FLUID

MECHANICS
Fluid Mechanics: The science that deals with the behavior of fluids
at rest (fluid statics) or in motion (fluid dynamics), and the interaction
of fluids with solids or other fluids at the boundaries.
Fluid: A substance in the liquid or gas phase. A fluid deforms
continuously under the influence of a shear stress, no matter how
small.
Thrust: The total normal force exerted by fluid on a surface is called
thrust.
Unit: N
Pressure: The pressure at a point on a surface is the thrust acting
normally per unit area around that point.

Units: C.G.S unit is dyne/cm2
S.I unit is N/m2 or pascal (Pa)
Dimensional formula is M L-1 T-2
Pressure is a scalar quantity, because the direction in which the force
resulting from pressure acts depends upon the orientation of the area.
In the case of a liquid, the pressure can act in any direction.
Other units of pressure are
i) An atmosphere: which is equal to the
pressure exerted by the air under
standard conditions.
ii) a centimeter of mercury: which is the
pressure exerted by a column of
mercury one cm height.
iii) 1 bar = 105Pa
iv) 1 torr =1mm of Hg
Pressure due to a liquid column:

Let h be the height of the liquid column in a cylinder of cross

sectional area A. If ρ is the density of the liquid, then weight of the

liquid column W is given by

W = mass of liquid column × g

W = Ahρg

By definition, pressure is the force acting per unit area.


Variation of pressure with depth:

Consider a thin element of fluid with thickness dy. The bottom

and top surfaces each have area A, and they are at elevations y and

(y + dy) above some reference level (i.e., along X-axis)

The volume of the fluid element is its mass is and its weight is

dV = A dy

its mass is dm = ρ dV

dm = ρ A dy,

and its weight is dW = dm g

dW = ρ gA dy
 When we divide out the area A and
rearrange, we get

This equation shows that when y increases, P decreases; that is, as

we move upward in the fluid, pressure decreases, as we expect.
. If  are the pressures at elevations y1 and y2, respectively, and if ρ
and g are constant, then


Take point-1 at any level in the fluid

and let P represent the pressure at this
point. Take point-2 at the surface of
the fluid, where the pressure is Po
(subscript zero for zero depth). The
depth of point-1 below the surface is





The pressure P at a depth h is greater than the pressure Po at the surface

by an amount.
The pressure is the same at any two points at the same
level in the fluid.
Pascal’s law: Pressure applied to an enclosed fluid is transmitted
undiminished to every portion of the fluid and the walls of the
containing vessel.

A piston with small cross-sectional area A1 exerts a force F1 on

the surface of a liquid such as oil. The applied pressure  is
transmitted through the connecting pipe to a larger piston of
area A2. The applied pressure is the same in both cylinders, so
 A piston with small cross-sectional area A1 exerts a force F1 on the
surface of a liquid such as oil. The applied pressure  is transmitted
through the connecting pipe to a larger piston of area A2. The applied
pressure is the same in both cylinders, so




The hydraulic lift is a force-multiplying device with a multiplication factor

equal to the ratio of the areas of the two pistons.
Eg:-Dentist’s chairs, car lifts and jacks, many elevators, and hydraulic
brakes all use this principle.
Pressure Gauges:
1. Manometer
2. Mercury barometer
Manometer (open-tube
manometer)
The simplest pressure gauge is
the open-tube manometer.
The U-shaped tube contains a
liquid of density ρ often
mercury or water. The left end
of the tube is connected to the
container where the pressure P
is to be measured, and the
right end is open to the
atmosphere at pressure  The
pressure at the bottom of the
tube due to the fluid in the left
column is  and the pressure at
the bottom due to the fluid in
the right column is  These
pressures are measured at the
same level, so they must be
Pressure at the bottom of tube-1 = 
Pressure at the bottom of limb-2 = 
But the pressure is same at the bottoms
of the tubes

Since  &




Where P is the absolute pressure

The difference  between absolute and atmospheric pressure is the gauge

pressure. Thus the gauge pressure is proportional to the difference in
height  of the liquid columns.
Mercury barometer
Another common pressure gauge is the
mercury barometer. Evangelista
Torricelli, inventor of the mercury barometer
Pressure at the bottom of beaker = 
=
Pressure at the bottom of tube = 
=
=
=
But the pressure is same at the bottoms of the
tube and beaker




Thus the mercury barometer reads the
atmospheric pressure  directly from the height
of the mercury column.
Buoyancy: When a body immersed in a liquid, the liquid exerts
thrust on the body at every point in contact with the liquid.
The pressure exerted.

