MOMENTUM EQUATION

Introduction

• The momentum equation is use to determine the forces

associated with fluid flow.
• In this chapter, we will focus only on the linear momentum
equation.
Example of applications
Newton’s Laws and Conservation of Momentum

• Newton’s laws are relations between motions of bodies and

the forces acting on them.
• Newton’s second law states that the acceleration of
a body is proportional to the net force acting on it and is
inversely proportional to its mass.
• For a rigid body of mass m, Newton’s second law is
expressed as

where F is the net force acting on the body and a is the

acceleration of the body under the influence of F.
• The product of the mass and the velocity of a body is called
the linear momentum or just the momentum of the body.
• Then Newton’s second law expressed in previous eqn. can
also be stated as the rate of change of the momentum of a
body is equal to the net force acting on the body, or

• This is more appropriate for use in fluid mechanics when

studying the forces generated as a result of velocity changes
of fluid streams and usually referred to as the linear
momentum equation.
 Forces Acting On A Control Volume
• Forces acting on a control volume consists of body forces
and surface forces.
• Body forces – forces that act throughout the entire body of
CV (e.g : gravity force, electric and magnetic forces )
• Surface forces – forces that act on the control surface
(e.g : pressure force, viscous forces and reaction forces at
points of contact).
• In fluid mechanics application, the body forces that usually
considered only gravitational forces or weight (other body
forces such as electric and magnetic may be important in
some/other analyses).
• While for surface forces the forces that usually considered
include pressure forces and reaction forces at points of
contact.
 Forces Acting On A Control Volume

• Therefore, total forces acting on the control volume,

F  F gravity   Fpressure   F reaction

i.e. the total force F in most cases consists of weights,

pressure forces, and reaction forces.

• For convenience, the components of this equation also

can be resolved into force components along orthogonal
coordinates (such as x, y, and z in the Cartesian
coordinate system).
 Forces Acting On A Control Volume
• Example 1: Forces acting on the 180° elbow supported
by the ground.
For this 1D case (all forces
acting in y direction),

F gravity  W
F pressure   p1 A1  p2 A2

F reaction FR1  FR2

Therefore,
 F   Fgravity   Fpressure   F reaction
Or,
Q v 2  v1   W  p1A1  p2 A2  FR1  FR2
 Example 2 : Forces acting on the faucet.
• It is 2D problem – Qin is in +ve x direction while Qout is in –ve y
direction.
• In this case, for convenience, each force can be resolves into
component x and y.
For total net force,  Fx  Q V2 x  V1x 
 FY  Q V2Y  V1Y 
For pressure force,  FP X
 p1X A1
 FP y
0
For gravity force,  Fb y
 W

For reaction force,  FR FR

X 1X

 FRy  0
General steps to solve problem involving momentum
equation.
Normally in engineering application, the momentum equation is
commonly used to calculate the forces induced by the flow such as
the reaction forces acting on support systems or connectors. The
following steps might be useful to solve the problems involving
Momentum equation.

1. Sketch a control volume and define the coordinate system.

2. Calculate the net total force acting on the control volume/
surface where
 F Q v 2  v1 
* Use continuity eqn if needed.
3. Calculate the pressure force – find the magnitude of inlet or
outlet pressure if required using the Bernoulli eqn.
4. Calculate the gravitational force and its direction must be
downwards.
5. Solve the equation to determine the magnitude of reaction
force or any other required value.
 Momentum Eqn’s Applications

In the following sections we will see how momentum

equation applied in the following application :

• Flow in pipe bends

• Flow at the pipe nozzle
• Water jet on vane
• Water jet impact on flat plate (vertical stationary plate,
vertical moving plate, inclined stationary plate and
inclined moving plate)
Flow in pipe bends
Example 1
A reversing elbow as shown in figure below makes the fluid a 180° U-
turn before it is discharged water at flow rate of 14 kg/s into the
atmosphere. The cross-sectional area of the elbow is113 cm2 at the inlet
and 7 cm2 at the outlet. The elevation difference between the centers of
the outlet and the inlet is 30 cm. The weight of the elbow and the water
in it is considered to be neglected. Determine (a) the gauge pressure at
the center of the inlet and (b) the anchoring force needed to hold the
elbow in place.

Link to
solution
Flow in pipe bends
Exercise 1
Water flows through the vertical elbow in Figure 2 and exits to
atmosphere. The pipe diameter d1 = 10 cm while d2 = 3 cm. At flow rate
of 0.0153 m3/s the pressure at section 1 is 2.33 bar. If the weight of
water and elbow is 30 kg, determine the magnitude and direction of
force to hold the pipe in place.

