Southern Methodist University

Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering

CEE 2342/ME 2342 Fluid Mechanics
Roger O. Dickey, Ph.D., P.E.

III. BASIC EQS. OF HYDRODYNAMICS
C. Integral Forms of the Basic Equations
3. Linear Momentum
Reading Assignments:
Chapter 5 Finite Control Volume Analysis;
Sections 5.2.1 Derivation of the Linear
Momentum Equation
Section 5.2.2 Application of the Linear
Momentum Equation
C. Integral Forms of the Basic Equations
Linear Momentum
When Isaac Newton originally formulated his
laws of motion, instead of expressing his second
law as F=ma he stated it in terms of the rate of
change of momentum; where momentum is
defined as mass times velocity, mV.
For a system of mass m, Newton stated his second
law as:




Expressing this narrative equation
mathematically:
( )

= F
V
Dt
m D
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
system the on acting
forces external the of Sum

system a of momentum linear
the of change of rate Time
For a third time, reconsider Reynolds Transport
Theorem (RTT) for physical property B, where
b is the amount of the physical property per unit
mass of fluid :
( )
} }
+
c
c
=
CS CV
dA b V d b
t Dt
DB
n V

Flux of B, i.e.,
transport rate of
B per unit area
Amount of B
per unit volume
For the linear momentum equation, i.e., principle
of conservation of linear momentum, B = mV,
and b = mV/m = V. Substituting into the RTT
expression:
( )
( )
} }
+
c
c
=
CS CV
dA V d
t Dt
m D
n V V V
V

Substituting from Newtons
Second Law and rearranging:
[Equation 5.22, p. 213]
Integral Form
of Linear
Momentum
Equation
( )
Dt
m D V
F for

( )

} }
= +
c
c
F n V V V
CS CV
dA V d
t

Expressing each term in words for clarity:





For steady flow :
( ) 0 =
c
c
t
( )

}
= F n V V
CS
dA

Time rate of
change of the
linear momentum
of the CV contents
( )

} }
= +
c
c
F n V V V
CS CV
dA V d
t

Net rate of flow of
linear momentum
across the CS
Sum of the forces
acting on the
contents of the CV
Integral Form of
Steady Linear
Momentum Equation
*Important Points
(i) can be viewed in exactly the same
manner as the forces on a free-body. In this
case, the mass m inside the CV at time t is the
free-body under consideration, and the CS
delineates the free-body boundary.

F
(ii) Forces involved are usually placed into two
categories;
Body forces act on the entire contents of
the CV, e.g., gravitational forces or weight
Surface forces acting on or along the CS,
e.g., fluid pressure forces, reaction forces
from solid boundaries or immersed objects
including both normal (pressure) and
tangential (shear stress) forces
(iii) The linear momentum equation is a vector
equation involving V on the left-hand side, and
on the right; is a scalar. Thus, it
may be written as three component, scalar
equations. For steady flow and ;

F
( ) n V

( )

}
=
x
CS
F dA u n V

( )

}
=
y
CS
F dA v n V

( )

}
=
z
CS
F dA w n V

k j i V

w v u + + =
(iv) Very careful consideration must be given to
algebraic signs for the forces, velocities, and
the vector dot product in order to
obtain correct results.
is (+) for outflow from the CV,
and () for inflow into the CV
u, v, w, F
x
, F
y
, and F
z
are (+) when
directed along the (+) x-, y-, and z-axes
respectively, and negative when
oppositely directed.
( ) n V

( ) n V

If the CV is fixed in space, it is of finite size, there

are a finite number of inflow and outflow streams,
and uniform flow prevails in the various inflow
and outflow regions of the CS, then piecewise
integration of the steady flow linear momentum
equation over all inflow and all outflow regions of
the CS yields finite summations. For example,
along the x-axis:

= +
All
x
All All
in in out out
m u m u F

(+) because outflow regions have
( ) 0

> n V
() because inflow regions have
( ) 0

< n V
Consider a differential area element dA on the
inflow region of a CS enclosing a fluid system,
having pdA as the magnitude of the pressure force:
( )n F

pdA
pressure
=
dA
V
n

In this scenario, velocity V is directed inward

while the unit normal vector, , is directed
outward yielding a negative dot product,
( ) 0 cos 270 90 because 0