So the thrust is more at the bottom of the body, which acts

vertically upwards; thus the body is subjected to resultant upward

thrust, called upthrust or buoyant force or buoyancy.

This is opposite to the weight of the body which acts vertically

downwards. So, when a body is immersed in a liquid there is an

apparent loss of weight. The buoyancy acts through the center of

gravity of displaced liquid is called center of buoyancy.

Archimedes’ principle: When a body
is completely or partially immersed in a
fluid, the fluid exerts an upward force
on the body equal to the weight of the
fluid displaced by the body.
Up thrust on the body = weight of the fluid
displaced
= mg
=
Where m is mass of the fluid
V is volume of the fluid displaced
 is the density of the fluid
Floating
ship
DRAG: The force on an object that resists its motion through

a fluid is called drag. When the fluid is a gas like air, it is

called aerodynamic drag (or air resistance). When the

fluid is a liquid like water it is called hydrodynamic drag

(but never "water resistance").

 When there is a relative motion between a body and a fluid, then the
force experienced by the body is called drag force R.

Drag increases with the density of the fluid

(ρ).
R∝ρ
Drag increases with area (A).
R∝A
A is the effective cross-sectional area of the
body
Drag increases with speed (v).
Drag is influenced R
by∝ other
v2 factors including shape, texture, viscosity
(which results in viscous drag or skin friction), etc. They can be piled
into one monolithic fudge factor (oh yes, please) called the
coefficient of drag (C).
R∝C
Combining all these factors together
R = ½ρCAv2
Viscosity: If a liquid moving slowly and steadily over a horizontal

surface, then there is a force within the liquid which opposes the

relative motion of one layer over the other. This opposing force is

called viscous force and the property is called viscosity.

Explanation: Consider a liquid
moving slowly and steadily over a
horizontal surface PQ. Every layer
of liquid moves parallel to the fixed
surface. The layer in contact with
fixed surface is at rest and the
velocity of every other layer
increases uniformly upwards.

Let two layers of liquid which are separated by a distance dx

having velocity v and v + dx. The quantity  is called the velocity
gradient.

The change of velocity per distance in direction perpendicular

to the velocity is called the velocity gradient ( ).
Coefficient of Viscosity:
According to Newton, the tangential viscous force F acting on a
layer is proportional to its A and velocity gradient 


from (1) and (2)


 is called the coefficient of viscosity and the –ve sign shows that
viscous force opposes the direction of flow.
Force required to maintain a relative velocity  between the two
layers is

This formula is called Newton’s formula and the fluids
obeying this formula is called Newtonian fluids


 is also called dynamic viscosity or absolute viscosity

Dimensional formula of  is


i) C.G.S Unit: poise (It is named after
Jean Léonard Marie Poiseuille.)


Poise: Coefficient of viscosity of a fluid is said to
be one poise if a tangential force of one dyne is
required to maintain a velocity of  normal to the
direction of flow on two layers of surface area 
separated by a distance of 1cm.
S.I Unit: When F is in N, A in m2,  in s-1, then the
unit of  is called Pa-s



Kinematic Viscosity: The ration of dynamic
viscosity  to the density  of fluid is called kinematic
viscosity.

The C.G.S physical unit for kinematic viscosity is
the stokes (St), named after George Gabriel Stokes.


The S.I unit of kinematic viscosity is m2/s.

Its dimensional formula is 

Fluidity: This is a measure of the ability of a fluid
to flow and is equal to the reciprocal 


Its C.G.S unit is poise-1 and S.I unit is Pa-1 s-1

Its dimensional formula is 

Stokes' Law: George Gabriel Stokes, an Irish-born

mathematician, his most significant accomplishment was

the work describing the motion of a sphere in a viscous

fluid. This work lead to the development of Stokes’ Law.

Stokes’ Law, a mathematical description of the force

required to move a sphere through a quiescent, viscous

fluid at specific velocity.

Explanation:
When a spherical body falls through a fluid, the layer of
fluid in contact with the body also moves with the same
velocity.
The fluid at large distance remains at rest. The relative
velocity is opposed by the viscous force.
As the velocity of the body increases the opposing force
also increases. A stage is reached when the upthrust of the
fluid and viscous force balances the weight of the sphere
acting vertically downwards.
Now the resultant force is zero and the body moves with a
constant velocity. This constant velocity is called the
Stokes has shown that the
terminal velocity.
viscous force as




When the sphere falls with terminal velocity,


 




and the terminal velocity of the spherical body falling through
a viscous medium is

i) The terminal velocity is directly proportional to

That is why tiny rains drops forms clouds, whereas bigger

drops fall through air.

Eg: For tiny drops (r =0.001cm) the terminal velocity is about

1.2 cm/s.

