Unit 1.

Fluid Properties and Fluid Statics

How fluid mechanics can be classified?
Fluid Mechanics: It is a branch of science which deals with the study of behavior of fluids
either in motion or at rest. Fluid mechanics may be classified into Fluid Statics, Fluid
Kinematics, and Fluid Dynamics.
Fluid Statics: It deals with study of behavior of fluids at rest.
Fluid Kinematics: It deals with the study of motion of fluids without considering the forces
causing Motion.
Fluid Dynamics: It deals with the study of motion of motion of fluids with considering the
forces causing motion.

Define fluid?
1. A fluid has no definite shape, and it takes the shape of container in which it is stored.
2. A fluid is the substance which offers no resistance to shear deformation and will continue
to deform when subjected to shear stresses.
3. When shearing force act on a fluid, it will flow.
4. If fluid is at rest no shearing forces are acting on a fluid and thus all forces are normal to
the plane on which they act.
Fluids may be classified as liquids and gases. When liquids are subjected to compression,
volume decreases but reduction in volume is so small that for all practical purposes, liquids may
be considered to be incompressible. Gases are readily compressible.

Ideal and real fluid means?

The fluid having no viscosity, i.e.no tangential forces exist is called as Ideal fluid. In nature
such a fluid does not exist.
In real fluid, shearing or tangential stresses exists whenever the fluid is in motion. So it is
having some viscosity. All fluids existing in nature all real fluids.

Properties of fluids:
Density or mass density or specific mass (ρ): This is the mass of the fluid per unit volume.
Density of water at 40C at sea level =1000 kg/m3.
Specific Weight (w): This is the weight of the fluid per unit volume. Specific weight of water is
9810 N/m3. w = ρ g.
Specific Volume (v): This is the volume of the fluid per unit weight. It is the reciprocal of Specific
Weight.
Specific gravity (S) or Relative Density (RD): This is the ratio of the specific weight of fluid to
the specific weight of standard fluid or ratio of density of the fluid to the density of standard fluid.
Specific gravity of water or air is 1. Water is standard fluid for liquid and air for gases.
Problems for practice:
Problem 1: A liquid weighs 7.25 N per liter. Calculate specific weight, density and Specific
gravity of the liquid.
Problem 2: A liquid has a specific gravity of 0.72.Find its density and specific weight. Find also
the weight per liter of the liquid.

Viscosity (µ):
Viscosity is the property of a fluid by which it offers resistance to shear deformation.
Consider a fluid placed between two parallel plates each of area A. Let the plates apart by y.
Let the upper plate be moved with a velocity v relative to lower plate by the application of
a shearing force Since the upper plate move, the fluid particles in contact with the upper plate also
moves with the velocity v.Since the lower plate is at rest, the fluid particles in contact with the
lower plate are also at rest. Let us consider that the fluid body between the two plates consist of a
number of layers parallel to the plates. These different layers of the fluid have different velocities.
This results in continuous shear deformation of the body.

Figure 1.1: shear deformation of fluid

Since the upper plate moves with a uniform velocity, the resultant force on this plate is zero. This
means the shear resistance offered by the fluid body is equal to the applied shear load P.
According to observations,
PA
Pv
And 𝑃  1/𝑦
P  Av/y P = µ Av/y
µ = constant of proportionality
The constant of proportionality is called dynamic viscosity or simply viscosity of the fluid.
The unit of Viscosity is the Newton Second/metre2 or Pascal second.
1 poise = 1 dyne sec/cm2.one hundredth of a Poise is called the centi poise (named after Poiseuille)
1 Ns/m2= 10 poise
Kinematic Viscosity: This is the ratio of the dynamic viscosity of a fluid to its density.
Kinematic viscosity  = µ/ρ
S.I. unit of kinematic viscosity is m2/s
C.G.S. unit is Stoke 1m2/s = 104 Stoke

P  Av/y P = µ Av/y
In the above equation v/y represents velocity gradient.
 = P/A
 = µ v/y
 = µ x velocity gradient
Figure 1.2: linear variation of velocity
Suppose velocity variation of the fluid layers between the plates is non-linear. Let y be distance
between the parallel plates. Let u be the velocity at a distance y and u+du at a distance y + dy.
Then

 = µ (du/dy)

µ = / (du/dy)

Figure 1.3: Non-linear variation of velocity

Dynamic viscosity is the shear stress required to produce unit rate of shear deformation.
 = µ (du/dy)

This relation is called as Newton’s law of Viscosity.

Variation of viscosity with temperature:

The viscosity of fluid is due to two contributing factors, namely cohesion between the fluid
molecules and transfer of momentum between molecules. In case of gases interspace between the
molecules is large and so the intermolecular cohesion is negligible. But in case of liquids the
molecules are very close to each other and accordingly large cohesion exists. Hence in liquids, the
viscosity is mainly due to intermolecular cohesion, while in gases viscosity is mainly due to
molecular momentum transfer.
The intermolecular cohesive force decreases with the rise of the temperature and hence
with the increase in temperature the viscosity of a liquid decreases.
In case of gases as temperature increases molecular momentum transfer increases. Hence
the viscosity increases with increase in temperature.

