FLUID MECHANICS

OUTCOME 1 - LESSON 2
FLUID KINEMATICS

OBJECTIVES
Demonstrate an understanding of basic fluid mechanics related to compressible and
incompressible fluids
You should at the end of this study be able to:

Describe the kinematics of fluid motion in terms of:

• Streamlines
• streamtubes
• particle paths
• streaklines.

Define the following:

• Irrotational and rotational flows
• Circulation
• Vorticity

Develop stress-strain relations for:

* Newtonian fluids
* non-Newtonian fluids
* Navier-Stokes equations of motion.

Pre-Requisite Knowledge Requirement

In order to study this module, you should already have a good knowledge of fluid mechanics.

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A web search will produce many references and diagrams to help you understand the following terms.
Applications of this work is covered in later tutorials especially the ones on stream functions and velocity
potential. In this work simplified explanations are offered.

STREAM LINES and STREAM TUBE

A simple definition of a streamline is that it is an imaginary

line within a fluid flow such as the red line shown and all
the molecules on that line are moving along it at a given
instant in time. In the diagrams the particles in blue all exist
at the same instant and are travelling along a tangent to the
stream line. In other words, all the particles of fluid at any
instant are moving tangentially to the line. There is no flow
normal to a stream line so they are always parallel.

A simple definition of a streamtube is that it is an imaginary tube of some shape entirely composed of
stream lines. It follows that no molecules are travelling through the surface of a stream tube and so the mass
flow inside it is constant throughout its length.

These concepts are useful in solving problems especially those involving theoretical flow patterns.
Consider a particle at coordinates x, y moving on a stream line.
The velocity is a vector quantity denoted
If the velocity is resolved into the x and y components these are
denoted u and v. It follows that the gradient of the streamline is
the same ratio as u/v so

It follows that in 3 dimensions with a velocity component w in the

z direction that:

PATHLINES and STREAKLINES

Suppose that a stream of particles is released at regular time

intervals at the origin on a 2-dimensional plane with x - y
coordinates and the fluid flowing across this plane is
unsteady (variable). The red line shows the absolute path
taken by each particle released at time t0 to t4. Each path
shown in red is called a pathline. The blue line is the locus
of these points and this is called the streakline. A streakline
is hence the instantaneous position of all the particles that
have passed through a given point. A good way to visualise a
streak line would be what you see when a continuous stream is released into a flow like smoke from a
chimney or a stream of dye, bubbles or smoke. The same applies to a 3 dimensional flow pattern.
Other points to note - Particles cannot cross a solid surface so it must be made up of streamlines.
In a steady flow, a streamline, streakline and pathline are all the same.

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CIRCULATION

Consider a stream line that forms a closed loop. The

velocity of the streamline at any point is vT (tangential to
the curve) with radius of curvature R. The radius is
rotating at angular velocity . Now consider a small
length of that streamline ds.

The circulation is defined as

The integration is performed around the entire loop.

When R and ω are constant:
vT = R ds = R d

In terms of vT K = 2vTR

VORTICITY

Vorticity is defined as
A is the area of the rotating element. If R and ω are constant the stream line is a circle and:
vT= R ds = R dθ and dA = ½ R2 dθ

CURL OF THE VELOCITY

If a particle is spinning about its axis as shown the CURL is the

velocity vector (shown in red) that represents the magnitude and
direction of spin using the right-hand rule (i.e. clockwise viewed from
the back of the arrow).

IRROTATIONAL AND ROTATIONAL FLOWS

Consider a particle of fluid rotating

about a point on a 2-dimensional
plane. The colored arrows indicate
the orientation of the element
relative to its own centre. If this
always remains the same the flow is
irrotational but if it changes then it
is rotational.

In other words it refers to whether the particle spins about its own centre. This can be demonstrated with a
vorticity meter that moves with the fluid and indicates its orientation. The mathematical definition of
irrotational flow is - fluid flow in which the curl of the velocity function is zero everywhere, so that the
circulation of the velocity about any closed curve vanishes.

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NEWTONIAN FLUIDS

In order to understand a Newtonian Fluid, you first need to understand the meaning of VISCOSITY.

Molecules of fluids exert forces of attraction on each other. In liquids this is strong enough to keep the mass
together but not strong enough to keep it rigid. In gases these forces are very weak and cannot hold the mass
together.

When a fluid flows over a surface, the layer next to the

surface may become attached to it (it wets the surface). The
layers of fluid above the surface are moving so there must be
shearing taking place between the layers of the fluid. Let us
suppose that the fluid is flowing over a flat surface in
laminated layers from left to right as shown in the diagram
above.

y is the distance above the solid surface (no slip surface)

L is an arbitrary distance from a point upstream.
dy is the thickness of each layer.
dL is the length of the layer.
dx is the distance moved by each layer relative to the one below in a corresponding time dt.
u is the velocity of any layer.
du is the increase in velocity between two adjacent layers.