For bigger drops (r =0.01cm) the terminal velocity is about

120 cm/s.

ii) Suppose  then the terminal velocity will be negative.

Eg: Air bubbles rise up through water or any liquid and clouds
Variation of viscosity with temperature and

pressure:

1. For liquids the viscosity decreases with rise in

temperature.

2. For gases viscosity increases with rise in

temperature.

3. The viscosity of a gas independent of pressure, at

ordinary pressures. But at low pressures viscosity

continually falls with decrease in pressure.

Comparison of Friction and
Viscosity:
Boundary layer
When a fluid moves over a surface, there is a thin
layer of the fluid near the surface which is nearly at
rest. This thin layer is called the boundary layer.
Alternative view of Poiseuille's Law
Consider an electrical circuit in which a potential V between the ends
of a resistance R results in a current I. Then the flow is determined
by the ratio of potential to resistance.



Poiseuille's Law can be arranged in this form







Experiment to find the Coefficient of Viscosity of a liquid
using Poiseulle’s Method.

∆ 𝜋
𝑅
= =
( )
𝑑
𝑡
8
𝜂
𝐿
𝑄
4
𝑑
𝑣
𝑃
4
∆
𝑄
𝐿
=
𝜂
8
𝑃
𝜋
𝑅
Experiment to find the Coefficient of Viscosity of a

liquid using Stokes Formula.

Apparatus: Calibrated cylinder, test liquid, hydrometer,

thermometer, balls, laboratory balance, tweezers, meter

stick, screw gauge.


Using Stokes formula find 

Circulatory system: There is a
decrease in pressure across each
section of the tubes. Blood pressure is
highest when it leaves the heart
(through the aorta) and lowest when it
returns (through the inferior vena cava).
Most pressure loss occurs over the
capillaries.
Any constriction of the tubes - for
example a buildup of cholesterol on the
walls of the arteries (arteriosclerosis)-
increases the resistance and hence the
pressure drop (it goes as R 4
remember). So the heart has to work
harder to compensate. And at times of
Types of fluid flow:

Fluid flow

Steady/ Unsteady/ Compressible/ Viscou/Non-

Laminarflow Turbulant flow Incompressibl Viscous flow
e flow
Steady or Laminar flow: The flow of the fluid is said to be
steady if at any given point, the velocity of each passing fluid
particle remains constant in time.

The path taken by a fluid particle under a steady flow is a

streamline. It is defined as a curve whose tangent at any point is
in the direction of the fluid velocity at that point. A collection of
identical
Turbulent streamlines is called
flow: When the a velocity
tube of at
flow.
a point in the liquid
changes with time the flow is called unsteady flow.
Critical Velocity:
The velocity of a liquid upto which the flow is streamlined and above
which the flow is turbulent is called critical velocity Vc.
The critical velocity Vc of a liquid flowing through a tube depends
upon
* the coefficient of viscosity η

* density of the fluid ρ

* the diameter of the tube D.




where is dimensionless constant called Reynolds number.

Reynolds number: It is dimensionless ratio which determines
whether the fluid flow is streamline or turbulent.


i) If Re < 2000 the flow is laminar
ii) If Re > 4000 the flow is turbulent
Continuity Equation
The equation of continuity states that the mass flow rate
has the same value at every position along a tube which has
only one entry point and a single outlet for the liquid flow.





 




Since the liquid is incompressible, the density of the liquid at 1 and 2 will

be equal. The flow is steady and no liquid can cross the side, so the mass

of liquid passing through section-1 is equal to the mass of the liquid

leaving the section-2 per second.






Energy of a liquid:
A liquid has three types of energy while in flow.
1. Kinetic energy
2. Potential energy
3. Pressure energy
Pressure energy
From the diagram, there is a side tube fitted with a frictionless
piston of area of cross section a.

The pressure on the piston = P

Work done to move the piston through a small distance 

Mass of liquid pushed

Work done is stored in as pressure energy of a column of liquid 

Pressure energy
Pressure energy per unit mass


Pressure energy per unit volume 


Bernoulli’s theorem:
It states that the total energy of a small amount of incompressible,
non-viscous, irrotational and isotropic fluid in a streamline motion is
constant throughout the displacement ie., the total energy per unit
mass of fluid
Applications of Bernoulli’s theorem
1.

1. Flowmeter-Venturimeter: It is used to measure the rate of liquid

flowing through a pipe. It works on Bernoulli’s theorem.
By the equation of continuity

Applying Bernoulli’s theorem at A and B
1. Spinning Ball – The
Magnus Effect
1. Two moving parallel
ships:

1. Torricelli’s
Theorem: