CVE 305

Week 4
CLASSIFICATION OF FLUID FLOWS CONT.
• Laminar versus Turbulent Flow
– Laminar flow: A stable well-ordered fluid motion
characterised by smooth layers of fluid.
• Flow of high-viscosity fluids such as oils at low velocities
– Turbulent flow: The highly disordered fluid motion
that typically occurs at high velocities and is
characterized by velocity fluctuations.
• Flow of low-viscosity fluids such as air at high velocities
 Fluid Dynamics
CLASSIFICATION OF FLUID FLOWS CONT
• Laminar versus Turbulent Flow
– A flow that alternates between being laminar and
turbulent is called transitional.
– The Reynolds number, Re, is a dimensionless
parameter for the determination of the flow
regime in pipes, i.e., laminar, turbulent, or
transitional

ρ = density, V = velocity, L = characterised length, μ = dynamic viscosity

ν = kinematic viscosity
 Fluid Dynamics
CLASSIFICATION OF FLUID FLOWS CONT.
• Viscous versus Inviscid Regions of Flow :
– Viscous flow regions: Flow regions
that are close to a boundary
surface in which the frictional
effects are significant (boundary
layer).
The flow of an originally – Inviscid flow regions: flow regions
uniform fluid stream over a
flat plate, showing the that are away from and
regions of viscous flow (next unaffected by boundary surfaces.
to the plate on both sides)
and inviscid flow (away from
the plate).
 Fluid Dynamics
CLASSIFICATION OF FLUID FLOWS CONT.
• Internal versus External Flow
– Internal flow: The flow in a pipe or
duct.
• They are dominated by the influence of
viscosity throughout the flow field.
– External flow: The flow of an
unbounded fluid over a surface such
as a plate, a wire, or a pipe.
• Here, viscous effects are limited to
External flow over a tennis
boundary layers near solid surfaces & ball, & the turbulent wake
to wake regions downstream of bodies. region behind
 Fluid Dynamics
CLASSIFICATION OF FLUID FLOWS CONT.
• Compressible versus Incompressible Flow
– Incompressible flow: flow during which the fluid
density remains nearly constant throughout.
– Compressible flow: flow during which the fluid
density changes significantly.
• The flow of liquids is typically incompressible; their
densities are essentially constant compared to gases.
• For example, a pressure of 210 atm causes the density of
liquid water at 1 atm to change by just 1% while a
pressure change of just 0.01 atm causes the same 1%
change in the density of atmospheric air.
 Fluid Dynamics
CLASSIFICATION OF FLUID FLOWS CONT
• Natural (or Unforced) versus Forced Flow
– Natural flow: when fluid motion is due to natural
means, e.g., the buoyancy effect which manifests
itself as the rise of warmer (and thus lighter) fluid
and the fall of cooler (and thus denser)
– Forced flow: when a fluid is forced to flow over a
surface or in a pipe by external means such as a
pump or a fan
 Fluid Dynamics
CLASSIFICATION OF FLUID FLOWS CONT.
• Steady versus Unsteady Flow
– Steady flow: a flow in which all fluid variables, e.g.
velocity, at all fixed points in the flow are constant
in time (but generally vary from place to place).
velocity is constant with time.

– Unsteady flow: a flow in which at least one variable

at a fixed point in the flow changes with time.
 Fluid Dynamics
CLASSIFICATION OF FLUID FLOWS CONT.
• Uniform and Non-uniform Flow
– Uniform flow: a flow in which the velocity at a given
instant is the same in magnitude and direction at
every point in the fluid.
• relatively high speed flow in a pipe section
• flow in a stream.

