CE 326 HYDRAULICS

PROPERTIES OF FLUIDS
FLUID MECHANICS AND HYDRAULICS

Fluid Mechanics is a branch of physical science that deals with the action of fluids at rest or in motion, and
with applications and devices in engineering using fluids. Fluid Mechanics can be subdivided into two major areas,
fluid statics which deals with fluids at rest, and fluid dynamics concerned with fluids in motion.

Hydraulics deals with the application of fluid mechanics to engineering devices involving liquids, usually
water or oil. It deals with such problems as the flow of fluids through pipes or in open channels, the design of
storage dams, pumps and water turbines, and with other devices for the control or use of liquids, such as nozzles,
valves, jets and flowmeters.

FLUIDS

Fluids are substances capable of flowing, having particles which easily move and change their relative
position without a separation of the mass. Fluids offer practically no resistance to change form. They readily
conform to the shape of the solid body with which they come in contact.

 For the purpose of the application of fluid mechanics to design, it is convenient to consider two kinds of fluids,
compressible and incompressible. These characteristics are determined by the molecular spacing and
arrangement, or phase, of the substance. In general, changes in density are negligible for compressible flows
but are not negligible for incompressible flows.

 Fluids are generally divided into two categories, ideal fluids and real fluids.
Ideal Fluids Real Fluids
 Assumed to have no viscosity  Exhibit infinite viscosities
 Incompressible  Non-uniform velocity distribution when
 Have uniform velocity when flowing flowing
 No friction between moving layers of fluid  Compressible
 No eddy currents or turbulence  Experience friction and turbulence in flow

 Fluids may be divided into liquids and gasses. The principal differences between them are:
1. A liquid has a free surface, and a given mass of a liquid occupies only a given volume in a container. Gas does
not have a free surface, and a given mass of gas occupies all portions of any container regardless of its size.
2. Liquids are practically incompressible and usually may be so considered without introducing appreciable
error. On the other hand, gasses are compressible and usually must be so treated.

Vapors are gasses at temperatures below their critical temperatures and are compressible, but their
temperature-pressure-volume relationships cannot be expressed by simple mathematical equations like the
ideal gas law. Vapour properties are usually tabulated, as for example, in steam and refrigeration tables.

GCL
CE 326 HYDRAULICS

 The distinctions between a solid and a fluid should be noted here:

1. A solid is deformed by a shearing stress, the amount of unit deformation up to a certain point being
proportional to the unit stress; a fluid is also deformed by a shearing stress, but at a time rate of
deformation which is proportional to the stress.
2. If the elastic limit is not exceeded, the application of a given unit shearing stress to a solid produces a
certain unit deformation which is independent of the time of application of the force, and when the stress is
removed the solid returns to its original form. On the other hand, if a given shearing stress is applied to a
fluid, deformation continues to take place at a uniform rate with time, and when the stress is removed the
fluid does not, through forces contained within it, return to its original form.

PROPERTIES OF FLUIDS

 Mass Density, ρ
The density of a fluid is its mass per unit volume.

 Specific Volume, Vs
Specific Volume is the volume occupied by a unit mass of fluid.

 Specific Weight or Unit Weight, Ƴ

Specific Weight is the weight of a unit volume of a fluid.

Specific Weight of some common fluids

Specific Weight at 680F=200C
Fluid
lbf/ft3 N/m3
Air (at 1 atm) 0.0752 11.8
Ethyl Alcohol 49.2 7.733
SAE 30 Oil 55.5 8.720
Water 62.4 9.790
Seawater 64.0 10.050
Glycerin 78.7 12.360
Carbon Tetrachloride 99.1 15.570
Mercury 846 133.100

GCL
CE 326 HYDRAULICS
 Specific Gravity, s/SG/sp.gr./GS
Specific Gravity is a dimensionless ratio of a fluid’s density to some standard reference density. For liquids
and solids, the reference density is water at 4 degrees Celsius.

