BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMME

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

ME2134E FLUID MECHANICS A

Dr Dilip A Shah
A/Prof SH Winoto
Tel: 6516 2121
Tel: 6516 2556
Email: mpedilip@nus.edu.sg Email: mpewinot@nus.edu.sg
Room: EA-05-11
Room: EA-05-08
2012-13
ME2134E: NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF
SINGAPORE

Fluid mechanics deals with

liquids and gases in motion or
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UNIVERSITY OF
at
rest.
SINGAPORE

Course Outline:
Introduction - classification of fluid flows
Hydrostatic forces

Relative equilibrium
Momentum principles and its applications
Flow measurement - velocity and volume flow
Dimensional Analysis - modeling and similitude
Flow in pipes - effects of roughness, losses, pipe
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network etc.
SINGAPORE

Recommended Reference textbooks:

1. Fox, R.W. and McDonald, A.T. "Introduction to Fluid
Mechanics", John Wiley and Sons, 1992.
2. Streeter, V.L., Wylie, E.B. and Bedford, K.W. "Fluid
Mechanics", McGraw-Hill, 1998.
3. Munson, B.R., Young, D.F. and Okiishi, T.H.
"Fundamental of Fluid Mechanics", John Wiley &
Sons, 1998.
4. White, F.M. "Fluid Mechanics"(7th Edition), McGraw- Hill,
2011.
5. Mott, R.L. Applied Fluid Mechanics(6th Edition),
Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006.
nd SI
6. Cengel, Y. A. and Cimbala,
J.M.
Fluid
Mechanics
(2
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Edition),
McGraw Hill, 2010.

Assessment:
Final Examination: 80%
Continuous Assessment:
Two Lab Reports: 20%
(1) Expt.1 : Drag on Sphere
(2) Expt 2: Flow and Energy Loss

Note: Very important to do the experiments and

submit the lab reports!
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Announcement:
1. TWO HOURS TUTORIAL ON
06 SEPTEMBER FROM 6.00 TO 8.00 PM
FOLLOWED BY LECTURE in LT5.

2. TWO HOURS TUTORIAL ON

18 OCTOBER FROM 6.00 TO 8.00 PM FOLLOWED
BY LECTURE in LT5.
3. THREE HOURS TUTORIAL ON
15 NOVEMBER FROM 6.00 TO 9.00PM.
ME2134E: NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF
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Announcement:
THREE HOURS MAKE-UP LECTURE ON
27 SEPTEMBER
FROM 6.00 TO 9.00 PM
in LT5
(TO MAKE UP FOR
NATIONAL
HOLIDAY).

ME2134E: NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF

SINGAPORE

1. INTRODUCTION

Fluid Mechanics is concerned with the behavior of liquids and gases at rest and
in motion. This discipline encompasses a vast array of problems such as:

Water flow in pipes and pipe networks

Blood flow in the capillaries (of a few microns in diameter)

Flow of crude oil through a 1000 km long, 1 m diameter pipe

Aerodynamic design of airplanes, cars, trucks, etc...

Air conditioned flow distribution

Cooling of electronic circuitry and equipment (packaging)

Environmental flows (e.g. ocean currents and winds)

Lubrication

The above list can go on and on.

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Application Areas of Fluid Mechanics

Fluid dynamics is used extensively in

the design of artificial hearts. Shown
here is the Penn State Electric Total
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Artificial Heart.
SINGAPORE

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Applications of Fluid Mechanics

Why study Fluid Mechanics?

Fluids are essential to our everyday lives
Air and water are two very important fluids:
~70% of human body is made up of water
~70% of earths surface is covered by water
~90% of earths atmosphere extends to an
altitude of 16 km above earths surface

Red Blood Cells

Earth

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Earths atmopshere12

Applications of Fluid Mechanics

Flight Vehicle Aerodynamics

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Aircraft water tunnelME2134E:
dyeNATIONAL
flow
visualization
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Applications of Fluid Mechanics

Low Speed Aerodynamics

M U /c
Aerofoil at low angle of attack

Aerofoil at high angle of attack

Smoke flow visualization of

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wing tip vortices
Wing tip vortices
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Applications of Fluid Mechanics

