MODULE 1

▪ Fluid mechanics may be defined as that branch of

engineering science which deals with the behaviour of
fluids under the conditions of rest and motion.

▪ It includes liquids, gases, plasmas and, to some an

extent plastics solids.
[Plasma (in human body) is the liquid portion of blood. About 55% of our blood is plasma, and the
remaining 45% are red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets that are suspended in the plasma.
Plasma is about 92% water.]
Plastic solid – A solid that undergoes change of shape continuously and indefinite after the stress applied
to it passes its elastic limit. Examples includes Polyethelene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polysterene (PS) and
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC). Thermosets, or thermosetting polymers, can melt and take shape only once after
they have solidified, they stay solid.
 Lesson 2. Fluid Classification, Fluid Properties

Definition of fluid

▪ It may be defined as follows:

o A fluid is a substance which is capable of flowing but

don’t have definite shape of its own.
Or
o A fluid is a substance which cause it to undergo a
deformation continuously when subjected to external
shearing force.
➢ Fluid is a common state of certain substances, or a
type of matter.
➢ Fluids flow and has some viscosity (thickness).

➢ Liquid is one of the three phases or state of matter.

➢ Liquids also flows and it has volume, but no definite

shape.
An important difference between Liquid and Fluid

Liquid describes a state of matter—as do “solid” and

gaseous—whereas a fluid is any substance that flows.
▪ Nitrogen gas, for example, is a fluid, whereas orange
juice is both a liquid and a fluid.
▪ Water exists as a liquid. Air is a fluid? Since fluid is any
substance that flows.
▪ Air is made of stuff, air particles, that are loosely held
together in a gas form.
▪ Although liquids are the most commonly recognized
fluids, gasses are also fluids.
Types of Fluid

The fluid can be classified as follows:

1. Ideal Fluid
2. Real Fluid
3. Newtonian Fluid
4. Non-Newtonian Fluid
5. Ideal Plastic Fluid
1. Ideal Fluid
▪ A fluid, which is incompressible and is having no
viscosity or has zero viscosity is known as an ideal
fluid.
▪ Ideal fluid is only an imaginary fluid as all the fluids,
which exist, have some viscosity.
2. Real Fluid
▪ The fluids, which possesses viscosity is known as real
fluid.
▪ Every one of the liquids, in genuine practice, are
genuine liquids.

▪ All the fluids: in actual practice, are real fluids. Ex. All
the fluids existing or present in the environment are
called real fluids.

▪ Some of its examples are petrol, air etc.

3. Newtonian Fluid
▪ A real fluids in which the shear stress is directly proportional to
the rate of shear strain ( or velocity gradient).
▪ These are real fluids in which there is a linear relation between
the magnitude of shear stress and the resulting velocity
gradient [Figure 1.3(a)].
▪ Fluids which obey the Newton’s law of viscosity
▪ Some of the Newtonian fluids are air, water, glycerine,
kerosene and molten metals.
4. Non-Newtonian fluid
▪ A real fluids in which the shear stress is not
proportional to the rate of shear strain (or velocity
gradient).
▪ Fluids which do not obey the Newton’s law of viscosity.
▪ These are real fluids in which there is a non-linear
relation between the magnitude of shear stress and
velocity gradient as shown in Figure 1.3(a).
▪ The behaviour of non-Newtonian fluid may be given by
power law as expressed below.
Here, k is a consistency index and n is a flow behaviour index.
For a Newtonian fluid k = μ and n = 1.
❑ Some of the non-Newtonian fluids are slurries, polymer
solutions, suspensions, grouts, human blood, thick lubricating
oil, toothpaste and gels.
The study of non-Newtonian fluids is known as ‘Rheology’ and it
comes under the following groups.
(a)Pseudo-plastic fluids: Non-Newtonian fluids for which n < 1
are called pseudo-plastic fluids (or shear thinning fluids) and
its dynamic viscosity decreases as the rate of shear increases.
Some examples of this type of fluids are milk, blood, colloidal
solutions, clay and liquid cement.
(b) Dilatant: Non-Newtonian fluids for which n > 1 are
called dilatant (or shear thickening fluids) and its
dynamic viscosity increases as the rate of shear
increases. Some examples of this type of fluids are
concentrated sugar solution, aqueous suspension of rice
starch and quicksand.
(c) Ideal plastic fluid: Non-Newtonian fluids in which
shear stress is more than the yield value and there is a
linear relation between shear stress and the velocity
gradient is known as ideal plastic fluid or Bingham plastic.
For example, sewage sludge and toothpaste does not
flow out of the tube until a finite stress is applied by
squeezing.
 (d) Thixotropic fluid: Non-Newtonian fluids which have
a non-linear relationship between the shear stress and
the velocity gradient beyond an initial yield stress are
called thixotropic fluids, for example, printer’s ink. These
fluids thin out with time and require decreasing stress to
maintain a constant velocity gradient, whereas fluids
which require increasing shear stress to maintain a
constant velocity gradient are called rheopectic
(Figure 1.3(b)).
5. Ideal Plastic Fluid
▪ The fluids in which shear stress is more than the yield value
and shear stress is proportional to the rate of shear strain
(or velocity gradient).
In Figure 1.3(a), an ideal fluid is represented by the horizontal axis for which
shear stress, τ = 0.
 FLUID PROPERTIES