In gasses, the standard reference to calculate the specific gravity is the density of air.

 Dynamic Viscosity, μ
Viscosity is the property of a fluid which determines the amount of its resistance to shearing forces. A
perfect fluid would have no viscosity. There is no perfect fluid, but gasses show less variation in viscosity than
liquids. Water is one of the least viscous of all liquids, whereas glycerine, heavy oil, and molasses are liquids having
comparatively high viscosities. The viscosity of liquids decreases with increasing temperature, whereas the viscosity
of gasses increases with increasing temperature.

 Kinematic Viscosity, ν
Kinematic Viscosity is the ratio of the dynamic viscosity of the fluid to its mass density.

 Surface Tension, σ
The membrane of “skin” that seems to form on the free surface of a fluid is due to the intermolecular
cohesive forces, and is known as surface tension. Surface tension also causes bubbles and droplets to take on a
spherical shape, since any other shape would have more surface are per unit volume.

Pressure inside a Droplet of liquid:

Where σ = surface tension in N/m

P = gage pressure in Pascals
d = diameter of the droplet in m

 Capillarity
Capillarity (Capillary Action) is the name given to the behaviour of the liquid in a thin bore tube. The rise or
fall of a fluid in a capillary tube is caused by surface tension and depends on the relative magnitudes of the cohesion
of the liquid and the adhesion of the liquid to the walls of the containing vessel.

GCL
CE 326 HYDRAULICS
Liquids rise in tubes they wet (adhesion > cohesion) and fall in tubes that they do not wet (adhesion <
cohesion). Capillary is important when using tubes smaller than about 3/8 inch (9.5 mm) in diameter.

Capillary Rise Capillary Depression/Fall

Adhesion > Cohesion Adhesion < Cohesion

where: h = capillary rise/fall in m

Ƴ = unit weight in N/m3
d = diameter of the tube in m
σ = surface tension in Pa

 Compressibility, β
Compressibility (also known as the coefficient of compressibility) is the fractional change in the volume of a
fluid per unit in pressure in a constant temperature process.
( )

 Bulk Modulus of Elasticity, EB

The Bulk Modulus of Elasticity of the fluid expresses the compressibility of the fluid. It is the ratio of the
change in unit pressure to the corresponding volume change per unit of volume.

( )

 Pressure Disturbances

Pressure disturbances imposed on a fluid move in waves. The velocity or celerity of pressure wave (also
known as acoustical or sonic velocity) is expressed as:

√ √

GCL
CE 326 HYDRAULICS
Illustrative Problems:

1. If 5.6 m3 of oil weighs 46,800 N, calculate its density in kg/m3.

2. A reservoir of glycerine has a mass of 1200 kg and a volume of 0.952 m 3. Find its (a) weight, (b) unit weight,
(c) mass density and (d) specific gravity.
3. The volume of a granite is found to be 0.00015 m3. If the granite’s specific gravity is 2.6, what is its weight in
Newtons?
4. A certain liquid weighs 48.6 lb/ft3. Compute the specific volume and specific gravity of the liquid.
5. The mass of air in a room, which is 3 m x 5 m x 20 m is known to be 350 kg. Find the density.
6. Find the capillary rise in a tube 1 mm in diameter for a water-glass interface Ѳ = O0. The temperature is 200
and the surface tension of water is 0.0728 N/m.
7. Estimate the capillary depression for mercury in a glass capillary tube 2 mm in diameter. Use σ=0.514 N/m
and Ѳ=1400.
8. If a bubble is equivalent to an air-water interface with a surface tension of 0.0742 N/m, what is the pressure
difference between the inside and outside of a bubble with diameter 2 mm?
9. What is the specific weight of air at 480 kPa absolute and 210C?
10. Find the mass density of helium at temperature of 40C and a pressure of 184 kPa gage, if atmospheric
pressure is 101.92 kPa. (R = 2079 J/kg-0K)

GCL