Chapter Six

The Momentum Equation And Its

Applications
We have all seen moving fluids exerting forces. The lift force on an aircraft is exerted by the
air moving over the wing. A jet of water from a hose exerts a force on whatever it hits. In
fluid mechanics the analysis of motion is performed in the same way as in solid mechanics -
by use of Newton's laws of motion. Account is also taken for the special properties of fluids
when in motion.

The momentum equation is a statement of Newton's Second Law and relates the sum of the
forces acting on an element of fluid to its acceleration or rate of change of momentum. You
will probably recognise the equation F = ma which is used in the analysis of solid mechanics
to relate applied force to acceleration. In fluid mechanics it is not clear what mass of moving
fluid we should use so we use a different form of the equation.

Newton's 2nd Law can be written:

The Rate of change of momentum of a body is equal to the resultant force acting on the body,
and takes place in the direction of the force.

To determine the rate of change of momentum for a fluid we will consider a streamtube as we
did for the Bernoulli equation,

We start by assuming that we have steady flow which is non-uniform flowing in a stream
tube.

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 A streamtube in three and two-dimensions

In time a volume of the fluid moves from the inlet a distance , so the volume entering
the streamtube in the time is

this has mass,

and momentum

Similarly, at the exit, we can obtain an expression for the momentum leaving the steamtube:

We can now calculate the force exerted by the fluid using Newton's 2nd Law. The force is
equal to the rate of change of momentum. So

We know from continuity that , and if we have a fluid of constant density,

i.e. , then we can write

For an alternative derivation of the same expression, as we know from conservation of mass
in a stream tube that

we can write

The rate at which momentum leaves face 1 is

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The rate at which momentum enters face 2 is

Thus the rate at which momentum changes across the stream tube is

i.e.

This force is acting in the direction of the flow of the fluid.

This analysis assumed that the inlet and outlet velocities were in the same direction - i.e. a
one dimensional system. What happens when this is not the case?

Consider the two dimensional system in the figure below:

Two dimensional flow in a streamtube

At the inlet the velocity vector, , makes an angle, , with the x-axis, while at the outlet
make an angle . In this case we consider the forces by resolving in the directions of the
co-ordinate axes.

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The force in the x-direction

And the force in the y-direction

We then find the resultant force by combining these vectorially:

And the angle which this force acts at is given by

For a three-dimensional (x, y, z) system we then have an extra force to calculate and resolve
in the z-direction. This is considered in exactly the same way.

In summary we can say:

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Remember that we are working with vectors so F is in the direction of the velocity. This force
is made up of three components:

Force exerted on the fluid by any solid body touching the control volume

Force exerted on the fluid body (e.g. gravity)

Force exerted on the fluid by fluid pressure outside the control volume

So we say that the total force, FT, is given by the sum of these forces:

The force exerted by the fluid on the solid body touching the control volume is opposite to
. So the reaction force, R, is given by

Application of the Momentum Equation

In this section we will consider the following examples:

1. Force due to the flow of fluid round a pipe bend.

2. Force on a nozzle at the outlet of a pipe.
3. Impact of a jet on a plane surface.

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1. The force due the flow around a pipe
bend
Consider a pipe bend with a constant cross section lying in the horizontal plane and turning
through an angle of .

Flow round a pipe bend of constant cross-section

Why do we want to know the forces here? Because the fluid changes direction, a force (very
large in the case of water supply pipes,) will act in the bend. If the bend is not fixed it will
move and eventually break at the joints. We need to know how much force a support (thrust
block) must withstand.

Step in Analysis:

1. Draw a control volume

2. Decide on co-ordinate axis system
3. Calculate the total force
4. Calculate the pressure force
5. Calculate the body force
6. Calculate the resultant force

1 Control Volume

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The control volume is draw in the above figure, with faces at the inlet and outlet of the bend
and encompassing the pipe walls.

2 Co-ordinate axis system

It is convenient to choose the co-ordinate axis so that one is pointing in the direction of the
inlet velocity. In the above figure the x-axis points in the direction of the inlet velocity.

3 Calculate the total force

In the x-direction:

In the y-direction:

4 Calculate the pressure force

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5 Calculate the body force

There are no body forces in the x or y directions. The only body force is that exerted by
gravity (which acts into the paper in this example - a direction we do not need to consider).

6 Calculate the resultant force

And the resultant force on the fluid is given by

And the direction of application is

the force on the bend is the same magnitude but in the opposite direction

2. Force on a pipe nozzle

Force on the nozzle at the outlet of a pipe. Because the fluid is contracted at the nozzle forces
are induced in the nozzle. Anything holding the nozzle (e.g. a fireman) must be strong enough
to withstand these forces.