High Speed Aerodynamics

M U /c
Bullet at Mach 1.5

Airplane model at Mach 1.1

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Sphere (Mach 1.53) Sphere
(Mach
5.7)
SINGAPORE

F/A-18 Hornet

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Applications of Fluid Mechanics

Ground Vehicle Aerodynamics

Wind tunnel testing of car

Flow
pattern
around bus
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OF
Flow pattern behind carME2134E: NATIONAL
SINGAPORE

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Applications of Fluid Mechanics

Sports Aerodynamics

Flow over cricket ball

Flow over golf ball

Flow over tennis ball

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Flow over swimmer
FlowME2134E:
overNATIONAL
bicycle
SINGAPORE

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Applications of Fluid Mechanics

Building Aerodynamics

Wind tunnel testing of buildings

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SINGAPORE

Flow past circular cylinder

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Applications of Fluid Mechanics

Marine / Ocean Engineering, Naval Architecture,

Hydrodynamics

Cargo ship

Submarine
Ships and water waves
ME2134E: NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF
SINGAPOREComputer simulations

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Applications of Fluid Mechanics

Fluid Machinery ME2135E

Pump impellers

Pelton wheel

Turbine

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SINGAPORE

Wind turbine

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Applications of Fluid Mechanics

Aerospace Propulsion

Jet engine for commercial aircraft

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Jet engine for fighter aircraft
SINGAPORE

Rocket propulsion

SR-71

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Applications of Fluid Mechanics

Marine Propulsion

Marine propeller

Computer simulation of marine propeller

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SINGAPORE

Cavitation in marine propellers

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Applications of Fluid Mechanics

Chemically Reacting Flows and Combustion

Flames

Flame structure

Detonation waves

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Applications of Fluid Mechanics

Civil Engineering Applications

Canals

Dams

Aqueducts

Drainage Systems

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Applications of Fluid Mechanics

Geophysical Fluid Dynamics: Atmosphere / Weather

Hurricane

Global climate

Waterspout
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Tornado

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Applications of Fluid Mechanics

Geophysical Fluid Dynamics: Ocean circulation, Tsunamis

Circulation system of the ocean

Ocean surface wind

Tsunamis

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Applications of Fluid Mechanics

Environmental Fluid Mechanics

Atmospheric pollution

Plume dispersion

River pollution and sedimentation

Pollutant sedimentation and

dispersion

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Applications of Fluid Mechanics

Bio-Fluid Mechanics

Carotid bifurcation models with stenosis

Flow through a bifurcation model

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Computer simulation of blood flow 28
Blood flow through damaged artery
SINGAPORE

Applications of Fluid Mechanics

Animal Locomotion: Flight of Birds, Bats

Wing tunnel testing of birds

Wind tunnel testing of bat

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OF
Formation
SINGAPORE

flight of birds

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Applications of Fluid Mechanics

Animal Locomotion: Insect Flight

Wind tunnel testing of dragonfly

Robotic fly

Tethered fly

Computer
simulation
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UNIVERSITY
OF
SINGAPORE

of insect flight

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Applications of Fluid Mechanics

Animal Locomotion: Swimming

Fish swimming

Animal locomotion

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Robo-tuna
SINGAPORE

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Applications of Fluid Mechanics

Piping Systems and other Industrial Applications ME2134

Pipe network

Water pipeline

Oil refinery

ME2134E: NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF

Computer simulation
SINGAPORE

of pipe flow

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How does a "fluid" differ from a "solid"?

Microscopically, solid has densely spaced molecules with large
intermolecular cohesive forces that allow it to maintain its shape.

Macroscopically, fluid is defined as substance that deforms

continuously (flow) when subjected to shear stresses of any
magnitude.
When a solid is subjected to a shear stress, it will deform initially
(usually by a
small amount) until an equilibrium is reached.
A shear stress is the force component tangent to a surface per
unit area.

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Behaviour of solid (A) and fluid (B) under the action of constant shear force:
F F
or
(for small element)
A A
dF

(for A 0)
dA
Where A or A THE AREA OF THE SURFACE IN CONTACT WITH THE PLATE.

