Lecture # 4

Introduction to Fluid Mechanics

Fluid Mechanics-I (ME321)

Dr. Ali Turab Jafry

2024 Fall Semester

Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Science and Technology Faculty of Mechanical Engineering 1
 Interesting Phenomenon
 Why is it that a drop of blood forms a bulge on a horizontal glass?
 A drop of mercury forms a near-perfect sphere and can be rolled just
like a steel ball over a smooth surface?
 Water droplets from rain or dew hang from branches or leaves of
trees?
 A soap bubble released into the air forms a spherical shape?

Water drop on lotus leaf

Insect walking on water surface
Water repellent and self cleaning effect
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 Surface Tension – Floating Razor Blade
 A heavier-than-water, double-edged steel razor blade can float on water.
Without surface tension, the blade would sink because its weight is
greater than its buoyant force. However, surface tension forces are not
large enough to support a slightly heavier single-edged blade.

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 Interface
 Liquid, being unable to expand freely, will form an interface with a
second liquid or gas.
 At the interface between a liquid and a gas, or between two immiscible
liquids, forces develop in the liquid surface that cause the surface to
behave as if it were a “skin” or “membrane” stretched over the fluid
mass.

Less dense
Interface Molecules

High Density
of Molecules

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 Surface Tension
 A blade will float on water if placed gently on the surface because the
tension developed in the hypothetical skin supports it.
 Small droplets of mercury will form into spheres when placed on a
smooth surface because the cohesive forces in the surface tend to
hold all the molecules together in a compact shape (spherical??).

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 Surface Tension
 This surface phenomenon is due to unbalanced
cohesive forces (attractive forces) acting on the
liquid molecules at the fluid surface.
 Molecules along the surface are subjected to a
net force toward the interior (pull inwards). The
liquid molecules tend to minimize their surface
area because of surface tension.

 The intensity of the molecular attraction per unit

length along any line in the surface is called the
Surface Tension (N/m or lb/ft).
 The value of surface tension decreases as
temperature increases 6
 Surface Tension in a Spherical Droplet

Free-body diagram: Forces acting on one-half of a liquid drop

 Pressure drop across the surface of the droplet. If the drop is cut in half, the force developed
due to surface tension will be . This force must be balanced by the pressure difference ,
between the internal pressure, and the external pressure, acting over the circular area:

2 R p R 2 Pressure higher on concave

2 side. E.g. Balloon
p  pi  pe 
R
 If the interface is curved, then there is a pressure difference across the interface, the
pressure being higher on the concave side (drop of fluid, bubble)
 Note that the excess pressure in a droplet or bubble is inversely proportional to the radius.
 What about soap bubble? Assignment session 1 at the end. 7
Surface Tension in a Droplet

Contact-angle effects at liquid–gas–solid interface

If θ < 90, the liquid “wets” the solid (hydrophilic

surface);
if θ > 90, the liquid is “nonwetting” (hydrophobic
surface).

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 Capillary tube

 The rise or fall of liquid in a narrow tube is due to the combined effect of
contact angle and surface tension. This is known as Capillary Effect.
 There is an attraction (adhesion) between the wall of the tube and liquid
molecules which is higher than cohesive forces (cohesion) within the
water molecules. Wetting fluid.
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 Liquid rise in Capillary tube

This is a liquid–gas–
W
solid interface

 Effect of capillary action in small tubes. (a) Rise of column for a liquid that wets the
tube. (b) Free-body diagram for calculating column height. (c) Depression of
column: If adhesion of molecules is weaker than cohesion between molecules 
non wetting liquid
 The height h is governed by the value of the surface tension, , tube radius, R,
specific weight of the liquid, , and the angle of contact, between the fluid and tube.
 Vertical force due to the surface tension balances the weight of the fluid as:

 R 2 h 2 R cos 
 Height, inversely proportional to tube radius.
 Capillary action is more for smaller radius.
2 cos 
h Jurin’s Law
R 10
Capillary rise

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 Liquid rise in Capillary tube
 Example 1.8: Pressures are sometime determined by measuring the height of
a column of liquid in a vertical tube. What diameter of clean glass tubing () is
required so that the rise of water at 20ºC in a tube due to capillary action (as
opposed to pressure in the tube) is less than 1.0 mm?
2 cos 
h
R

2 cos 
R
h

For water at 20ºC (from Table B.2), = 0.0728 N/m and Allowable capillary rise is decreased, the
= 9.789 kN/m3. Since it follows that for h = 1.0 mm, diameter of the tube must be
significantly increased

2 0.0728 N/m 1

R 0.0149 m
9.789 10 3
N/m 3
1.0 mm 10 3
m/mm 
And the minimum required tube diameter, D, is

D 2 R 0.0298 m 29.8 mm
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Liquid rise in Capillary tube – Straight channel & Porous media

Leaf
Paper soaking: Capillary
imbibition in porous13
media
Chapter Summary

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 Assignment Session 1
 Derive the expression for the surface tension in a half cut soap bubble.
Apply this expression to find out the gage pressure inside the bubble
with a) 0.2 cm diameter and b) 5 cm diameter. Use surface tension .
Explain the difference in pressure value for both radii.

 Hint: Free-body diagram of a soap bubble given:

 Submission to TA: Next week in same class.

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 Sample Problems Chapter 1
Course Book: Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics, Munson, 7th Edition
Problems:
1.3, 1.6, 1.7, 1.13, 1.15, 1.20, 1.21, 1.30, 1.36, 1.38, 1.41, 1.47, 1.58, 1.64, 1.77, 1.78, 1.86, 1.87,
1.89, 1.104, 1.111, 1.118, 1.124, 1.125, 1.126, 1.129, 1.131.

Quiz 1 – 19th Sept, Thursday 7:00 – 8:00 PM MoS Lab

Similar to sample problems.

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