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Bernoulli Equation

Dr. Yuan Jing, Assistant Professor


Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore

To study fluid mechanics, we need to relate forces applied on fluid particles to fluid kinematics.
Bernoulli equation is perhaps the first and the most successful attempt along, and therefore is
good start point for fluid mechanics.

1. Derivation of the Bernoulli equation

We shall start with the Newton’s second law:

(1)

or:

Force  Mass  acceleration

This, of course, must be applied to a fluid particle (Lagrangian description), so things a bit tricky
with the velocity described in a Eulerian manner. Here we set up a streamline coordinate as
follows. As shown in Figure 1, we choose a point on the streamline as the origin of the
coordinates. The s-direction is defined as the tangential direction of the streamline at the origin,
and h-direction is perpendicular to the s-direction and is positive towards the center of curvature
of the streamline. The flow velocity can be written as:

Figure 1 Streamline coordinate


Suppose a particle is at the origin at t=t1, so:

Here the h-component velocity is zero due to the definition of streamlines. The following task is
to obtain the acceleration in terms of its s- and h-components. At time t=t2, the particle is moved
to a new location (s2, h2). The acceleration can be evaluated using total derivative:

DVs ¶Vs ¶V ¶V ¶V ¶ 1
as = s-direction acceleration= = +Vs s +Vh s = s + ( Vs2 ) (2)
Dt ¶t ¶s ¶h ¶t ¶s 2

DVh ¶Vh ¶V ¶V ¶V ¶V
ah = h-direction acceleration= = +Vs h +Vh h = h +Vs h (3)
Dt ¶t ¶s ¶h ¶t ¶s

The last term on the right-hand side of Eq. (3) can be expressed as follows:

Vh Vs 2
Vs 
s R

where R is the radius of curvature. The derivation is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 h-direction acceleration


Thus:

Vh Vs 2
ah   (4)
t R

The total force on a fluid particle includes pressure force, gravity force and viscous force. Here
we only consider inviscid flow, so viscous force does not exist. The inviscid assumption will
lead to many restrictions on using the Bernoulli equation.

The net pressure force on a fluid particle can be obtained by the following analysis. As shown in
Figure 3a, we cut a thin slice of the particle in the s-direction. The length of this slice is δs and
the cross-section area of this slice is ΔAs. The pressure forces on the two ends of this slice are:

Fs = pDAs
¶p
Fs + DFs = ( p + d s )DAs
¶s

so the net s-direction force on this slice is:

¶p
DFs = - d sDAs
¶s

Thus, the net s-direction pressure force on the particle is the sum of net forces on all slices:

p p
FPs    As s    V (5)
s s

where

d V = å d sDA (6)

is used.

We can do a similar analysis for the h-direction pressure force and get:

p
FPh   V (7)
h

The net gravity force on a fluid particle is:

(8)
Figure 3 Analysis of the net pressure force on a fluid particle

With the net forces and acceleration of a fluid particle determined, we can now apply the
Newton’s second law.

The Bernoulli equation along streamline for steady flow:

In the s-direction:

p z
 Vas   V   V (  g )
s s

Substitute in Eq. (2):

Vs  1 p z
  ( Vs 2 )     g
t s 2 s s

With some manipulation:

Vs  1
  ( Vs 2  p   gz )  0 (9)
t s 2

If we integrate Eq. (9) along the streamline from s1 to s2:

V
2s
1 s1
( Vs 2  p   gz )     s ds (10)
2 s1
s1 t

For steady flows, the right-hand side of Eq. (10) is zero, so we obtain the Bernoulli equation
along streamline:
1
Vs 2  p   gz  const (11)
2

Or:

V2 p
  z  const (12)
2g  g

Here the subscript “s” is dropped since the total velocity is equal to its streamwise component
Vs=V. All terms on the left-hand side of Eq. (12) has the unit of length. The first term is called
the velocity head, the second term is called the pressure head and the third term is called the
elevation head. The sum of the pressure and elevation head is the piezometric head. The sum
of the three heads is called the total head. The constant is called the Bernoulli constant.

If velocity is zero, Eq. (12) reduces to the equation for hydrostatic pressure, i.e. the piezometric
head is a constant. If velocity is not zero, Eq. (12) gives a relationship between velocity, pressure
and elevation. For example, at the same elevation, fluid pressure decreases as the fluid velocity
increases. For very fast moving water, the pressure may drop below the vapor pressure for the
fluid (a fluid will vaporize below vapor pressure). This is called “cavitation”, which may occur
in many hydraulic applications.

The Bernoulli equation perpendicular to streamlines for steady flow:

In the direction perpendicular to the streamline:

p z
 Vah   V   V (  g )
h h

Substitute in Eq.(4) and with some manipulation

 V V2
( p   gz )    h   s (13)
h t R

For steady flow, the first term on the right-hand side of Eq. (13) is zero. If the streamlines are
parallel and straight (R approaches infinite), then the second term on the right-hand side is also
zero, which gives:


( p   gz )  0  p   gz  const (14)
h
This is nothing new but the equation for hydrostatic pressure. Thus, the pressure variation is
hydrostatic normal to straight streamlines!

