FLUID MECHANICS

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We are surrounded by fluids in our
day by day activities such as the air we
breathe, the water we drink and the gases
that made up the atmosphere. A fluid is a
substance that flows with the influence of
external forces and gains shape through the
separation of its molecules cause by the
weak intermolecular forces around them.

A fluid can either be a liquid or a gas that

continuously change in shape when subjected to
shear stress. (source: diamond sky images)

7.1 Mass Density and Specific gravity

The behavior of a fluid can be observed by its mass density which is defined as the
mass per unit volume. And it is denoted by the Greek letter rho ( ) and in equation form,

(7-1)

where m is the mass and V is the volume of the substance.

The SI unit for density is kilogram per cubic meter (1 kg/m3).

The variation in the density of the material depends on the temperature and pressure within its
surroundings. Also, the density of material varies at different points within the material. But
objects having the same materials have the same density even if they are not equal in mass and
volume because the ratio of mass to volume is the same for objects having the same material.

Note: Some of the densities of some common substances at an ordinary temperature is listed the Appendix.

A gaseous material has a smaller value of density compared with liquid and solid materials. This
is because the gas molecules are very much far apart while solid and liquid molecules are tightly
packed.

Specific Gravity of a material is the ratio of its density to the density of water at 4 0C, 1000 kg/m3.

(7-2)

(7-3)

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Sample Problems

1. Gil was tasked to bring a cylindrical iron rod of length 90.01 cm and diameter of 3.25 cm
from a storage room to a machinist. In transferring the rod will Gil be needing a cart?

Solution

To find the weight of the iron rod we will be using the equation but before that we
will solve first for the volume of the iron rod using the following equations,

[ ⁄ ]
[ ⁄ ]

and then solve for the mass ( )

( )

Now we solve for the weight of the cylinder

Therefore, Gil does not need a cart to transfer the rod from the storage room to the
machinist because its weight is not that heavy (12.96 lbs).

2. A cube 6.5 cm on each side is made of a metal alloy. After you drill a cylindrical hole 2.5 cm
in diameter all the way through and perpendicular to one face, you find that the cube
weighs 9.0 N. What is the density of the metal.

Solution

To find the density of the material first we have to find its V (volume), m (mass) and convert
the values from cm to m,

Then we will solve for m,

Having the values for volume and mass we can now solve for the density of the material
using equation 7-1,

7.2 Pressure in a fluid

A fluid at rest exerts a force perpendicular to any surface in contact with it. This force is
due to the motion of the molecules which collides with the surroundings.

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We define then pressure p at that point as the normal force per unit area. In equation form it is
given as,

(7-4)

If the pressure is the same at all points of a finite plane surface with area A then from equation
7.4 we have now,

(7-5)

The SI unit of pressure is the Pascal, where

1 Pascal = 1 Pa = 1 N/m2

Atmospheric pressure is the pressure of the earth’s atmosphere. Normal atmospheric

pressure at sea level (an average value) is 1 atmosphere (atm). It varies with weather changes
and at different elevations.

(pa)av = 1 atm = 1.013 x 105 Pa = 1.013 bar = 1013 millibar = 14.70 lb/in2

We can derive a general equation between pressure at different

elevation assuming the fluid is in equilibrium. A fluid is in equilibrium
when the net force acting on the fluid is equal to zero. If there are no
external forces acting on the fluid in equilibrium the pressure must be
constant because a pressure difference may cause the fluid to move. Let
us say we have a fluid element of area A, thickness dh and mass dm
which is illustrated in figure 7.1. We then have the equation,

(7-6)

Figure 7.1: A fluid in

Equation 7-6 shows us that the variations in pressure with the depth .
equilibrium

Pressure increases linearly with depth, so pressure at a point in a fluid is,

(7-7)

Alternatively equation 7-7 can also be written as,

(7-8)

where - is the pressure at any point in the fluid.

- is the pressure at the surface of the fluid.

Gauge Pressure is the excess pressure above the atmospheric pressure and absolute
pressure is the total pressure in an object.

Pascal’s Law: Pressure applied to an enclosed fluid is transmitted undiminished to every portion
of the fluid and the walls of the containing vessel.

The Pascal’s law can be re-written in equation form as,

(7-9)

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Sample Problems

1. A hydraulic lift is supporting a van of mass 1,000 kg. If the cross – sectional area of the
smaller chamber is 2 m2 and that of the bigger chamber is 6 m2, what force can be applied on
top of the movable piston on the smaller chamber to support the van at the bigger chamber?

Solution

To find the F1 we will use equation 7-9,

Thus we have,

7.3 Buoyancy

Archimedes’ Principle: When a body is completely submerged or partially immersed in a fluid,

the fluid exerts an upward force (“the buoyant force”) on the body equal
to the weight of the fluid displaced by the body.

Archimedes’ Principle can be re-written in equation form as,

(7-10)

Sample Problem

A slab of ice floats on a freshwater lake. What minimum volume must the slab have for a 45.0-
kg woman to be able to stand on it without getting her feet wet?

Solution

To find the Vice we will apply Newton’s Law of Motion

using the FBD diagram to find the components along
the y – axis,
∑

Thus we have,

7.4 Fluid Flow

We are now considering fluids in motion by representing it as a simple idealized model.

