2019/2020

MECH2414
Thermofluids

PART 2 - fluids
Fluid flow is life
Yuguo Li

CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO FLUID

MECHANICS
Course content
Week 1,11-12: Basic Concepts on Fluids: Nature and properties
of fluids; Basic concepts of flows - Lagrangian and Eulerian
descriptions; Types of flow; Euler and Bernoulli equations;
Continuity and momentum equations for a control volume;
Energy and momentum correction factors.

Week 13-14: Momentum Theorems and Pipe Flow Analysis:

Momentum and angular momentum theorems, force and
torque calculations, applications to jets, wakes and open
channel flows; Steady flow energy equation for viscous flow in
pipes; Laminar flow in circular pipes; Elementary concepts and
significance of fully developed turbulent pipe flow; Reynolds
number and friction factor, roughness of pipes, drag
coefficients.

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Key topics
Key concepts: fluids, shear stress, continuum hypothesis, pressure,
dynamic viscosity, kinematic viscosity, Newtonian fluids, steady flow,
ideal flow, viscous flow, streamline
𝑑𝑢
Key formulas: 𝜏 = −𝜇 , which is the Newton’s law of viscosity
𝑑𝑦

𝐷 𝜕 𝜕 𝜕 𝜕
= +𝑢 +𝑣 + 𝑤
𝐷𝑡 𝜕𝑡 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧

Fluid mechanics is the science of force and motion of fluid. Solid

mechanics is the science of force and motion of matter in solid state.

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Fluids and forces - First question first: what is fluid?

Things that flow, or tends to flow only when we interact with them, e.g. when we stir
coffee.
 The air we breathe and water we drink - air (100%) and water (71%) covering the
earth surface
 Milk, oil, pure oxygen, methane, gasoline etc.

Engineering definition of fluids

A fluid is a substance that deforms

continuously when subjected to a shear
(tangential) stress no matter how small. If the
force causing the motion is removed, then
the fluid particles will not return to their
original positions. Depending on the
magnitude of the acting shear force, solids
would initially deform. However, unlike
fluids, such deformation is not continuous.
 𝐹
Shear stress? a (tangential) force per unit area. 𝜏 = 𝐴𝜏,𝐴. The normal
force per unit area (i.e. pressure) will be discussed later.

Defining a shear stress at a point, as also need to be done for other

fluid variables or properties.

∆𝐹𝜏
This is where continuum hypothesis works. 𝜏 = lim , where 𝜀 is
∆𝐴→𝜀,𝜀>0 ∆𝐴
sufficiently small to be negligible in comparison with macroscopic
length scales squared, but still sufficiently large to contain enough
molecules to permit calculation of averaged properties and
“construction” of fluid parcels.

 The fluid motion continues under the application of a shear stress

 The fluid cannot sustain a shear stress when it is at rest
 Fluidity of Fluid
• Consider a fluid element sheared by a shear stress τ
• Shear strain angle δθ continuously grow with time
(with shear stress τ maintained)

Linear relation between (applied)

𝛿𝜃
shear and (resulting) strain rate 𝜏 𝛿𝑡
As shown in the figure
tan 𝛿𝜃 =
𝛿𝑢𝛿𝑡 Table 1. Dynamic viscosity and kinematic
𝛿𝑦
viscosity of fluids at 1 atm and 20 oC.
In the limit of infinitesimal
changes, i.e.
𝑑𝜃 𝑑𝑢
=
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑦
𝑑𝜃 𝑑𝑢
So 𝜏 = 𝜇 𝑑𝑡 = 𝜇 𝑑𝑦, where 𝜇 is
dynamic viscosity [kg/m.s] or
[N.s/m2].
𝜇 Newton’s law of viscosity
The kinematic viscosity  = 𝜌
[m2/s]
Note no slip at wall.
 Newtonian fluids are those with a linear relationship between stress and
strain: most common fluids such as water and air are Newtonian.
 Non-Newtonian fluids are those with non-linear relationship between
stress and strain

Table 1. Dynamic viscosity and kinematic viscosity of fluids at 1 atm and 20 oC.
Example 1. Suppose the fluid being sheared in Figure 1 is SAE 30 oil at
20 oC. Compute the shear stress in the oil if the upper plate V = 3 m/s
and H = 2 cm

