Fluid Mechanics (Fluid Dynamics)

In physics, fluid dynamics is a sub-discipline of fluid mechanics that deals with fluid flowthe natural
science of fluids (liquids and gases) in motion. It has several sub-disciplines itself, including aerodynamics
(the study of air and other gases in motion) and hydrodynamics (the study of liquids in motion). Fluid
dynamics has a wide range of applications, including calculating forces and moments on aircraft,
determining the mass flow rate of petroleum through pipelines, predicting weather patterns, understanding
nebulae in interstellar space and reportedly modelling fission weapon detonation. Some of its principles are
even used in traffic engineering, where traffic is treated as a continuous fluid.
Fluid dynamics offers a systematic structurewhich underlies these practical disciplinesthat embraces
empirical and semi-empirical laws derived from flow measurement and used to solve practical problems.
The solution to a fluid dynamics problem typically involves calculating various properties of the fluid, such
as velocity, pressure, density, and temperature, as functions of space and time.

Fluid Flow (Continuity and Energy Conservation)

Fluids can move or flow in many ways. Water may flow smoothly and slowly in a quiet stream or violently
over a waterfall. The air may form a gentle breeze or a raging tornado. To deal with such diversity, it helps
to identify some of the basic types of fluid flow.
Fluid flow can be steady or unsteady. In steady flow the velocity of the fluid particles at any point is

constant as time passes. For instance, in Figure below a fluid particle flows with a velocity of v 1 2 m/s
past point 1. In steady flow every particle passing through this point has this same velocity. At another
location the velocity may be different, as in a river, which usually flows fastest near its centre and slowest

near its banks. Thus, at point 2 in the figure below, the fluid velocity is v 2 0.5 m/s , and if the flow is
steady, all particles passing through this point have a velocity of +0.5 m /s. Unsteady flow exists whenever
the velocity at a point in the fluid changes as time passes.

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Turbulent flow is an extreme kind of unsteady flow and occurs when there are sharp obstacles or bends in
the path of a fast-moving fluid, as in the rapids in Figure below. In turbulent flow, the velocity at a point
changes erratically from moment to moment, both in magnitude and in direction.

Fluid flow can be compressible or incompressible. Most liquids are nearly incompressible; that is, the
density of a liquid remains almost constant as the pressure changes. To a good approximation, then, liquids
flow in an incompressible manner. In contrast, gases are highly compressible. However, there are situations
in which the density of a flowing gas remains constant enough that the flow can be considered
incompressible.
Fluid flow can be viscous or non-viscous. A viscous fluid, such as honey, does not flow readily and is said
to have a large viscosity.* In contrast, water is less viscous and flows more readily; water has a smaller
viscosity than honey. The flow of a viscous fluid is an energy-dissipating process. The viscosity hinders
neighbouring layers of fluid from sliding freely past one another. A fluid with zero viscosity flows in an
unhindered manner with no dissipation of energy. Although no real fluid has zero viscosity at normal
temperatures, some fluids have negligibly small viscosities. An incompressible, non-viscous fluid is called
an ideal fluid.
When the flow is steady, streamlines are often used to represent the trajectories of the fluid particles. A
streamline is a line drawn in the fluid such that a tangent to the streamline at any point is parallel to the fluid
velocity at that point. Figure 11.24 shows the velocity vectors at three points along a streamline. The fluid
velocity can vary (in both magnitude and direction) from point to point along a streamline, but at any given
point, the velocity is constant in time, as required by the condition of steady flow. In fact, steady flow is
often called streamline flow. In steady flow, the pattern of streamlines is steady in time, and, as Figure
below indicates, no two streamlines cross one another. If they did cross, every particle arriving at the
crossing point could go one way or the other. This would mean that the velocity at the crossing point would
change from moment to moment, a condition that does not exist in steady flow.

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The Equation of Continuity

Have you ever used your thumb to control the water flowing from the end of a hose, as in Figure below? If
so, you have seen that the water velocity increases when your thumb reduces the cross-sectional area of the
hose opening. This kind of fluid behaviour is described by the equation of continuity. This equation
expresses the following simple idea: If a fluid enters one end of a pipe at a certain rate (e.g., 5 kilograms per
second), then fluid must also leave at the same rate, assuming that there are no places between the entry and
exit points to add or remove fluid. The mass of fluid per second (e.g., 5 kg/s) that flows through a tube is
called the mass flow rate.

When the end of a hose is partially closed off, thus reducing its cross-sectional area, the fluid velocity
increases.

In general, a fluid flowing in a tube that has different cross-sectional areas A1 and A2 at positions 1 and 2

also has different velocities v 1 and v 2 at these positions.

