DGP2053 FLUID MECHANICS/UNIT 1.

CHAPTER 1

BASIC CONCEPTS OF
FLUID MECHANICS

OBJECTIVES

After completing this chapter, student should be able to;

 Compare between a gas, liquid and solid

 Describe pressure and temperature scales
 Apply physical properties of fluids
 DGP2053 FLUID MECHANICS/UNIT 1.0

INTRODUCTION TO FLUID MECHANICS

Fluid Mechanics is a section of applied mechanics, concerned with the static and
dynamic of liquid and gases.

Knowledge of fluid mechanics is essential for the chemical engineer because the
majority of chemical processing operations are conducted either partially or totally in fluid
phase.

The handling of liquids is much simpler, cheaper and less troublesome than handling
solids. Even in many operations a solid is handled in a finely divided state so that it
stays in suspension in a fluid.

1.1 FLUID AND THEIR PROPERTIES

In everyday life, we recognize three states of matter: solid, liquid and gas.
Although different in many respects, liquids and gases have a common
characteristic in which they differ from solids. Both are fluids but lacking the
ability of solids to offer permanent resistance to a deforming force.

1.1.1 Differences between solids and fluids

The molecules of a solid are usually closer together than those of a fluid. The
attractive forces between the molecules of a solid are so large that a solid tends
to retain its shape. This is not the case for a fluid, where the attractive forces
between the molecules are smaller.

1.1.2 Liquids and Gases

Fluids can be either liquids or gases.

Although liquids and gases both share the common characteristics of fluids, they
have many distinctive characteristics of their own. A liquid is difficult to compress
and for many purposes may be regarded as incompressible. A given mass of
liquid occupies a fixed volume, irrespective of the size or shape of its container,
and a free surface is formed (Fig. 1.1(a)) if the volume of container is greater than
that of liquid.
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A gas is comparatively easy to compress. Changes of volume with pressure are

large, cannot normally neglect and are related to changes of temperature. A
given mass of a gas has no fixed volume and will expand continuously unless
restrained by a containing vessel. It will completely fill any vessel in which it is
placed and therefore does not form a free surface (Fig. 1.1(b))

(a) Liquid (b) Gas

Fig 1.1 Behaviour of a fluid in a container

1.2 DEFINITION OF PRESSURE

Pressure is defined as the amount of force exerted on a unit area of a substance.

This can be stated by the equation

Force
pressure 
Area over which the force is applied
F
p
A

Units : Newton’s per square metre, Nm-2,kgm-1s-2.

(The same unit is also known as Pascal, Pa i.e 1 Pa = 1Nm-2)

Also frequently used is the alternative SI unit the bar,

where 1 bar = 105Nm-2

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1.2.1 Absolute and Gauge Pressure

Atmospheric Pressure, patm

- The earth is surrounded by an atmosphere many miles high. The

pressure due to this atmosphere at the surface of the earth depends
upon the head of the air above the surface.

- The air is compressible; therefore the density is different at different

height.

- Due to the weight of atmosphere or air above the surface of earth, it is

difficult to calculate the atmospheric pressure. So, atmospheric
pressure is measured by the height of column of liquid that it can
support.

- Atmospheric pressure at sea level is about 101.325 kN/m2, which is

equivalent to a head of 10.35 m of water or 760 mm of mercury
approximately, and it decreases with altitude.

Gauge Pressure, pG

- It is the pressure, measured with the help of a pressure measuring

instrument, in which the atmospheric pressure is taken as datum; in
other words the atmospheric pressure at the gauge scale is marked
zero.

- The gauge pressure can be either positive or negative depending on

whether the pressure is above atmospheric pressure (a positive value)
or below atmospheric pressure (a negative value).
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Absolute Pressure, pA

- It is the pressure equal to the algebraic sum of the atmospheric and

gauge pressures.

Absolute pressure  Gauge pressure  Atmospheric pressure

p A  pG  p atm

Vacuum, pv

- In a perfect vacuum which is a completely empty space, the pressure

is zero

gauge pressure +ve Local

atmospheric
Pgauge pressure
pressure –ve reference

absolute pressure absolute pressure

Figure 1.2 Pressure Gauges

Exercise 1.1

What is the pressure gauge of air in the cylinder if the atmospheric gauge is
101.3 kN/m2 and absolute pressure is 460 kN/m2.