Equation of State: equation for the relationship
between pressure, temperature, and density.
The simplest and best-known equation of state
is the ideal-gas equation.
Pv=RT or P = R T

Ideal-gas equation holds for most gases.

However, dense gases such as water vapor and
refrigerant vapor should not be treated as ideal
gases. Tables should be consulted for their
properties, e.g., Tables A-3E through A-6E in
textbook.
ME33 : Fluid Flow 6 Chapter 2: Properties of Fluids
 Vapor Pressure and Cavitation
Vapor Pressure Pv is defined
as the pressure exerted by its
vapor in phase equilibrium
with its liquid at a given
temperature
If P drops below Pv, liquid is
locally vaporized, creating
cavities of vapor.
Vapor cavities collapse when
local P rises above Pv.
Collapse of cavities is a
violent process which can
damage machinery.
Cavitation is noisy, and can
cause structural vibrations.
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 Energy and Specific Heats
Total energy E is comprised of numerous forms:
thermal, mechanical, kinetic, potential, electrical,
magnetic, chemical, and nuclear.
Units of energy are joule (J) or British thermal unit (BTU).
Microscopic energy
Internal energy u is for a non-flowing fluid and is due to
molecular activity.
Enthalpy h=u+Pv is for a flowing fluid and includes flow energy
(Pv).
Macroscopic energy
Kinetic energy ke=V2/2
Potential energy pe=gz
In the absence of electrical, magnetic, chemical, and
nuclear energy, the total energy is eflowing=h+V2/2+gz.

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 Coefficient of Compressibility
How does fluid volume change with P and T?
Fluids expand as T ↑ or P ↓
Fluids contract as T ↓ or P ↑
Need fluid properties that relate volume changes to changes in P
and T.
Coefficient of compressibility
 P   P 
  v      
 v T   T
Coefficient of volume expansion
1  v  1   
    
v  T  P   T  P
Combined effects of P and T can be written as
 v   v 
dv    dT    dP
 T  P  P T

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 Viscosity

Viscosity is a
property that
represents the
internal resistance of
a fluid to motion.
The force a flowing
fluid exerts on a body
in the flow direction is
called the drag force,
and the magnitude of
this force depends, in
part, on viscosity.
ME33 : Fluid Flow 10 Chapter 2: Properties of Fluids
 Viscosity
To obtain a relation for viscosity,
consider a fluid layer between
two very large parallel plates
separated by a distance ℓ
Definition of shear stress is  =
F/A.
Using the no-slip condition,
u(0) = 0 and u(ℓ) = V, the velocity
profile and gradient are u(y)=
Vy/ℓ and du/dy=V/ℓ
Shear stress for Newtonian fluid:
= du/dy
 is the dynamic viscosity and
has units of kg/m·s, Pa·s, or
poise.

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 Viscometry
How is viscosity measured? A
rotating viscometer.
Two concentric cylinders with a fluid in
the small gap ℓ.
Inner cylinder is rotating, outer one is
fixed.
Use definition of shear force:
du
F  A  A
dy
If ℓ/R << 1, then cylinders can be
modeled as flat plates.
Torque T = FR, and tangential velocity
V=R
Wetted surface area A=2RL.
Measure T and  to compute 

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 Surface Tension
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
due to the attractive forces
between molecules
called surface tension s.
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.

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 Capillary Effect
Capillary effect is the rise
or fall of a liquid in a small-
diameter tube.
The curved free surface in
the tube is call the
meniscus.
Water meniscus curves up
because water is a wetting
fluid.
Mercury meniscus curves
down because mercury is a
nonwetting fluid.
Force balance can describe
magnitude of capillary rise.

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