Link to
solution
Flow in pipe bends
Exercise 2
A 90° elbow is used to direct water flow at a rate of 25 kg/s in a
horizontal pipe upward. The diameter of the entire elbow is 10 cm. The
elbow discharges water into the atmosphere, and thus the pressure at
the exit is the local atmospheric pressure. The elevation difference
between the centers of the exit and the inlet of the elbow is 35 cm. The
weight of the elbow and the water in it is considered to be negligible.
Determine (a) the gage pressure at the center of the inlet of the elbow
and (b) the anchoring force needed to hold the elbow in place.
 Flow at the pipe nozzle

Example 1
A reducing elbow is used to deflect water flow at a rate of 14 kg/s in a
horizontal pipe upward 30° while accelerating it. The elbow discharges
water into the atmosphere. The cross-sectional area of the elbow is 113
cm2 at the inlet and 7 cm2 at the outlet. The elevation difference between
the centers of the outlet and the inlet is 30 cm. The weight of the elbow
and the water in it is considered to be negligible. Determine (a) the gage
pressure at the center of the inlet of the elbow and (b) the anchoring force
needed to hold the elbow in place.
 Flow at the pipe nozzle
Exercise 1
A nozzle is attached to a vertical
pipe and discharges water into
the atmosphere as shown in Fig.
When the discharge is 0.1 m3/s
the gauge pressure at the flange
is 40 kPa. Determine the vertical
component of the anchoring
force required to hold the nozzle
in place. The nozzle has a weight
of 200 N, and the volume of
water in the nozzle is 0.012 m3.
Is the anchoring force directed
upward or downward?
 Flow at the pipe nozzle

Exercise 2
Firefighters are holding a nozzle at the end of a hose
while trying to extinguish a fire. If the nozzle exit diameter is
6 cm and the water flow rate is 5 m3/min, determine (a) the
average water exit velocity and (b) the horizontal resistance
force required of the firefighters to hold the nozzle.
Answers: (a) 29.5 m/s, (b) 2457 N
 Water jet on vane
Example 1:
A horizontal jet of water exits a nozzle with a uniform speed
of v1 = 0.283 m/s strikes a vane, and is turned through an
angle θ. Determine the anchoring force needed to hold the
vane stationary. Neglect gravity and viscous effects. Theta =
60 degree.
 Impact of water jet on a vertical stationary plate

Example 1:
Water is accelerated by a nozzle to an average speed of 20 m/s,
and strikes a stationary vertical plate at a rate of 10 kg/s with a
normal velocity of 20 m/s. Determine the force needed to prevent
the plate from moving horizontally due to the water stream.
 Impact of water jet on a vertical stationary plate

Exercise 1:
Air flows into the atmosphere from a nozzle and strikes a vertical
plate as shown in figure below. A horizontal force of 12 N is
required to hold the plate in place. Determine the reading on the
pressure gage. Assume the flow to be incompressible and
frictionless.
 Impact of water jet on a vertical moving plate

Example 1:

A 76.2 mm diameter horizontal jet of water strikes a flat plate as

shown in figure. Determine the jet velocity if a 44 N horizontal
force is required to allow the plate to move at a constant speed of
0.283 m/s to the right.
 Impact of water jet on a vertical moving plate

Exercise1:
Water accelerated by a nozzle to 15 m/s strikes the
vertical back surface of a cart moving horizontally at a constant
velocity of 5 m/s in the flow direction. The mass flow rate of water
is 25 kg/s. Determine the force that needs to be applied on the
brakes of the cart to prevent it from accelerating.
 Impact of water jet on a vertical moving plate

Exercise 2:
A horizontal water jet of constant velocityV impinges normally on
a vertical flat plate and splashes off the sides in the vertical plane.
The plate is moving toward the oncoming water jet with velocity
V/2. If a force F is required to maintain the plate stationary, how
much force is required to move the plate toward the water jet?
(Give your answer in F)
 Impact of water jet on inclined plate

Example 1:
A water jet impinged on a piece
of the inclined plate as shown in
Figure. The jet velocity is 40 m/ s
and has a diameter of 30 mm. If
force FA is applied at the bottom
of the plate in the direction as
shown,
(a) determine the amount of force
the FA to be imposed on the plate
to keep the inclination,
(b) how much force must be applied
to move the plate in same jet
direction with a speed of 10 m/s.
 Impact of water jet on inclined plate

Exercise1:

A 60 mm diameter jet of water spurts at a speed of 20 m/s

on an inclined flat plate at a 30° angle to the horizontal line.
Determine the force acting on the plate, if :
a) the plate is in stationary
b) the plate moves at a velocity of 5 m/s in the jet direction.
Thank you