LIFE IN A FLUID Dr Julia Bryant

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 Module outline
Fluid statics

• What is a fluid?
Density

Pressure

• Fluid pressure and depth
Pascal’s principle
• Buoyancy
Archimedes’ principle

Fluid dynamics

• Reynolds number
• Equation of continuity

• Bernoulli’s principle
• Viscosity and Turbulent flow
• Poiseuille’s equation

http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/teach_res/jp/fluids/wfluids.htm
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 What is a fluid?
• A gas or a liquid that takes the shape of a container
• A fluid can flow.
• A fluid is a collection of randomly arranged molecules
held together by weak cohesive forces and the forces
exerted by the walls of the container.
solid liquid gas

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Static fluids
Density
Definition (ρ Greek letter rho)

m
ρ density of object! ρ=
V
m mass of object
V volume of object"

Units
SI unit kg.m-3
Other units g.mL-1
1 mL = 1 cm3 = (10-2)3 m3 = 10-6 m3
1 g = 10-3 kg
1 g.mL-1 = 103 kg.m-3

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Density values (kg.m-3)
Why does a cork float?
Interstellar space 10-20 Why does ice float?
Best laboratory vacuum 10-17
Air (20 °C and 1 atm) 1.21

Styrofoam 100
Average density of an object < density of
cork 240 fluid => object floats
Ice 917
Good Beer 1006.8
Water (20 °C and 1 atm) 998
SaltWater 1024
Whole blood 1060
Earth (average) ~5500
Iron 7900
Mercury 13 600
Osmium (most dense element) 22 500
Lead DEMO 11 340 Aerogel – the
Uranium nucleus 1017 least dense
solid on earth
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Neutron star (core) 1018 1.5 kg.m-3
Static fluids

Pressure F
p=
P A
F force at right angles to surface
A area of contact over which force acts

Units
pressure p Pa pascal 1 Pa = 1 N.m-2
force F N newton 1 N = 1 kg.m.s-2
area A m2

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How large is atmospheric pressure?

Rough calculation
Pressure at Earth’s surface due to
p=F/A but F=ma weight of atmosphere

p=mg/A but ρ = m/V ρair = 1.21 kg.m-3

m=ρV
g = 9.8 m.s-2
p=ρVg/A
h ~ 10 km
p=ρAhg/A

p=ρhg

p = (1.21)(104)(9.8) Pa

p = 1.19 x105 Pa

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Atmospheric Pressure patm

1.013x105 Pa
101.3 kPa
1013 hPa (hecto means 102)
1013 mb (millibar)
1.013 b (bar)
760 mmHg
14.7 lb.in2 (14.7 psi)

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 Atmospheric Pressure patm
Pressure on your head ~ 1 atm
Force = pA
=1.01 x 105 N/m2 x π x (10 cm)2
~ 3200 N = 0.33 ton
= 23.5 cases beer (stubbies)

Why don’t you collapse?

Are people with big The atmospheric pressure of Jupiter is 90

heads under more times that of earth, that would crush a car
pressure? absolutely flat!

DEMO 9
What is the force that crushes a steel
beer can when the air is pumped out
of it?
Force to collapse can F = p A

Assume atmospheric pressure acts only on outside

surface of can
p = patm = 1.013 x 105 Pa

Consider a cylinder of radius R = 0.035 m and height

h = 0.10 m A = 2(π R2) + 2π R h

F = (1.013 x 105){(2π)(0.035)2 + (2π)(0.035)(0.10)} N

F = 3007.4 N
How big is this force?
Consider a full keg of beer which weighs 72.8kg =>
F=mg = 72.8x9.8 = 713 N =>force equivalent to the
weight of > 4 full kegs. 10
What does it mean when we are told to
inflate a tyre to 100 kPa?

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? What does it mean when we are told to inflate a tyre to 100
kPa?
Answer

Pressure gauges measure the pressure above and below

atmospheric (or barometric) pressure.
Need to distinguish between a gauge pressure and
absolute pressure.
200

100 300

0 400

patm = 101 kPa

pgauge = 100 kPa
pabsolute = (101 + 100) kPa = 201 kPa

pabsolute = pgauge + patm

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How does a gas or liquid exert
a pressure on its container
walls?!

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? How does a gas or liquid exert a pressure on its container walls?

Answer
Impact of a molecule on the wall of the
container exerts a force on the wall and
the wall exerts a force on the molecule.
Many impacts occur each second and
the total average force per unit area is
called the pressure.

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In 1964 Otto van Guericke, mayor of Magdeburg, placed two
35.5cm hemispheres together and pumped out the air; 16 horses
could not pull them apart.
DEMO15
 What weight can the Magdeburg plates support?
- what is the force on the bottom plate?
patm = 1x105 Pa

R = 24 cm
p1 F1 A = π R2

p=F/A F=pA
p0
F0 = (1x105)(π)(0.24)2 N
mg F0
Say F1=0.9F0
F0 = 18,095 N
ΣF=0

F1 + mg = F0 mg = F0 - 0.9 F0 = 0.1 F0

mg=0.1 x 18,095 = 1809.5 N

Max m= 1809.5/9.8 = 185 kg = 13 cases beer! 16

 pressure !!!
What pressure is applied to the ground if a person stood on one heel?