Shear stress

For a small fluid element :

l y
u

(becausefor small , tan( ) )

u t
t y

u du
Deformation rate Lim
Lim

t 0 t
y 0 y
dy
FOR NEWTONIAN FLUIDS :
du

(proposedby Newton (1642 - 1727))

dy
du

dy
ME2134E: NATIONAL
OF coefficient of viscosity,
Where is the proportionality constant
known UNIVERSITY
as viscosity,
absolute viscosity or dynamic viscosity. SINGAPORE

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Notes: Air low viscosity easy to move.

Water viscosity is 50 times higher than air.
SAE 30 oil viscosity is nearly 300 times that of water.
Glycerine viscosity 5 times that of SAE 30 oil viscosity.

Note: Kinematic viscosity,

is defined as

is constant for Newtonian Fluids.

Pure fluids and fluids with simple molecular structures are usually Newtonian.
2. CLASSIFICATION OF FLUID FLOW
It is possible to classify fluid flows (even though there is no general agreement on how to
do it).
Most classifications are based on observed physical characteristics and properties of fluid
flows (which help in dealing with problems in Fluid Mechanics).
A given flow can be either:
Gas

or

Liquid

Steady

or

Unsteady

Inviscid (Ideal)

or

Viscous (Real)

Incompressible

or

Compressible

Uniform

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or OF
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Non-uniform

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Inviscid (Ideal) Fluid

An inviscid fluid is a hypothetical fluid in which = 0. In practice,
when the resistance to deformation, that is, is small, the fluid can be
assumed to be inviscid for mathematical simplicity of complex fluid flow.
An ideal fluid is assumed to be inviscid, incompressible ( = 0) and
to exhibit no surface tension effect, and if it is a liquid, not to vaporize.

Viscous (Real) Fluid

It is a substance that deforms continuously under the application of
shear (tangential) stress, no matter how small the stress may be.
Different fluids deform at different rates when subjected to shear
stress. The resistance to deformation characterizes the dynamic
viscosity of a fluid.
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Non-Newtonian Fluid
The viscosity is not independent of the rate of shear, i.e. is not constant.

The causes of viscosity:

Fluids consist of a large number of molecules which behave in a very complex manner, but there
are 2 main features of their behaviour which contribute to the viscous effects:
Intermolecular forces: which depend on the distance separating the molecules dominant in
liquids.
Random motion of molecules: which causes momentum exchange across fluid layers, hence
produces "interlocking effect", that is, slowing down the faster layer and speeding up the slower
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layer, dominant in gases.
SINGAPORE

SI Units:

viscosity N- s/m2
or Pa-s
Density kg/m3
Kinematic Viscosity
m2/s.

Oswald viscometer, falling body viscometers or rotational viscometers are

generally employed to determine viscosity of fluids.

Gas or Liquids, steady or unsteady,

incompressible
or compressible,
uniform or nonME2134E:
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
OF
SINGAPORE
uniform.

39

Where Re=Reynolds number = Inertia forces/viscous forces = LU/ = LU/. L and U are the
reference length (dimension) and reference velocity respectively.
Incompressible Flows ( = constant):
Density variation in the flow is negligible. In general, all liquids are
incompressible but gases depending on the Mach number M (= U/C), can be classified as
either: compressible or incompressible, where U = velocity of gas and C = velocity of sound in
gas.
For M 0.3, changes in are only about 5% of the reference value. Hence, the gas flows
can be treated as incompressible when U is 100 m/s.
Compressible Flows ( constant):
Density variation in the flows is not negligible. In supersonic flow, where M > 1, density and
pressure changes occur abruptly causing shock waves.
Laminar Flow
Where the fluid flows in a well behaved manner in smooth laminae (layers), and there is no
macroscopic mixing between adjacent layers. A thin filament of dye injected into a laminar flow
appears as a single line (see Reynolds' experiment). With time, however, dispersion occurs due
to molecular action.
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Turbulent Flow
Characterized by random three-dimensional motions of fluid particles
superimposed on the mean motion.
The characteristics or nature or state of a flow is determined by the value of its
Reynolds number Re. For pipe flows it is defined as:
Re = d u / = d u / .
Where d is the pipe diameter, u is the bulk (average) velocity of the flow, is fluid
density, is fluid dynamic viscosity and is fluid kinematic viscosity.

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t = duration of turbulent burst and

t
1

where ideally T

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UNIFORM VELOCITY: Velocity

does not change with y.

NON-UNIFORM VELOCITY: Velocity

changes with y i.e. u = u(y).

Steady Flow:
The flow pattern does not change, at any point with time, i.e. at any point, flow
velocity remains constant.
Unsteady Flow:
The flow pattern referred toME2134E:
a pointNATIONAL
changes
with time, i.e. at any point, flow
UNIVERSITY OF
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SINGAPORE
velocity changes with time.

3. FLUID STATICS
When the fluid is at rest or moving in such a manner that there is no relative motion between adjacent
fluid particles, the shear stresses in the fluid are zero.
3.1 Pressure at a Point
Consider a small wedge-shaped fluid element of unit width in a fluid at rest. Since there can be no
shear forces, the only forces on the fluid element are the normal or pressure forces and gravity. Hence, the
equations of motion in the x and y directions are, respectively:

Free-body diagram of wedge-shaped particle.

Note:

= g.

p x y ps ssin

xy
a x 0
2

and

Fy py x ps scos

xy xy

ay 0
2
2

When the limit is taken as the free body is reduced to zero

size by allowing the inclined face to approach (x, y) while
maintaining the same angle and when the geometric
are used, the equations simplify to
x
relations s sin y and s cos
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p x y ps y 0

xy
p y x ps x
0
2
;
;

The last term of the 2nd equation is an infinitesimal of higher order of smallness and can be
neglected. When divided by y and x, respectively, the equations can be combined to give:

ps p x p y
Since is any arbitrary angle, it shows that the pressure at a point in a static fluid is the same in all
directions.
If the fluid is in motion, shear stresses occur and the normal stresses are, in general, no longer the same in
all directions at a point. The pressure is then defined as the average of any three mutually perpendicular
normal compressive stresses at a point:
1
p xx yy zz
3
where

is the average normal stress called the bulk stress.

Whereas the normal stresses are defined as +ve away from the surface, pressure is defined to
be +ve towards the surface it acts upon, that is:

p y yy ; px xx ; pz zz
but usually the differences among px, py and pz are small, and therefore, the pressure in a
moving fluid is defined as:

1
p p p p
3

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x
y
z
SINGAPORE

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(See: Streeter, Wylie and Bedford,1998, pp. 30-35).

Please note that pressure is a scalar with no direction attached to it. It

has the units of force per unit area (N/m2). To obtain the force
associated with the pressure acting on a surface:
dF = p dA

or p dA n

where dA is the area with a vector perpendicular to the surface or n is

a unit vector perpendicular to the surface dA. (Note: to define the
orientation of a surface area, the direction associated with the surface
is its direction perpendicular to the surface).

ME2134E: NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF

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3.2 Pressure Variation in a Gravitational Field:

Consider a cylindrical fluid element of cross-section at a
rest in a continuously varying density medium:
Since the element is at rest, the forces are in equilibrium,
that is:

a p dp g dz a ap
dp g (dz) 0
Note that in this case p = p(z) only, since there is no gravitational acceleration in the x- and
y- directions.
Example 1: Incompressible Fluid
(pressure variation in a pool of water)
Starting from :

dp g( dz ) 0 Where = constant (incompressibility

Therefore,

pa

za

assumption)..

dp gdz
p pa g ( za z )

ME2134E: NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF

SINGAPORE
a
a

Or : p gz p gz constant

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where: pa = reference pressure such as atmospheric pressure and

za = reference position (height).
From the above, can you estimate the pressure 2m below the water surface?
Note that pressure at the same horizontal level below the water surface at pa is the same.
Also, hydrostatic pressure of constant density fluid is dependent only on the height of
fluid, and not on the size and shape of its container (refer to figure below):

Atmospheric pressure

water
x

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Example 2: Pressure variation in the Atmosphere

In this case, assume the validity of the ideal gas law: p = R T where R = gas constant.
From:
dp = - g dz
and
= p/RT

dp
g

dz
p
RT
Integrating from elevation z1 to z2 and assumption that the temperature T = constant = To over the
range z1 to z2 (isothermal condition):
p2

dp
g 2
p p RT0 z dz
1
1

which gives:

g z2 z1
p2 p1 exp

RT0

Where p1 = pressure at zME2134E:

at OF
z 2.
UNIVERSITY
1 and pNATIONAL
2 = pressure
SINGAPORE

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