The analysis takes the same procedure as above:

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 1. Draw a control volume
2. Decide on co-ordinate axis system
3. Calculate the total force
4. Calculate the pressure force
5. Calculate the body force
6. Calculate the resultant force

1 & 2 Control volume and Co-ordinate axis are shown in the figure below.

Notice how this is a one dimensional system which greatly simplifies matters.

3 Calculate the total force

By continuity, , so

4 Calculate the pressure force

We use the Bernoulli equation to calculate the pressure

Is friction losses are neglected,

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the nozzle is horizontal,

and the pressure outside is atmospheric, ,

and with continuity gives

5 Calculate the body force

The only body force is the weight due to gravity in the y-direction - but we need not consider
this as the only forces we are considering are in the x-direction.

6 Calculate the resultant force

So the fireman must be able to resist the force of

3. Impact of a Jet on a Plane

We will first consider a jet hitting a flat plate (a plane) at an angle of 90, as shown in the
figure below.

We want to find the reaction force of the plate i.e. the force the plate will have to apply to
stay in the same position.

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 A perpendicular jet hitting a plane.

The analysis take the same procedure as above:

1. Draw a control volume

2. Decide on co-ordinate axis system
3. Calculate the total force
4. Calculate the pressure force
5. Calculate the body force
6. Calculate the resultant force

1 & 2 Control volume and Co-ordinate axis are shown in the figure below.

3 Calculate the total force

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As the system is symmetrical the forces in the y-direction cancel i.e.

4 Calculate the pressure force.

The pressure force is zero as the pressure at both the inlet and the outlets to the control
volume are atmospheric.

5 Calculate the body force

As the control volume is small we can ignore the body force due to the weight of gravity.

6 Calculate the resultant force

Exerted on the fluid.

The force on the plane is the same magnitude but in the opposite direction

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More Applications of the Momentum
Equation
In this section we will consider the following examples:

1. Force due to flow round a curved vane.

2. A curved vane on a Pelton wheel turbine.
3. Impact of a jet on An angled plane surface.

1. Force on a curved vane

This case is similar to that of a pipe, but the analysis is simpler because the pressures are
equal - atmospheric , and both the cross-section and velocities (in the direction of flow)
remain constant. The jet, vane and co-ordinate direction are arranged as in the figure below.

Jet deflected by a curved vane.

1 & 2 Control volume and Co-ordinate axis are shown in the figure above.

3 Calculate the total force in the x direction

but , so

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and in the y-direction

4 Calculate the pressure force.

Again, the pressure force is zero as the pressure at both the inlet and the outlets to the control
volume are atmospheric.

5 Calculate the body force

No body forces in the x-direction, = 0.

In the y-direction the body force acting is the weight of the fluid. If V is the volume of the
fluid on he vane then,

(This is often small is the jet volume is small and sometimes ignored in analysis.)

6 Calculate the resultant force

And the resultant force on the fluid is given by

And the direction of application is

exerted on the fluid.

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The force on the vane is the same magnitude but in the opposite direction

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 H.W. 5
Question 1
The figure below shows a smooth curved vane attached to a rigid foundation. The jet of
water, rectangular in section, 75mm wide and 25mm thick, strike the vane with a velocity of
25m/s. Calculate the vertical and horizontal components of the force exerted on the vane and
indicate in which direction these components act.
[Horizontal 233.4 N acting from right to left. Vertical 1324.6 N acting downwards]

Question 2
A 600mm diameter pipeline carries water under a head of 30m with a velocity of 3m/s. This
water main is fitted with a horizontal bend which turns the axis of the pipeline through 75
(i.e. the internal angle at the bend is 105). Calculate the resultant force on the bend and its
angle to the horizontal.
[104.044 kN, 52 29']

Question 3
A horizontal jet of water 2103 mm2 cross-section and flowing at a velocity of 15 m/s hits a
flat plate at 60 to the axis (of the jet) and to the horizontal. The jet is such that there is no side
spread. If the plate is stationary, calculate a) the force exerted on the plate in the direction of
the jet and b) the ratio between the quantity of fluid that is deflected upwards and that
downwards. (Assume that there is no friction and therefore no shear force.)
[338N, 3:1]

Question 4
A 75mm diameter jet of water having a velocity of 25m/s strikes a flat plate, the normal of
which is inclined at 30 to the jet. Find the force normal to the surface of the plate.
[2.39kN]

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