ME 3301: Fluid Mechanics I

(Week 6: Part 1)

Kamran Nazir
Department of Mechanical Engineering
National University of Technology

Spring 2021
Chapter 4: Fluid Kinematics

Lagrangian and Eulerian Descriptions

Fundamentals of Flow Visualization
Plots of Fluid Flow Data
Other Kinematic Descriptions
The Reynolds Transport Theorem
Basic Concepts
• Fluid kinematics is the study of how fluids flow and how to describe fluid motion.
• Continuum
• Lagrangian description
• Eulerian description
Acceleration Field
Acceleration Field
Acceleration Field
Material Derivative
Flow Visualization
• Path Line
• A pathline is the actual path traveled by an
individual fluid particle over some time period.
Flow Visualization
• Streak Lines
A streakline is the locus of fluid particles that have
passed sequentially through a prescribed point in
the flow.

Streaklines produced by colored fluid introduced

upstream; since the flow is steady, these streaklines are
the same as streamlines and pathlines.