Hydrostatic is a balance of gravity and pressure force. When this balance is established
perpendicular to the streamline, there is NO force acting on a fluid particle in the direction
perpendicular to streamline. Thus, the particle will move along a straight line in the streamline
direction. Conversely, if streamline is “curved”, it moves in an approximately circular path
(locally) and this is only possible if there is a net force towards the center of curvature that
produces the “centripetal acceleration”.

From now on we call a flow section “well-behaved” if all streamlines across it are straight,
parallel and uniformly spaced. Identifying the locations where the flow is well-behaved is very
important and usually the first step for applying the Bernoulli equation, because we need to
know the Bernoulli constant on the right-hand side of Eq. (12). This can be achieved by
inspecting the locations of well-behaved flows.

As shown in Figure 4, at the location where the flow is well-behaved, we attached a standpipe to
the conduit at A. The fluid will flow into the standpipe until a pressure at A is established equal to
the pressure within the conduit. From A to the top of the standpipe, fluid is at rest, so we have:

pA "0"
 zA   z  zp
g g p

Along the vertical cross section of the conduit from A to the bottom, the flow is well-behaved, so:

p p
 z  A  zA  z p
g g

Well-behaved flows have uniform velocity, so:

p V 2 pA V2 V2
z   zA   zp   const (15)
g 2g  g 2g 2g

Thus, the total head (or Bernoulli constant) is unchanged across streamlines at the location
of well-behaved flow. Since all streamlines must pass through the well-behaved location, we can
use the Bernoulli constant at the well-behaved location as the Bernoulli constant for all
streamlines. This is why identifying the locations for well-behaved flow is usually the first step
for applying the Bernoulli equation.
Figure 4 Well-behaved flow

A special case for well-behaved flows is the region with very large flow area. In such cases,
V=Q/A is negligible if A becomes very large, so we can neglect the velocity head. For example,
when we considering the flow through a tiny orifice of the huge bucket of water, the free surface
of the bucket is such a case, because the area of the free surface is much larger than the area of
the orifice. In such case, the Bernoulli constant can be easily obtained is:

V2 p "0"2 "0"
 z   zsurface  zsurface
2g  g 2g  g

Energy interpolation of the Bernoulli equation:

Eq. (12) actually corresponds to the work energy principle often used in the study of dynamics.
This principle results from a general integration of the equations of motion for an object in a way
very similar to that done for the fluid particle in the derivation of Eq. (12). With certain
assumptions, a statement of the work-energy principle may be written as follows:

The work done on a particle by all forces acting on the particle is equal to the change of the
kinetic energy of the particle.

The Bernoulli equation is a mathematical statement of this principle. As the fluid particle moves,
both gravity and pressure forces do work on the particle. Recall that the work done by a force is
equal to the product of the distance the particle travels times the component of force in the
direction of travel. The terms ρgz and p in Eq. (11) are related to the work done by the weight
and pressure forces, respectively. The remaining term is obviously related to the kinetic energy
of the particle. In fact, an alternate way to derive the Bernoulli equation is to use the
conservation of mechanical energy, rather than Newton’s second law. With the appropriate
restrictions, the general energy equation reduces to the Bernoulli equation. This approach will be
discussed in a later lecture.

2. Restrictions

When applying the Bernoulli equation Eq.(12), we must be very careful as there are two major
restrictions:

 Flow must be steady, since this is the assumption to drop the time derivative in Eq. (10).
 The flow can be assumed inviscid, or the viscous stress can be safely neglected. For
converging flow with a short transition, this is often satisfied, but for diverging flow, this
assumption is often incorrect. We will learn more about this in a later lecture on “Energy
Principe”.

In real flows, the second restriction will always present, but the Bernoulli equation still works
reasonably well, since the viscous effect is often negligible.

3. Applications of the Bernoulli equation


3.1. Free jet

A simplest application of the Bernoulli equation is the free jet through an orifice of a huge
reservoir, as shown in Figure 5. Here the corners at the orifice are well-rounded, so at the exit the
flow at the orifice is well-behaved. What is the velocity of the flow at the orifice? This can be
answered using the Bernoulli equation.

Here we identify can consider two locations of well-behaved flow. One is the free surface, and
the other is the orifice. We also define the bottom of the bucket as the datum of z=0. At the free-
surface, the Bernoulli constant is h across the entire free surface. Since there must be streamlines
connecting a point B from the surface to a point C at the orifice, as indicated in Figure 5, we can
apply Bernoulli equation from B to C:

pC V 2
 z h
 g 2g C
There is no subscript “C” with the velocity, since the velocity is assumed uniform at the orifice.
The elevation head is zero, since we choose z=0 at the bottom of the bucket, so we only need to
know the pressure at C to get the velocity V.