❑ Properties of fluid are the characteristics of a fluid

by which its physical condition may be described.

❑ It helps in the formulation of general laws which

govern fluid motion.

Some of the important properties of fluids are

▪ density, ▪ viscosity,
▪ specific weight, ▪ surface tension,
▪ specific volume, ▪ capillarity,
▪ specific gravity, ▪ compressibility and
▪ vapour pressure.
▪ The properties that are independent of the mass of a
system are called intensive properties, for example,
temperature, pressure and density.

▪ The properties that depend on the size (or extent) of

the system are called extensive properties.

▪ Thus, in dividing a system into two equal parts if the

properties become half of the original system then
the properties are said to be extensive properties, for
example, mass and volume.
 MASS DENSITY OR DENSITY

SPECIFIC WEIGHT OR WEIGHT DENSITY

SPECIFIC VOLUME
SPECIFIC GRAVITY OR RELATIVE DENSITY
 Sample #2.1. Determine (i) specific weight, (ii) density and
(iii) specific gravity of 3 litres of a liquid that weighs 24 N.
Solution

Given: W = 24 N V = 3 litres Since 1 cu m = 1000 𝑙𝑖

1 𝑚3
3 𝑙𝑖 𝑥 = 3𝑥 10−3 𝑚3
Required: the (i) specific weight 1000 𝑙𝑖

(𝑤), (ii)density (𝜌), and (iii)specific

gravity (S) of three liters of a liquid
Solution

W 24 N N
i) specific weight (𝑤) = = = 8000
𝑣 3 𝑥 10−3 𝑚3 𝑚3
 𝑊 𝑊
ii) Since 𝑚 = and 𝑤 =
𝑔 𝑣
𝑊 𝑤𝑣
𝑚 𝑤𝑣 1 𝑤
=
𝑔 𝑔 𝑘𝑔.𝑚
𝜌= = = = 𝑥 Since 1 𝑁 =
𝑣 𝑣 𝑣 𝑔 𝑣 𝑔 𝑠2

N
w 8000
𝑚3
density (𝜌) = = m = 815.49 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3
𝑔 9.81 2
𝑠

𝑊 𝑊
iii) Since 𝑚 = and 𝑤 =
𝑔 𝑣
815.49𝑘𝑔
𝜌𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑐𝑢 𝑚
𝑆= = 𝑘𝑔 = 0.8155
𝜌𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 1000
𝑐𝑢 𝑚
Sample #2.1 A liquid has specific gravity of 0.76,
determine its (i) density, (ii) specific volume and (iii)
specific weight. Solution