The figure above shows a small mass of fluid or fluid element (shaded flow) moving along a tube. Upstream
at position 2, where the tube has a cross-sectional area A2, the fluid has a speed v2 and a density 2.
Downstream at location 1, the corresponding quantities are A1, v1, and 1. During a small time interval t,
the fluid at point 2 moves a distance of v2t, as the drawing shows. The volume of fluid that has flowed past
this point is the cross-sectional area times this distance, or A2v2 t. The mass m2 of this fluid element is the
product of the density and volume: m2=2A2v2t. Dividing m2 by t gives the mass flow rate (the mass
per second):
m2
Mass flow rate at position 2
2 A2v2 equation ( a )
t
Similar reasoning leads to the mass flow rate at position 1:
Mass flow rate at position 1

m1
1 A1v1 equation (b)
t

Since no fluid can cross the sidewalls of the tube, the mass flow rates at positions 1 and 2 must be equal.
However, these positions were selected arbitrarily, so the mass flow rate has the same value everywhere in
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the tube, an important result known as the equation of continuity. The equation of continuity is an
expression of the fact that mass is conserved (i.e., neither created nor destroyed) as the fluid flows.

Equation of continuity
The mass flow rate (Av) has the same value at every position along a tube that has a single entry and a
single exit point for fluid flow. For two positions along such a tube:

1 A1v1 2 A2v2
Where =fluid density (kg/m3 in SI Unit or slug/ft3 in imperial Unit)
A=cross-sectional area of tube (m2 in SI Unit or ft2 or in2 in imperial Unit)
v=fluid speed (m/s in SI Unit or ft/s in imperial Unit)
The density of an incompressible fluid does not change during flow, so that 1= 2, and the equation of
continuity reduces to:
Incompressible fluid A1v1 A2v2
The quantity Av represents the volume of fluid per second (measured in m3/s or ft3/s, for instance) that
passes through the tube and is referred to as the volume flow rate Q:
Q=Volume flow rate=Av
Example 1: Water runs through a water main of cross-sectional area 0.4 m2 with a velocity of 6 m/s.
Calculate the velocity of the water in the pipe when the pipe tapers down to a cross-sectional area of 0.3 m2.
Example 2: In the condition known as atherosclerosis, a deposit, or atheroma, forms on the arterial wall and
reduces the opening through which blood can flow. In the carotid artery in the neck, blood flows three times
faster through a partially blocked region than it does through an unobstructed region. Determine the ratio of
the effective radii of the artery at the two places.

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Bernoullis Principles
Conservation of energy, when applied to fluids in motion, leads to Bernoullis Principle. Bernoullis
Principle states that fluids moving at higher velocities will lead to lower pressures, and fluids moving at
lower velocities will result in higher pressures.
Airplane wings have a larger top surface than a bottom surface to take advantage of this fact. As the air
moves across the larger top surface, it must move faster than the air traveling a shorter distance under the
bottom surface. This leads to a lower pressure on top of the wing, and a higher pressure underneath the wing,
providing some of the lift for the aircraft (note that this isnt the only cause of lift, as Newtons 3rd Law also
plays a critical role in understanding the dynamics of flight).

This principle is also used in sailboats, carburettors, gas delivery systems, and even water-powered sump
pumps!
Expressing Bernoullis Principle quantitatively, you can relate the pressure, velocity, and height of a liquid
in a tube at various points.

p1 1 v12 gy1 p 2 1 v 22 gy 2
2
2
2
p static pressure (lb/ ft or lb/ in 2 (psi) in imperial unit and N/m 2 or Pascal (Pa) in SI unit)
density (slug/ft 3 in imperial unit and kg/m 3 in SI unit)
v velocity (ft/s in imperial unit and m/s in SI unit)
y vertical height of the fluid (ft in imperial unit and m in SI unit)
The pressure at a point in the tube plus half the density of the fluid multiplied by the square of its velocity at
that point, added to the gauge pressure of the fluid (gy), must be equal at any point in the tube.

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Example 3: Water circulates throughout a house in a hot-water heating systems. If the water is pumped at a
speed of 0.05 m/s through a 4 cm diameter pipe in the basement under a pressure of 3 105 Pa, what will be
the flow speed and pressure in 2.6 cm diameter pipe on the second floor 5 m above? Assume the pipes do
not divide into branches. water = 103 kg/m3
Example 4: Water sits in a large open jug at a height of 0.2m above the spigot. With what velocity will the
water leave the spigot when the spigot is opened?

Example 5: Consider an aerofoil in a flow at standard sea level conditions (pressure is 1 atm or 105 N/m2)
with a free stream velocity of 50 m/s. At a given point on the aerofoil, the pressure is 0.9 x 105 N/m2.
Calculate the velocity at this point. air (sea-level) = 1.225 kg/m3

MIET6316C Apply Basic Scientific Principles and Techniques

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