Solution: The shear stress is found by τ=μdudy=μVH

From Figure 1, for SAE 30 oil at 20 oC, µ = 0.40 kg/m.s , then
3
  0.40   60.0 kg m -1 sec -2  60.0 N m -2  60.0 Pa
0.02

Note that although oil is very viscous, this is a modest shear stress, about 2,400 times less than
atmospheric pressure. Viscous stresses in gases and thin liquids are even smaller.
Continuum hypothesis – the most fundamental idea

 The continuum hypothesis enables us to associate those macroscopic

properties (e.g. velocity and temperature) of any volume of fluid, no matter
how small (but greater than zero), with the bulk fluid.
 Consider air at standard sea-level temperature and pressure, in 1 m3, there
are O(1025) molecules, in 1 mm3, O(107) molecules, and in 1000 nm3, O(10)
molecules.
 At 300 km above the earth surface, even for 1 cm3, there is only one in 108
chances of finding a molecule.
 We only deal with fluids that can be modeled as a continuum.
Having defined flow field variables at a point, we use partial
derivatives to determine the change in such variables between two
points separated by elements of length.

1. For example, at point (x, y, z) is v, and at another point located dx,

dy, and dz apart is V + dV
dV = (∂V/∂x)dx + (∂V /∂y)dy + (∂V/∂z)dz.

2. The position vector in Cartesian coordinates for example is

expressed as r=𝑟𝑥 𝒊 + 𝑟𝑦 𝒋 + 𝑟𝑧 𝒌 where i, j, and k are the unit vectors.
Similarly, the velocity vector v in Cartesian coordinates is comprised of
three components; Vx, Vy, and Vz or mostly u, v, and w.
Fluid mass and weight Difference between mass and weight:
 Mass of an object measures its resistance to acceleration, i.e., resistance to a change
in velocity; due to Newton’s 2nd law 𝐹 = 𝑀𝒂
 Weight is the magnitude of the force acting on the object due to Earth’s gravity;
𝑾 = 𝑀𝒈
Both M and W depend on the amount of material (W is a body force)

In fluid mechanics, the total mass of fluid is usually irrelevant, normally use mass per
𝑀
unit volume instead, i.e. density; 𝜌 = 𝑉 . The reciprocal of density is called specific
1
volume; 𝑣 = 𝜌 .
Specific weight - The weight of a fluid per unit volume in Earth’s gravity field; 𝛾 =
𝑊 𝑀𝑔
= = 𝜌𝑔
𝑉 𝑉
Specific gravity - The ratio of a fluid’s density to that of a standard reference fluid
(water for liquids, air for gases) at STP (standard temperature and pressure).
liquid gas
sg (liquid )  ; sg (gas ) 
 water air
Note, the symbol for volume is generally V, however, the symbol V is exclusively used
as mean velocity in this lecture. Hence for volume, we use the symbol with stroke
through it, i.e. V.
Example 2. What is the specific gravity of methane (CH4) at STP?
𝜌 𝑚𝑒𝑡 ℎ 𝑎𝑛𝑒 0.72 kg/m3
Solution: sg(methane)= 𝜌 𝑎𝑖𝑟
= 1.23 kg/m3 = 0.59
Example 3. A tank of water having a total mass of 36 kg rests on the floor of an
elevator. Determine the force (in Newtons) that the tank exerts on the floor when
the elevator is accelerating upward at 7 ft/s2.

Solution: 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎, or for the vertical direction 𝐹𝑓 − 𝑊 = 𝑚𝑎

𝐹𝑓 is the reaction force of the floor on the tank, and W is the weight of the tank
and water
𝐹𝑓 = 𝑚 𝑔 + 𝑎 = 36 × 9.81 + 7 ft/s 2 × 0.3048m/ft = 430N
The force the tank exerts on the floor equals 𝐹𝑓 , but opposite in direction.
Note: be careful with the units. We use SI units in this text.
Pressure– one of the most important concepts

Stress is the result of applied force per unit area (surface forces).
1. one normal to the surface, i.e. pressure and the normal stress (𝑝 =
𝜎
2. the other parallel or tangent to the surface. A shear stress (𝜏) is
developed due to the action of the tangential component on a
surface.

