Introduction to Fluid Mechanics

Chapter 2
Fundamental Concepts

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 Main Topics
 Fluid as a Continuum
 Velocity Field
 Stress Field
 Viscosity
 Surface Tension
 Description and Classification of
Fluid Motions

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 Fluid as a Continuum

This molecular structure is one in which the mass is not

continuously distributed in space, but is concentrated in molecules
that are separated by relatively large regions of empty space. For
very small volumes, the density varies greatly, but above a certain
volume, the density becomes stable, the volume now encloses a huge
number of molecules. © John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
 Velocity Field

Velocity is a vector
it indicates the velocity of a fluid particle that is passing
through the point x , y , z at time instant t
it can be written in terms of its three scalar components

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 One-, Two-, and Three-
Dimensional Flows
A flow is classified as one-, two-, or three-dimensional depending on
the number of space coordinates required to specify the velocity field

1-D flow 2-D flow

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 Timelines, Pathlines,
Streaklines, and Streamlines
 Timelines - lines formed by adjacent fluid particles
at a given instant
 Pathlines - path or trajectory traced out by a
moving fluid particle
 Streaklines - lines joining different articles passing
through a point
 Streamlines - lines that at a given instant are
tangent to the direction of flow at every point in the flow
field
In a steady flow, pathlines,
streaklines, and streamlines are
identical lines
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 Stress Field
What kinds of forces act on fluid particles?
surface forces (pressure, friction) and body forces (gravity and
electromagnetic)

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 Viscosity
 Shear stresses arise due to viscous flow
 Newtonian Fluids
• Most of the common fluids (water, air, oil, etc.)
• “Linear” fluids

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 Viscosity
 Fluids in which shear stress is not directly proportional to deformation rate
 Non-Newtonian Fluids
• Special fluids (e.g., most biological fluids, toothpaste, some paints, etc.)
• “Non-linear” fluids

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 Viscosity
 Non-Newtonian Fluids

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 Surface Tension
Whenever a liquid is in contact with other liquids or gases an interface
develops that acts like a stretched elastic membrane, creating surface tension.

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Description and Classification
of Fluid Motions

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