Fluid Dynamics

Charles Bernando
Department of Physics
University of Southern California

Outline
Definition Concepts Flow rate Viscosity Example: Blood Flow Applications in Physics

Definition
Fluid is a substance that flows easily under external force or pressure Example: liquids and gases Fluid dynamics is a branch of physics that discusses motions of fluids (fluid flow). Includes aerodynamics and hydrodynamics

http://free-extras.com/images/blue_waves-1239.htm

http://besteducationpossible.blogspot.com/2011/05/teaching-your-child-about-tornados.html

Flow rate
Flow rate of a fluid equates to the volume of a fluid which passes through a given surface per unit time Q = volume/time

http://www.southernbritt.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/water.jpg

 Flow rate of a fluid depends on fluid thickness

http://soundcloud.com/viscocity/following

and cross-sectional area

http://www.southernbritt.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/water.jpg

http://www.eatonvillenews.net/thewaterfront.html

Viscosity
Viscosity is the measure of a fluids thickness or the tendency of fluids to resist flow. The thicker a liquid, the higher its viscosity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Drop_0.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Runny_hunny.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Viscosity.gif

Viscosity of a fluid depends on temperature. The higher the temperature, the smaller the viscosity

http://www.supercook.org/cookbook/maple-syrup.htm

What happens to maple syrup when you heat it? When you cool it?

Blood Flow
Blood flow is the continuous transport of blood in our cardiovascular system Our heart plays an important role in transporting blood throughout our body

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Heart_diagram_blood_flow_en.svg

http://childrensheartinstitute.org/educate/heartwrk/bloodflw.htm

Blood from lower and upper body right atrium right ventricle lungs (right and left) left atrium left ventricle aorta upper and lower body

Rate of Blood Flow

Rate of blood flow is measured by Poiseuilles Law: 4 P r Q 8 L
Q = flow rate of blood P = pressure difference between 2 ends of the vessel r = radius of the vessel = blood viscosity L = length of the vessel

Do you think blood flow is affected by gravity? If so, how can blood flow from lower part of our body to our heart?
Muscle contractions squeeze blood vessel (apply pressure), forcing blood toward heart

Heart Rate
Blood flow is directly affected by heart rate. Heart rate is number of heart beat per minute. Heart rate depends on our activity. Heart rate for human at rest is about 60 beats/min. Example: The blood flow in our body is about 5,000 mL/min, and could be around 5-6 times as great during exercise, because our heart beats faster

Applications in Physics
Computational Fluid Dynamics Electromagnetic Aerodynamics

http://www.autoevolution.com/newsimage/how-does-cfd-computationalfluid-dynamics-work-6400-1.html

http://schools.wikia.com/wiki/Ohm's_Law http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/07/airbus-concept-plane-2050/

Conclusion
Flow rate of a fluid depends on the thickness of that fluid and the cross sectional area. The thickness of fluid defined as viscosity. Therefore, viscosity affects the flow rate. For example, blood flow rate depends on pressure difference, radius and length of the vessel and blood viscosity.