Flow Classifications
Flow Classifications
Flow Classifications
7 Flow Configurations
8 Summary
Fluid Statics versus Fluid Dynamics
❖ Fluids can be at rest or in motion.
❖ Fluid Statics is the study of fluids which are at rest (no motion).
▪ Fluids Statics is commonly referred to as Hydrostatics.
Courtesy: NASA
Unsteady versus Steady Flow
❖ Nearly all fluid motions observed in nature are
inherently unsteady (time dependent)
❖ Fluid unsteadiness exists at a range of scales from
very tiny to the macroscopic size. The random, mixed
motion we often observe is called turbulence.
❖ In many cases, we can ignore (or model) small- Courtesy: M. Van Dyke, An Album of Fluid Motion, 1982
scale unsteadiness and consider the fluid motion
as only a function of space (time-independent, i. e. An actual unsteady, turbulent flow over a flat plate
velocity, pressure, temperature does not change
with time at a given point). This is the steady-
state assumption.
Boundary layer edge Inviscid zone
❖ For the purposes of modeling fluid motion, the
steady-state assumption can be used to obtain
useful and practical engineering solutions.
U(y) 𝛿
❖ Effects of turbulence can be modeled so that the Viscous zone
simplified steady-state solution yields accurate results
for skin fraction and heat transfer. We will discuss
this topic in more detail later on in this course. Steady-state boundary layer model for flow over a flat plate
Uniform versus Non-uniform Flow
❖ Uniform Flow is a fluid flow where its characteristics and
parameters remain unchanged with distance along a the flow
path.
❖ A steady flow though a long straight pipe of a constant diameter is an
example of a uniform flow
Non-uniform flow
Rotational versus Irrotational Flow
❖ Rotation Flow is a fluid flow where fluid particles moving along the flow path also rotate about their
respective axes.
❖ Irrotational Flow is flow where fluid particles moving along the flow path do not undergo rotation.
❖ Turbulent Flow
❖ At higher speeds, fluid particles begin to exhibit
random fluctuations, and move in a chaotic, “tangled”
fashion.
❖ Flow appears non-uniform and significant mixing of
fluid occurs. This is turbulent flow.
❖ Reasonable assumption for all liquid flows and low-speed gas flows
❖ For Ma < 1, the flow is subsonic. Pressure waves in the flow can
propagate in all directions.
❖ For Ma > 1, the flow is supersonic. Pressure waves can
compress to form shock waves which propagate in the
downstream direction only.
Compressible flow
Flow Configurations
❖ External Flow
❖ An external flow is defined here as a flow over an object in an
unconfined domain.
❖ Internal Flow
❖ An internal flow is defined as a flow which is confined by walls,
partitions, and other boundaries.