Each layer moves a distance dx in time dt relative to the layer below it. The ratio dx/dt must be the change
in velocity between layers so du = dx/dt.

When any material is deformed sideways by a (shear) force acting in the same direction, a shear stress  is
produced between the layers and a corresponding shear strain  is produced. Shear strain is defined as
follows.
sidewaysdeformation dx
= =
height of thelayer being deformed dy

The rate of shear strain is defined as follows.

shear strain  dx du
 = = = =
time taken dt dt dy dy

It is found that fluids such as water, oil and air, behave in such a manner that the shear stress between layers
is directly proportional to the rate of shear strain.
=μ
Where μ is a constant called the DYNAMIC VISCOSITY

Fluids that obey this law are called NEWTONIAN FLUIDS.

The dynamic viscosity is hence defined as

shear stress  dy
DYNAMIC VISCOSITY = = =
rate of shear  du

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UNITS of VISCOSITY

DYNAMIC VISCOSITY µ

The units of dynamic viscosity µ are N s/m2. It is normal in the international system (SI) to give a name to a
compound unit. The old metric unit was a dyne.s/cm2 and this was called a POISE after Poiseuille. The SI
unit is related to the Poise as follows.

10 Poise = 1 Ns/m2 which is not an acceptable multiple.

Since, however, 1 Centi Poise (1cP) is 0.001 N s/m2 then the cP is the accepted SI unit.

1cP = 0.001 N s/m2.

The symbol  is also commonly used for dynamic viscosity.

There are other ways of expressing viscosity and this is covered next.

KINEMATIC VISCOSITY 

This is defined as :  = dynamic viscosity /density  = µ/

The basic units are m2/s. The old metric unit was the cm2/s and this was called the STOKE after the British
scientist. The SI unit is related to the Stoke as follows.

1 Stoke (St) = 0.0001 m2/s and is not an acceptable SI multiple. The centi Stoke (cSt),however, is 0.000001
m2/s and this is an acceptable multiple.
1cSt = 0.000001 m2/s = 1 mm2/s
OTHER UNITS

Other units of viscosity have come about because of the way viscosity is measured. For example,
REDWOOD SECONDS comes from the name of the Redwood viscometer. Other units are Engler Degrees,
SAE numbers and so on. Conversion charts and formulae are available to convert them into useable
engineering or SI units. Three classic viscometers are shown below but modern electronic instruments are
much simpler to use.

U TUBE REDWOOD FALLING SPHERE

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FORCE BALANCE AND VELOCITY DISTRIBUTION

A shear stress  exists between each layer and it increases by

d over each layer. The pressure difference between the
downstream end and the upstream end is dp.

The pressure change is needed to overcome the shear stress.

The total force on a layer must be zero so balancing forces on
one layer (assumed 1 m wide) we get the following.

d dp
dp dy + d dL = 0 =−
dy dL

It is normally assumed that the pressure declines uniformly with distance downstream so the pressure
dp
gradient is assumed constant. The minus sign indicates that the pressure falls with distance. Integrating
dL
between the no slip surface (y = 0) and any height y we get
 du 
d  
− dL = d =  dy 
2
dp dp
− dL =  d u2
dy dy dy
Integrating twice to solve u we get the following.
dp du
−y = +A
dL dy
− y 2 dp
=  u + Ay + B
2 dL

A and B are constants of integration that should be solved based on the known conditions (boundary
conditions). At a solid surface we have one boundary condition u = 0 when y = 0 (the no slip surface).
Substitution reveals 0 = 0 + 0 + B hence B = 0
At some height  above the surface, the velocity will reach the mainstream velocity uo. This gives us the
 2 dpboundary condition u = uo when y = . Substituting we find the following.
second
− = + 
uo A
2 dL
 dp u y2 dp   dp u 
A=− − o hence − =  u + − − o y
2 dL  2 dL  2 dL  
  dp uo 
u = y + 
 2 dL  

Plotting u against y produces the graph of the BOUNDARY

LAYER. This is a layer in which the velocity grows from zero at
the surface to a maximum at height . In theory, the value of  is
infinity but in practice it is taken as the height needed to obtain
99% of the mainstream velocity. This layer is called the boundary
layer and  is the boundary layer thickness. It is a very important
concept and is discussed more fully in later work. The inverse
gradient of the boundary layer is du/dy and this is the rate of
shear strain .

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NON-NEWTONIAN FLUIDS

A Newtonian fluid as discussed so far in this tutorial is a fluid that obeys the law

A Non – Newtonian fluid is generally described by the non-linear law

y is known as the yield shear stress and  is the rate of shear strain.
Consider the principle forms of this equation shown on the next diagram.

Graph A shows an ideal fluid that has no viscosity and hence has no shear stress at any point. This is often
used in theoretical models of fluid flow.