Since the flow is well-behaved at the orifice exit, from C to a point D at the edge of the jet the
Bernoulli constant is maintained, so:

pC V 2 pD V 2
 z   z
 g 2g C  g 2g D

Thus:

pC pD
=
rg rg

At point D, the pressure must be the atmospheric pressure, so:

pC p p
 D  atm  "0"
g g g

Therefore, we can solve V:

V  2 gh (16)

Figure 5 A vertical free jet from the bottom of a bucket


As learned in physics or dynamics, any object dropped from rest that falls through a distance h in
a vacuum will obtain the speed the same as the water leaving the orifice. This is consistent with
the fact that all of the particle’s potential energy is converted to kinetic energy, provided viscous
(friction) effects are negligible. In terms of heads, the elevation head at point B is converted into
the velocity head at point C.

For the example in Figure 5, a crucial assumption is that the flow is well-behaved at the exit.
This assumption is valid only because it is stated that the corners are well-rounded. If the corners
are not well-rounded, but rather sharp-edged, the jet will decrease in flow area as it leaves the
orifice until a certain downstream location. This phenomenon, called a vena contracta effect, is a
result of the inability of the fluid to follow sharp corner indicated by the dashed lines in Figure
6a. The curvature of the streamline at the corners determines that the flow area must decreases a
bit downstream until the location of vena contracta is reached. Consequently, the flow area of the
jet reaches the minimum at the vena contracta, and the flow is well-behaved at the vena contracta.
Thus, only if the corners are well-rounded, as in Figure 5 and Figure 6b, we can apply Bernoulli
equation right at the orifice. Otherwise, we must apply Bernoulli equation at the vena contracta.
The ration of the flow area at the vena contracta (Aj) to the area of the orifice (Ah) is defined as
the contraction coefficient:

Aj
Cv  (17)
Ah

Streamlines can follow the corners very well for the orifice with well-rounded corners (Figure
6b), so Cv is approximately 1. For sharp-edged corners (Figure 6a, c), turning at the corners
become difficult, so Cv is 0.61. For re-entrant orifice in Figure 6d, the turning of streamlines at
the corners is even more difficult to achieve, so Cv is 0.5.

Newton’s puzzle

Sir Isaac Newton also tried to study the free-jet flow in Figure 5. At that time, he did not know
about the Bernoulli equation and the vena contracta. From mechanic energy consideration (the
velocity of a feel-fall object), he concluded that the exit velocity at the orifice “should be” that in
Eq. (16). To confirm his conclusion, he did a simple experiment with a relatively sharp-edged
orifice. He measured the total volume of water discharged from the orifice and marked the time
of the experiment Δt, so the exit velocity at the orifice can be evaluated as:
Q Volume
V 
Ah tAh

Using Eq. (16), the depth of water within the bucket “should be”:

Volume2
h (18)
2 g t 2 Ah 2

However, the calculated value of h is smaller than the actual water depth. Newton was very
puzzled at this result.

As you can see, the reason for “Newton’s puzzle” is actually the wrong area used in Eq. (18).
The velocity given by Eq. (18) is achieved at the vena contracta (assuming that the distance from
the vena contracta to the orifice is much smaller than h), so the cross-section area of the vena
contracta Aj shall be used instead of the area of orifice Ah.

Figure 6 Vena contracta for various configurations of orifice exits


3.2. Pitot tube

Henri Pitot (May 3, 1695 – December 27, 1771) was a French hydraulic engineer and the
inventor of the pitot tube which utilize the Bernoulli equation to measure flow velocity.

The principle of Pitot tube is as follows. Here we a well-behaved flow in a straight channel as
shown in Figure 7. At point P1, the piezometric head should be the reading of elevation head in
the standing tube above it (see Eq. (14)), so:

V12 p1 V12
  z1   zA (19)
2g  g 2g

Downstream to P1, we put in an L-shaped tube. The free-surface in that tube rises to a level zB so
that the flow cannot enter the L-shaped tube. Thus, the tip is a stagnant point with zero velocity.
From P1 to the stagnant point, there is a streamline. Assuming the distance is very short, so any
friction along this streamline can be neglected, so we can apply the Bernoulli equation:

V12 p1 p
  z1  stag  zstag (20)
2g  g g

Within the L-shaped tube, the flow is at rest, so we can apply the equation for hydrostatic
pressure:

pstag
zB   zstag (21)
g

With Eq. (19), (20) and (21), we can obtain that:

V12
 z A  zB (22)
2g

Thus, the velocity at P1 is:

V1  2 g ( zB  z A ) (23)

This is the principle of a pitot tube. This simple device is still in use nowadays. There are many
variation to make the device small and accurate, but the principle is unchanged.
Figure 7 The principle of pitot tube

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