Types of Fluids:
Based on property of viscosity, fluids may be classified into the following ways:
i) Ideal fluid: This is a fluid having no viscosity.
ii) Real Fluid: This is a fluid which possesses viscosity.
iii) Newtonian fluid: This is a real fluid in which the shear stress is directly proportional to velocity
gradient. e.g. Water, air, kerosene.
iv) Non Newtonian fluid: This is a real fluid in which shear stress is not directly proportional to
the velocity gradient.e.g.Thick Slurry, Colloids, emulsions, blood
v) Ideal Plastic Fluid: This is a fluid in which after reaching the yield value of shear stress, the
fluid begins to flow. The fluid flows such that the relationship between the shear stress and velocity
gradient is linear.e.g. Mud.
vi) Thixotropic fluid: This is a fluid in which after reaching a yield value of shear stress, the fluid
begins to flow. The fluid flows such that the relationship between the shear stress and the
velocity gradient is not linear. E.g. Jelly, paints
 Figure 1.4: Types of fluid
Cohesion and Adhesion
Cohesion is a property of a liquid by virtue of which the molecules of the liquid remain attached
to each other. Adhesion is a property of a liquid which enables it to adhere to another body with
which it comes into contact.

Surface Tension
When two immiscible fluids comes in contact with each other, at the contact surface experiences
a force called surface tension. That contact surface will behave as a membrane under tension. It
can be defined as force acting at the contact surface per unit length. The unit of surface tension is
Newton per meter. The surface tension of water varies from about 0.074 N/m at 200C to 0.059
N/m at 1000C.
Pressure intensity inside a droplet
Consider a small drop of a liquid of surface tension 
Let Pi = pressure intensity inside the drop
Po = pressure intensity outside the drop
P= Pi – Po Figure 1.5: Cut section of Droplet
Considering the equilibrium of one half of the droplet
Bursting force = Surface tensile resistance
Pπr2 = .2πr
P = 2/r
Pressure Intensity inside a Hollow Bubble
A hollow bubble like soap bubble has two surfaces subjected to surface tension. In such a case, for
a bubble of radius r.
P πr2 = 2(2πr)
P = 4/r.
Pressure intensity inside a liquid jet
Let P be the pressure intensity in a liquid jet in excess of the outside pressure. Let d and l be the
diameter and length of the jet.

Pld = 2  l
P= 2  /d

Figure 1.6: Cut section of Liquid Jet

Capillarity
When a small diameter glass tube opened at both ends is dipped into a liquid like water we find
that the liquid rises in the tube above the general level of the outside liquid. This phenomenon is
known as capillarity. Capillarity is caused due to adhesion and cohesion.

Figure 1.7: Capillarity

The surface of liquid in the capillary tube is called Meniscus. If the liquid wets the tube,
meniscus is concave and adhesion is predominant. If the liquid does not wet the tube, meniscus is
convex and cohesion is predominant.
As shown in figure let tube radius as rise of liquid in the tube as h,  be the surface tension
of the liquid, and θ be the angle of contact between liquid and glass tube.
The weight of the column of liquid of height h in the tube is balanced by the vertical
component of surface tensile force.
Vertical component of surface tensile force =  cosθ 2πr
Weight of the column of liquid balanced by surface tension = wπr2h
 Cosθ 2πr = wπr2h

h = 4cosθ/wd
w = specific weight of water, d= diameter of tube
θ is equal to 250 for water and 1280. For absolutely clean glass θ = 0.
Bulk Modulus of Elasticity
The bulk modulus of elasticity is the ratio of the change in pressure to the corresponding volumetric
strain.

Figure 1.8: Bulk modulus of Elasticity

Figure shows a cylinder containing gas and fitted with piston. Let V= Volume of the gas
in the cylinder in the original position of piston.P= pressure of the gas in the original position of
the piston. Let the piston be pushed so as to increase the pressure to p+dp.
Let the corresponding decrease in the volume of gas be dv
Volumetric strain = dv/v
Bulk modulus of elasticity= K= - (dp)/ (dv/V) = - V dp/dv
(-ve sign indicates that there will be decrease in volume due to increase in pressure)

Compressibility: The reciprocal of the bulk modulus of elasticity is called compressibility.

Problems for Practice
1. A certain mass of liquid has a volume of 5 cum and a weight of 39240 N. Find the specific
weight, specific mass and specific gravity of the liquid. [7848 N/m3,800kg/m3,0.80]
2. The velocity distribution of a fluid over a plate is given by u=y (0.8-y) where u is the
velocity in m/s, y is distance above the plate. Find the shear stress at y= 0.10 m.The
dynamic viscosity of fluid is 8.3 x 10-4 Ns/m2.
3. The clearance between a 80 mm diameter shaft and its journal bearing is 0.75 mm.If the
shaft rotates at 100 rpm.find the shear stress induced in the lubricant, take µ=1 poise.
[55.8 N/m2]
4. The shaft 80 mm in diameter is being pushed through a bearing sleeve 80.20 mm in
diameter and 300 mm long.The clearance is filled with oil having a kinematic viscosity of
0.005 m2/s. and specific gravity 0.90.if the shaft moves axially at 50 m/s.Find the resistance
offered by oil on the shaft. [1693N]
5. Two large plane surfaces are 25 mm apart. This space is filled with glycerine of dynamic
viscosity0.804 Ns/m2.Find what force is required to drag a very thin plate of area 0.50 m2
between the two surfaces at a speed of 0.60 m/s. i) if the plate is equidistant from the two
surfaces.ii)if the plate is 10 mm from one of the surfaces. [38.6 N,40.2N]
6. A metal plate 0.5 m x 0.5 m x 2 mm is to be lifted up with a velocity 0.1 m/s through a gap
20 mm wide containing an oil of specific gravity 0.9 and viscosity 1.962 Ns/m2.Find the
force required assuming that the plate remains midway in the gap.
The plate weighs 7.36 N. [13.8 N]
7. A 500 mm long pipe weighing 20N is slipped over a vertical solid shaft of diameter 50
mm.If the clearance between the shaft and the pipe is 1.25 mm, find the terminal velocity
attained by the pipe if the pipe has a film of oil of viscosity 1.962 Poise. [1.62 m/s]