Graph B shows a Newtonian Fluid. This is the type of fluid with which this book is mostly concerned,
fluids such as water and oil. The graph is hence a straight line and the gradient is the viscosity .

There is a range of other liquid or semi-liquid materials that do not obey this law and produce strange flow
characteristics. Such materials include various foodstuffs, paints, cements and so on. Many of these are in
fact solid particles suspended in a liquid with various concentrations.

Graph C shows the relationship for a Dilatent fluid. The gradient and hence viscosity increase with  and
such fluids are also called shear-thickening. This phenomenon occurs with some solutions of sugar and
starches.

Graph D shows the relationship for a Pseudo-plastic. The gradient and hence viscosity reduce with  and
they are called shear-thinning. Most foodstuffs are like this as well as clay and liquid cement.

Other fluids behave like a plastic and require a minimum stress y before it shears. This is plastic behavior
but unlike plastics, there may be no elasticity prior to shearing.

Graph E shows the relationship for a Bingham plastic. This is the special case where the behavior is the
same as a Newtonian fluid except for the existence of the yield stress. Foodstuffs containing high level of
fats approximate to this model (butter, margarine, chocolate and Mayonnaise).

Graph F shows the relationship for a plastic fluid that exhibits shear thickening characteristics.

Graph G shows the relationship for a Casson fluid. This is a plastic fluid that exhibits shear-thinning
characteristics. This model was developed for fluids containing rod like solids and is often applied to molten
chocolate and blood.

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 MATHEMATICAL MODELS

The graphs that relate shear stress  and rate of shear strain  are based on models or equations. Most are
mathematical equations created to represent empirical data.

Hirschel and Bulkeley developed the power law for non-Newtonian equations. This is as follows.

 = y+ Kn K is called the consistency coefficient and n is a power.

In the case of a Newtonian fluid n = 1 and y = 0 and K =  (the dynamic viscosity)  = 


For a Bingham plastic, n = 1 and K is also called the plastic viscosity p. The relationship reduces to
 =  y + p   

For a dilatent fluid, y = 0 and n>1

For a pseudo-plastic, y = 0 and n<1

The model for both is

The Herchel-Bulkeley model is

This may be developed as follows.

 =  y+ K n
 −  y = K n sometimes written as −  y =  p n where  p is called the plastic viscosity.
dividing by 
 y  n 
− =K = Kn−1

  
 y
= + K n−1 The ratio is called the apparent viscosity  app
 
 y
 app =  = + K n−1
 
y
For a Bingham plasticn =1 so  app = + K

For a Fluid with no yield shear value  y = 0 so  = Kn−1
app

The Casson fluid model is quite different in form from the others and is as follows.
1 1 1
 2 = y2 + K2

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NAVIER-STOKES EQUATIONS

It is difficult to see how this will be used in the examination and if I was taking the examination, I would
not waste too much time on it. To understand what it is all about requires a very good knowledge of pure
mathematics and physics. To explain it as a small section of the learning outcome is impossible. The
following is a brief description. Many full descriptions may be found on the internet and these are the best
two links that I found so far.
First Link
Second Link

The Navier–Stokes equations describe the motion of fluid in a continuum and result from applying 3D
maths (Vector and Matrix) to Newton’s laws of motion. It is derived by balancing all the forces acting on
the planes of an element. Body forces are the normal stress σ (often simplified to pressure) and forces like
gravity or magnetism. Surface forces are the viscous shearing forces. The fluid is regarded as a continuum
rather than discrete particles. This is how we consider magnetic and electric fields. Fluid properties such as
pressure, velocity and density may be seen as fields in the same way.

In a continuum a property field varies continuously in 3 dimensions so it is assumed that derivatives exist in
all directions. It is convenient to refer to a small bit of the continuum as a parcel and two modes of
mathematics may be applied. One is Eulerian in which a fixed point in the continuum is studied. The other
is Lagrangian in which a small parcel of fluid moving along a streamline is studied.

A vector velocity has components u, v and w in the x, y and z directions. Derivations require a strict
definition of directions and planes. Forces acting normal to a plane are defined by the direction normal to it.
Hence σx is the normal stress acting on the plane with its normal in the x direction.
Shear stress  cannot act normal to a surface so there are only two directions for a given plane and these are
defined with two suffixes. The first suffix defines the plane with a normal in that direction and the second
suffix is the direction it is acting. Hence xy means the shear stress on the plane normal to the x direction in
the direction of y and xz means the shear stress on the plane normal to the x direction in the direction of z.
This is illustrated. The three equations that can be derived are:

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D seems to be the preferred symbol for d as in d/dt or D/Dt
is an operator called DEL that is explained elsewhere.
μ is the dynamic viscosity.
f is the body force per unit mass

For incompressible fluids the density is constant and for inviscid fluids the viscosity is zero.

A separate tutorial on this web site attempts to explain it further. There are no self assessment questions
for this tutorial as applications of all the above are covered in the rest of the module.

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