𝐹
Pressure is thus a normal force per unit area (𝑝 = 𝐴𝑛 : exists in fluids at rest
or in motion (always compressive, i.e. into the surface, which can be solid
or imaginary surface in fluid). Shear stress is a tangential (shear) force
per unit area: exists only for fluids in motion
 • The most often used pressure is referred to as absolute pressure.

• Zero pressure and atmospheric pressure (also known as Barometric

pressure) are used as reference for absolute pressure.

• If absolute pressure is measured with respect to the atmospheric

pressure, it is referred to as gage pressure.

Figure 8. (a) Absolute versus gage
pressure; (b) manometer; (c)
manometer with comparable
densities
•Body forces consist of all forces that are developed in
the fluid without physical contact. Body forces are
distributed over the volume of the fluid.
Electromagnetic and gravitational forces are examples
of body forces arising in a fluid. A body force therefore
is proportional to the volume or mass.
•Surface forces such as shear and normal stresses on
the other hand act on the boundaries of a fluid through
direct contact. Surface forces, such as pressure and
shear stress, are proportional to the area.
Example 4: Robert Fulton’s steamboat the Clermont was
powered by a steam-driven piston engine. The net steam
pressure acting on the piston was about 70 kPa and the piston
surface was circular, with a diameter of 0.6 m. What was the
magnitude of the force applied by the steam to the piston in
this engineering system?

Solution:
The normal force is the product of the pressure in the fluid and
the area of contact, thus:
𝜋𝐷2 3.14×0.62
𝐹𝑁 = 𝑝𝐴 = 𝑝 = 70,000 × = 19,782 N
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1.2 Other basic variables for fluid motion – mostly related to velocity

Velocity = distance/time. Velocity is the most important kinematic variable of a flow field. It is a
vector function of space and time. [m/s]
𝐕 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡 = 𝑢 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡 𝐢 + 𝑣 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡 𝐣 + 𝑤 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡 𝐤
𝑑𝑽
Acceleration = distance/time2=velocity/time; 𝒂 = (local acceleration) [m/s2]
𝑑𝑡
velocity 𝑑𝑽
Or Acceleration = velocity × ; 𝒂 = 𝑉 (convective acceleration)
length 𝑑𝑥
volume length×area
Discharge or volume flow rate = = =velocity×area; 𝑄 = 𝑉𝐴 [m3/s]
time time
mass mass volume
Mass flow rate = = × =density×discharge; 𝑚 = 𝜌𝑄 = 𝜌𝑉𝐴 [kg/s]
time volume time
Force =
momentum mass×velocity mass volume
= = × ×velocity=density×discharge×velocity; 𝐹 =
time time volume time
𝜌𝑄∆𝑉 [N]
Power =
work done force×distance pressure×area×distance pressure×volume
= = = =pressure×discharge
time time time time
; [W, J/s]

Head = energy/weight of flow = length

Flux = quantity cross unit surface area per unit time
Example 5. The velocity distribution for the flow of a Newtonian fluid between two wide and
parallel plates is given by the following equation.

3 𝑦 2
𝑢 = 𝑉 1− , where V is the mean velocity and V=3 m/s, and ℎ = 0.1 m. The fluid viscosity
2 ℎ
is 1.0×10-3 kg/(m.s).
Calculate
(a) The shearing stress acting on the bottom wall, and
(b) The shearing stress acting on the plan through the midplane, i.e. parallel to the walls and
pass through the centerline.

𝑑𝑢 3𝑉
Solution: 𝜏 = 𝜇 =𝜇 − 𝑦
𝑑𝑦 ℎ2
3𝑉 −3 3×3
At 𝑦 = −ℎ, 𝜏 =𝜇 = 1 × 10 × = 9 × 10−2 N/m2
ℎ 0.1
This stress along the lower wall, together with the same along the upper wall, creates a drag on
the wall.
At the mid plane, as y = 0, the sheering stress is zero. The above equation also shows that the
shearing stress varies linearly from the wall to the mid-plane.
Description of velocity field
Consider an observer fixed in space watching a fluid particle moving around, 𝑉 = 𝑉 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡
As 𝑉 = 𝑉 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡 , acceleration vector field is obtained as (using chain rule)
𝑑𝑉 𝜕𝑉 𝜕𝑡 𝜕𝑉 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑉 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑉 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑉 𝜕𝑉 𝜕𝑉 𝜕𝑉
𝑎= = + + + = +𝑢 +𝑣 +𝑤
𝑑𝑡 𝜕𝑡 𝜕𝑡 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑡 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑡 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑡 𝜕𝑡 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧
𝐷 𝜕 𝜕 𝜕 𝜕 𝜕
Define material derivative /substantial derivative = +𝑢 +𝑣 +𝑤 = +𝑉∙∇
𝐷𝑡 𝜕𝑡 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑡