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m = 70 kg

FG = 700 N

A = 10 mm x 10 mm

A = (100)(10-3)(10-3) m2

A = 10-4 m2

p=F/A

p = 700 / 10-4 Pa

p = 700 x 104 Pa

p = 7 x 106 Pa
pressure !!!
p / patm = 7x106 / 1x105 atm = 70 atm

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Why is it better is use a sharp knife?

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Why is it better is use a sharp knife?

F
p= A p
A
F force at right angles to surface
Stress A area of contact
is uni-directional (youover which
press force acts
downward with
the knife). "
Pressure is omni-directional (you pump air into a F
tyre and it inflates in all directions).

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 FLUID PRESSURE p
• Provided that an object immersed in a
fluid is not moving, the force on each
small part of the contact surface is
perpendicular to the surface so the
interaction can be described completely in
terms of pressure.

• Fluid pressure always acts perpendicular force

to any surface irrespective of how the
surface is oriented.
area
• If there is relative motion between the
fluid and solid object, the force has
components parallel to the surface and
the interaction is not simply described by
the pressure. pressure

• Pressure has no intrinsic direction of its

own (pressure is scalar) 21
Pressure increases with depth in a fluid
Mass = m
= ρ dV
= ρ A dy

Fluid element is in equilibrium so net forces are zero.

Horizontal force is due to pressure only, and p is the same on both

sides.
p p

p
pA - (p +dp)A + mg = 0 m= ρ V
y
pA - pA – dpA + ρVg = 0
dy A
-dp A + g ρ A dy = 0

mg p+dp dp = ρ g
dy

As y increases (deeper), 22
p increases
 Pressure increases with depth in a fluid
In a static fluid, with uniform density ρ,
Pressure at depth h = pressure acting on surface
+ pressure due to height of liquid

ph = p0 + F
A
F = weight of column liquid of cross sectional area A
F = mg
p0 pressure acting on surface
m=ρV
= ρ Ah

F = ma = ρ Ahg = ρgh
A A Weight of
h column
of liquid
ph = p0 + ρgh ph F
A
If the pressure at the surface
increases then the pressure at depth Liquid – uniform density ρ
h increases by the same amount. 23
 Snorkelling

patm ph = patm + ρ g h

Δp = ph – patm
200 mm
Δp = ρ g h

Δp = (1030)(9.8)(0.2) Pa
ph
Δp = 2x103 Pa

if h > 200 mm

Δp too large, lungs collapse 24

You dive deep down into the water.
Does it matter whether it is in the ocean or a swimming pool?

! The pressure within a uniform stationary

fluid is the same at all points in the
same horizontal plane.
h

The pressure exerted by a static fluid depends only upon the depth of
the fluid, the density of the fluid, and the acceleration of gravity

ph = p0 + ρ g h

Static pressure does not depend upon mass or surface area of liquid
and the shape of container due to pressure exerted by walls.
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How to burst open a barrel of beer.
If a barrel is full of beer and a long narrow pipe is inserted in
the top, no matter how strong the barrel, it can be burst by
adding a high enough column of beer, even though the total
weight of beer in the tube is small compared to that of the beer
in the barrel.
ph = p0 + ρgh

Pascal’s experiment:
The radius of the lid was 20 cm, and the height of the water
in the tube was 12m when the barrel burst.

(a) What was the force of the fluid pushing out on the top of
the barrel?
F=pA p= ρgh so F= ρgh πR2
F = (1x103x9.8x12x π x 0.22) N = 14,800 N

(b) If the tube had an inner radius of 3mm, what mass of

water caused the pressure that burst the barrel?
M= ρh πR2 = 1x103x12 x 9x10-6 Kg = 0.34 Kg = 340g 26
A scuba diver's lungs can rupture
if he doesn't breathe while surfacing?

Why?

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Example problem:
The pressure on the surface of a lake is atmospheric pressure, Pat.
(a) At what depth is the pressure twice atmospheric pressure?
(b) If the lake was full of mercury, at what depth is the pressure 2Pat?

(a) p = pat + ρgh

When p=2pat, 2pat = pat + ρgh

pat = ρgh
h = pat /ρg
= 1.01 x 105/(1x 103 x 9.8) = 10.3m

(b) hHg = pat /ρHgg

= 1.01 x 105/(13645 x 9.8) = 75cm
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Another example problem:
Blood flows into the aorta through a circular opening of
radius 0.9cm.
If the blood pressure is 120 torr, how much force must be
exerted by the heart?

1 torr = 133.322Pa = 133.322 N.m-2

120 torr =120 x 133.322 N.m-2

F = pA

F = 120 x 133.322 x π x (9x10-3 )2 N

= 4.07 N
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And another example problem:
A 1500kg car rests on four tires, each of which is inflated to a gauge
pressure of 200kPa. What is the area of contact of each tire with
the road if the four tires support the weight equally?

F = pgaugeA A=F/pgauge Fcar=1500 x 9.8

A = 1500 x 9.8/(4 x 2 x 105 ) = 1.8 x 10-2 m2 =184 cm2

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Why do your ears feel different when you dive into deep water?

Why does atmospheric pressure change as you go up a mountain?

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