< < < < u u n V

n

Similarly, for a differential area element dA on the

outflow region of a CS enclosing a fluid system,
having pdA as the magnitude of the pressure force:
( )n
F

pdA
pressure
=
dA
V
n

In this scenario, velocity V is directed

outward, likewise the unit normal vector, , is
directed outward yielding a positive dot
product,
( ) 0 cos 90 90 because 0

> < < > u u n V

n

Applying similar conditions and reasoning along all

three coordinate axes, and substituting
in
Q
in
for
and
out
Q
out
for yields:

=
All
x
All All
in in in out out out
F Q u Q u

=
All
y
All All
in in in out out out
F Q v Q v

=
All
z
All All
in in in out out out
F Q w Q w
in
m

out
m

In most common engineering applications, the

various inflow and outflow streams have the same
constant density, , and the previous vector
component equations are slightly simplified to:

=
All
x
All All
in in out out
F Q u Q u

=
All
y
All All
in in out out
F Q v Q v

=
All
z
All All
in in out out
F Q w Q w
Refer to Handouts III.C.3. Linear
Momentum Equation Examples for practical
examples dealing with application of the linear
momentum equation.
*Hydrodynamics Problem Solving Hints
(1) Clues about when to apply the three Basic
Equations of Hydrodynamics for problem
solving:
Continuity virtually always
Energy when elevations, pressures,
velocities, energy losses, energy input,
or energy output are required
Momentum when forces are required
(2) The Continuity Equation is always
applicable, regardless of the presence or
absence of mechanical devices adding energy
to, or removing energy from the CV.
(3) For uniform flow, streamlines are straight
and parallel and the pressure distribution is
hydrostatic perpendicular to the direction of
flow. Stated another way,
(i.e., piezometric head is constant), along any
line or planar cross-section perpendicular to
the direction of flow.
Constant =
|
|
.
|

\
|
+

p
z
(4) Although all points on a plane perpendicular to
the flow have the same value of , it is
customary in uniform pipe flow to use the
elevation, z, and pressure, p, at the pipe
centerline as representative of a given cross-
section. Furthermore, it is often assumed that
pressure gauge readings give the pressure at the
pipe centerline (often a good approximation):
|
|
.
|

\
|
+

p
z
p
Elevation Datum, z = 0
z
Ap = (Az) ~ 0 Az
z
Pressure Gauge
Pipe Cross-section
(5) Although all points on a plane perpendicular to
the direction of flow have the same value of
, it is customary in uniform open channel
flow to use the elevation, z
b
, and pressure, p
b
=h
b
,
at the channel bottom as representative of a given
cross-section. Further, it is often assumed that the
angle, u, that the sloping channel bottom makes
with the horizontal is small, yielding cosu ~ 1.0
(often a good approximation for both natural and
human-constructed channels):
|
|
.
|

\
|
+

p
z
Elevation Datum, z = 0
z
b
u
z
h
b
u
h
Open Channel
Longitudinal-section
x-, y-coordinate
axes parallel
and normal to
channel bottom
Substituting y
fs
for p
b
, the Energy Equation for
open channel flow becomes,


Dividing out in the pressure head terms,
L
fs
b
fs
b
h
g
V

y
z
g
V

y
z + + + = + +
2 2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1

L fs b fs b
h
g
V
y z
g
V
y z + + + = + +
2 2
2
2
2 2
2
1
1 1
Finally, notice that for all points on a planar cross-
section perpendicular to the flow,

Therefore, drop the subscripts on z
b
and y
fs

yielding the customary form of the Energy
Equation applied in open channel flow:
L
h
g
V
y z
g
V
y z + + + = + +
2 2
2
2
2 2
2
1
1 1
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
fs fs b
y z y z y z + = + = + = + z 0 Constant
(6) When applying the Linear Momentum Equation,
the forces generated by momentum transfer may
be visualized in two ways: (i) impact of inflow
streams crashing into the fluid already inside
the CV, and (ii) recoil from outflow streams
shooting from the CV. This reveals that the
pressure force component and the momentum
transfer component in a given coordinate
direction at a given cross-section (e.g., F
px1
and
u
1
Q
1
) are always additive.
That is, after solving the Linear Momentum
Equation for resultant reaction force components,
either F
Rx
or F
Ry
, and substituting appropriate
numerical values for pressure force and velocity
vector components, algebraic signs may be
quickly checked for accuracy because each pair
of pressure force and momentum transfer
components along the same coordinate axisF
px1

and u
1
Q
1
, F
py1
and v
1
Q
1
, F
px2
and u
2
Q
2
, F
py2

and v
2
Q
2
should have the same algebraic sign.