 Eulerian method of description - Fluid properties as a function of position and time, e.g.
𝑝 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡 – the pressure field of the flow.
 Lagrangian method of description - Fluid properties follow an individual particle moving
through the flow, e.g. application of Newton’s 2nd law to a particle of fixed mass
𝑑𝑉 𝑑2 𝑟
𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 = 𝑚 =𝑚 2
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
When a pressure probe is introduced into a laboratory flow, it is fixed at a specific position
(x,y,z). Its output thus contributes to the description of the Eulerian pressure field p(x,y,z,t).

Figure 9. Change of velocity of a fluid

particle (element) in Cartesian
coordinates.
Substantial derivative and local derivative
Look at the temperature 𝑇 = 𝑇 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡 change in a flow field
dT T T T T
 u v w
dt t x , y , z x y , z ,t y x , z ,t z x , y ,t
where
T
is the local derivative (it is the rate of change of a fluid flow property as seen by
t x , y , z
an observer at a fixed position in space). Term d/dt is the total derivative, and
T T T
u v w is the convective acceleration (due to the change of flow
x y , z ,t y x , z ,t z x , y ,t
𝑑 𝐷
velocity in space). We often change to , which is referred to as the substantial
𝑑𝑡 𝐷𝑡
derivative (when one moves with the substance, and total derivative can be different
from the substantial derivative if one moves with the substance with a different
velocity, not shown). Thus the substantial derivative (D/Dt) refers to the time rate of
change of a fluid flow property as viewed by an observer at the origin of the
coordinate system, which is moving at the flow velocity 𝑉 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡 .

𝜕𝑇
When = 0, the field is steady, otherwise unsteady.
𝜕𝑡

Consider the right decelerating or accelerating flows, at

𝜕𝑉
steady state, according to the Eulerian approach, =
𝜕𝑡
𝐷𝑉
0; and according to the Lagrangian, = 𝑉 ∙ ∇ 𝑉 , not
𝐷𝑡
zero.
Line patterns for visualizing flows
Three basic types of line patterns are used to visualize flows
• Streamline (most commonly used) [Eulerian]
– A line everywhere tangent to the velocity vector at a
given instant
– Convenient to calculate mathematically
– Instantaneous line
• Pathline [Lagrangian]
– The actual path traversed by a given fluid particle, can be
shown by a long exposure photo, as left for a campfire
(wiki)
– Easier to generate experimentally
– Average property in time
• Streakline
– The locus (place or location) of particles which have
earlier passed through a given prescribed point
– Easier to generate experimentally
– Average property in time
In steady flow, streamline = pathline = streakline

A streamtube is formed by a close

collection of streamlines and the
streamtube walls need not be solid but
may be fluid surface
2000 years of mankind exploration of fluid mechanics

Archimedes Da Vinci Newton Leibniz Bernoulli Euler

(C. 287-212 BC) (1452-1519) (1642-1727) (1646-1716) (1667-1748) (1707-1783)

Buoyancy Visualization Newton’s law Calculus Bernoulli’s eq Euler’s eq

Navier Stokes Reynolds Prandtl Richardson Taylor

(1785-1836) (1819-1903) (1842-1912) (1875-1953) (1881-1953) (1886-1975)
Navier-Stokes’ equation Re Boundary layer CFD Turbulence
Mixing length
21
Review
Key concepts: fluids, shear stress, continuum hypothesis, pressure,
dynamic viscosity, kinematic viscosity, Newtonian fluids, steady flow,
ideal flow, viscous flow, streamline
𝑑𝑢
Key formulas: 𝜏 = −𝜇 , which is the Newton’s law of viscosity
𝑑𝑦

𝐷 𝜕 𝜕 𝜕 𝜕
= +𝑢 +𝑣 + 𝑤
𝐷𝑡 𝜕𝑡 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧

Fluid mechanics is the science of force and motion of fluid. Solid

mechanics is the science of force and motion of matter in solid state.

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