Uniform flow in pipes

CLASSIFICATION OF FLUID FLOWS CONT.
• Uniform and Non-uniform Flow
– Non-uniform flow: a flow in which the velocity
changes from point to point at a given instant.
• Converging duct flows
• Vortex flow

Flow patterns for non-uniform flow:

(a) Converging flow.
(b) Vortex flow.
CLASSIFICATION OF FLUID FLOWS CONT.
• Rotational versus Irrotational Flow

– Rotational flow: A flow where the fluid particles

rotate about their mass centres while moving in the
direction of flow.
– Irrotational flow: A flow where the fluid particles do
not rotate about their mass centres while moving in
the direction of flow.
CLASSIFICATION OF FLUID FLOWS CONT.
• Rotational versus Irrotational Flow

The difference between rotational and irrotational flow: fluid

elements in a rotational region of the flow rotate, but those in
an irrotational region of the flow do not
 Fluid Dynamics
CLASSIFICATION OF FLUID FLOWS
• Rotational versus Irrotational Flow

Rotational flow Irrotational flow

CLASSIFICATION OF FLUID FLOWS CONT.
• One-, Two-, and Three-Dimensional Flows

– In general, fluid flow depends on three spatial

dimensions namely
• 𝑥, 𝑦, and 𝑧 – for a rectangular coordinate system
• 𝑟, 𝜃, and 𝑧 – for a cylindrical coordinate system

� �
� �
θ r
z
z z

� �
� �
CLASSIFICATION OF FLUID FLOWS CONT.
• One-, Two-, and Three-Dimensional Flows
– Three-dimensional : A flow in which the velocity
varies in three spatial dimension.
• Flow in a converging or diverging pipe
• Flow in a prismatic open channel
CLASSIFICATION OF FLUID FLOWS
• One-, Two-, and Three-Dimensional Flows
– Two-dimensional : A flow in which the velocity
varies in only two spatial dimension.
• Flow between parallel plate of infinite distance
• Flow in the main stream of a wide river
CLASSIFICATION OF FLUID FLOWS
• One-, Two-, and Three-Dimensional Flows
– One-dimensional flow: A flow in which the velocity
varies in only one spatial dimension.
• Flow through a circular pipe
 Continuity Equation (conservation of mass)
• By steadiness, the total mass of fluid contained in the control
volume must be invariant with time.
• Therefore there must be an exact balance between the total rate of
flow into the control volume and that out of the control volume:
Total Mass Outflow = Total Mass Inflow
• Which translate into the following mathematical relation

Where M is the number of inlets, and N is the number of outlets

 Continuity Equation Cont.
• If the fluid is incompressible, e.g. water, with ρ being effectively
constant, then
Example 1
• A garden hose attached with a
nozzle is used to fill a 10gal bucket.
The inner diameter of the hose is
2cm, and it reduces to 0.8cm at the
nozzle exit. If it takes 50s to fill the
bucket with water, determine
• (a) the Volume and Mass flow rates
of the water through the hose, and
• (b) the average Velocity of water at
the nozzle exit.
SOLUTION : A garden hose is used to fill a water bucket. The volume
and mass flow rates and the exit velocity are to be determined.
Assumptions: 1 Water is an incompressible substance. 2 Flow through
the hose is steady. 3 There is no waste of water by splashing.
Properties We take the density of water to be 1000kg/m3 = 1kg/L
Analysis
(a) Noting that 10gal of water are discharged in 50s, the volume and
mass flow rates of water are

Q = V/∆t = 10gal/50s (3.7854L/1gal) = 0.757L/s

M = ρV = (1kg/L)(0.757L/s) = 0.757kg/s
Example 2
Water with specific gravity 1, enters a tee section, as shown in Fig.
below, with velocity v1 =10 m/s. The diameter at section 1 is 15 cm,
the diameter at section 2 is 12 cm and the diameter at section 3 is
11 cm. If equal flow rates are to occur at sections 2 and 3, find the
velocities v2 and v3.
Example 3
Figure below shows the branching of a water pipe system. The
diameters of the circular cross-section pipes at positions 1, 2 and 3
are, respectively 20, 6 and 12 cm. Assume inviscid flow so that the
flow across any cross-section is uniform. The volumetric flow rates
past positions 1 and 2 are, respectively 0.01 and 0.004 m3/s.
Example 3 Cont.

1- Calculate the mass flow rates through the pipes at positions 1 and

2- Find the mass flow rate at position 3.

3- Find the flow speed at positions 1, 2 and 3.

Example 4
Figure below shows a sprayer system. At the inlet side, the pipe
diameter is 2 cm and flow speed is 2 m/s. The spray rose has 100
holes, each with a diameter of 1 mm. Assuming inviscid flow
throughout, calculate the speed of the jets that leave the sprayer