BITS Pilani

K K Birla Goa Campus

Shell Momentum Balances and Velocity

Distributions in Laminar Flow
 Introduction

• Objective
• To obtain velocity profiles for laminar flow of fluids

• Requirements
• Definition of viscosity
• Molecular and convective momentum flux expressions
• Concept of momentum balance

• Flow systems to be studied

• Flow of a falling film
• Flow through a circular tube
• Flow through an annulus
• Flow of two adjacent immiscible fluids

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 Introduction

• Problems/systems
• Steady flow
• Laminar
• Rectilinear flow
• Velocity – function of one spatial variable

• Momentum balance -
• (Rate of momentum in) – (Rate of momentum out) + (Force of gravity) = 0

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 Viscous flow problems – Solving
procedure
• Identify non-vanishing velocity components
• Consider a shell and write a shell momentum balance
• Use definition of first derivative to obtain differential equation
for momentum flux
• Get momentum flux distribution
• Insert Newton’s law viscosity and obtain a differential equation
for velocity.
• Get velocity distribution
• Use velocity distribution/profile to get other quantities such as
max velocity, avg velocity.

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 Boundary conditions

• Solid – fluid interface

• No slip condition

• Liquid – liquid interface

• Continuity of velocity and stress-tensor components

• Liquid – gas interface

• Shear stress tensor components are taken to be zero

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 Problem – flow of a falling film

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 Postulates /assumptions

• vz= vz(x) , vx = 0 ; vy = 0
• p = p(x)
• End effects are neglected
• Steady flow
• Incompressible fluid
• Viscosity and density are constant
• Isothermal flow

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 Shell surface

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 Shell momentum balance

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 Momentum flux distribution

• First derivative (Shell thickness approaches zero)

• Momentum flux –

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 Velocity distribution

• Newton’s law of viscosity

• Velocity distribution

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 Profiles

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 Other quantities

• Maximum velocity

• Average velocity

• Mass flow rate

• Film thickness

• Viscous force in the z-direction

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 Analysis – falling film problem

• Experimental observations –
• Three flow regimes (Based on Re)
• Laminar flow with negligible rippling (Re < 20)
• Laminar flow with pronounced rippling (20 < Re < 1500)
• Turbulent flow (Re > 1500)

• Gives information about onset of instability

• Results obtained (velocity, momentum flux distributions) – valid

only for Re < 20

• Experiments play a vital role in fluid dynamics

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 Flow through a circular tube

• Steady state, laminar flow of a fluid

• Constant density and viscosity
• Vertical tube of length L and radius R
• L>>R
End effects are neglected

• Postulates
• vz= vz(r) , vr = 0 ; vθ = 0
• p = p(z)

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 Shell surface

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 Momentum balance

• Overall momentum balance

• Simplification – first Derivative

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 Momentum flux distribution

• Modified pressure (P)

• Boundary condition

• Momentum flux distribution

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 Velocity distribution

• Newton’s law of viscosity

• Boundary condition-
• At r = R, vz = 0;

• Velocity distribution

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 Other quantities

• Maximum velocity

• Average velocity

• Mass flow rate

• z- component of the force

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 Assumptions in Hagen-Poiseuille’s
equation
• Laminar flow
• Incompressible fluid flow
• Steady flow
• Newtonian fluid (Newton’s law of viscosity– valid)
• End effects are neglected
• Fluid behaves as a continuum
• No slip at the wall

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 Examples

• Determination of viscosity from capillary flow data

• Compressible flow in a horizontal circular tube

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 Problem – Flow through an annulus

• Steady state axial flow

• Incompressible fluid
• System – Coaxial cylinders of radii kR and R, Liquid flows
through an annulus in upward direction

• Postulates
• vz= vz(r) , vr = 0 ; vθ = 0
• p= p(z)

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 Momentum flux distribution

• Boundary Conditions-
• At r = λR , momentum flux is zero.

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 Velocity distribution

• Newton’s Law of Viscosity

• Velocity Distribution

• Boundary Conditions
• r = kR, vz = 0
• r = R, vz = 0

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 Momentum flux / velocity
distribution
• Constants

• Momentum flux / Velocity distribution

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 Analysis

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 Other quantities

• Maximum Velocity

• Average Velocity

• Mass Flow Rate

• Z- component of the force

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 Problem – Flow of two adjacent
immiscible fluids
• Two Immiscible incompressible liquids
• Fluid flow through a horizontal slit (z-direction) of length L and
width W and gap of ‘2b’
• Fluid flow rates – adjusted to have each fluid filling half of the
slit
• Interface – exactly planar
• Postulates
• vz= vz(x) , vx = 0 ; vy = 0
• p = p(z)

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 Shell momentum balance

• Momentum flux –

• Boundary condition

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 Velocity distribution

• Velocity

• Boundary conditions
• No slip / continuity of velocity

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 Momentum flux and velocity
distribution

• Momentum flux and velocity profiles

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 Momentum flux and velocity
profiles

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 Problem

• 2B.1
• Rederive the velocity profile and average velocity for a falling film problem
by replacing x by a coordinate x1 measured away from the wall (i.e. x1 = 0 is
the wall surface and x1=δ is the liquid gas interface.

• 2B.6

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