An ideal fluid is a fluid that is incompressible and has no internal friction. Internal friction in a
fluid causes shear stresses as when fluid flows inside a tube or around an obstacle.

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The path of an individual particle in a moving fluid is called a flow line. If the overall flow
pattern does not change with time, the flow is called steady flow. When the fluid undergoes a
steady flow it means that the element passing through a given point follow the same flow line.

A streamline line is a curve whose tangent at any point is in the direction of the fluid velocity
at that point.

Laminar flow occurs when adjacent layers of fluid slide smoothly past each other and the flow
is steady.

Turbulent flow occurs when the flow pattern is continuously changing.

The Continuity Equation

(7-11)
(continuity equation, incompressible liquid)

Sample Problem

A shower head has 20 circular openings, each with radius 1.0 mm. The shower head is
connected to a pipe with radius 0.80 cm. If the speed of water in the pipe is 3.0 m/s. what is its
speed as it exits the shower-head openings?

Solution

To find the speed we will use equation 7 -11,

( )

( )( )

7.5 Bernoulli’s Equation

According to the continuity equation, the speed of fluid flow can vary along the paths of
the fluid. The pressure can also vary; it depends on height as in the static situation and it also
depends on the speed of flow.

We can derive an important relationship called Bernoulli’s equation that relates the pressure,
flow speed, and height for flow of an ideal incompressible fluid given by,

(7-12)

Sample Problems

An airplane is cruising at an altitude of 10 km. The pressure outside the craft is 0.287 at within
the passenger compartment the pressure is 1.00 atm and the temperature is 20°C. A small leak
occurs in one of the window seals in the passenger compartment. Model the air as an ideal fluid
to find the speed of the stream of air flowing through the leak.
Solution

To find the speed of the stream of air flowing through the leak we will use equation 7-12,
then we have,

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 √

7.6 Viscosity and Turbulence

The discussion regarding fluid flow assumes that there is no internal friction and the
flow is laminar. But in a physical situation internal friction affect the movement of a fluid.

The opposing force (internal friction) relative to the motion of a fluid is called Viscosity. Fluids
such as water or gasoline have smaller viscosities than honey or motor oil.

When the speed of the flowing fluid exceeds a certain critical value, the flow is no longer
laminar. Which means that the flow pattern becomes irregular, complex and changes
continuously with time. This irregularity in the flow of the fluid is called Turbulence.

Bernoulli’s equation is not applicable to regions where there is turbulence because the flow is
not steady. Whether a flow is laminar or turbulent depends in part on the fluid’s viscosity. The
greater the viscosity, the greater the tendency for the fluid to flow in sheets or lamina and the
more likely the flow is to be laminar.

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 Exercise No. 7

1. A 60 kg woman walking through an alley accidentally broke the heel of her left high-heeled
shoes. Now the woman tries to balance on one heel of a pair of high-heeled shoes. If the
heel is circular and has a radius of 0.500 cm, what pressure does she exert on the floor?
2. A barrel contains a 0.120 m layer of oil floating on water that is 0.250 m deep. The density of
the oil is 600 kg/m3. What is the gauge pressure at the oil- water interface and at the
bottom of the barrel?
3. A 950-kg cylindrical can buoy floats vertically in salt water. The diameter of the buoy is
0.900m. Calculate the additional distance the buoy will sink when a 70.0-kg man stands on
top of it.
4. A frog in a hemispherical pod, as shown in the figure on the
right, just floats without sinking into a sea of blue-green ooze
with density 1.35 g/cm3. If the pod has radius 6.00 cm and
negligible mass, what is the mass of the frog?

5. A Ping-Pong ball has a diameter of 3.80 cm and average

density of 0.084 0 g/cm3. What force is required to hold it
completely submerged under water?
6. A piece of aluminum with mass 1.00 kg and density 2 700 kg/m 3 is suspended from a string
and then completely immersed in a container of water. Calculate the tension in the string
(a) before and (b) after the metal is immersed.
7. Water runs into a fountain, filling all the pipes, at a steady rate of 0.750 m 3/s. (a) How fast
will it shoot out of a hole 4.50 cm in diameter? (b) At what speed will it shoot out if the
diameter of the hole is three times as large?
8. You need to extend a 2.50-inch-diameter pipe, but you have only a 1.00-inch-diameter pipe
on hand. You make a fitting to connect these pipes end to end. If the water is flowing at
6.00 cm s in the wide pipe, how fast will it be flowing through the narrow one?
9. A sealed tank containing seawater to a height of 11.0 m also contains air above the water at
a gauge pressure of 3.00 atm. Water flows out from the bottom through a small hole. How
fast is this water moving?
10. A U-shaped tube open to the air at both ends contains some
mercury. A quantity of water is carefully poured into the left
arm of the U-shaped tube until the vertical height of the water
column is 15.0 cm as shown in the figure. (a) What is the
gauge pressure at the water–mercury interface? (b) Calculate
the vertical distance h from the top of the mercury in the
righthand arm of the tube to the top of the water in the left-
hand arm.

Answers:

1. 7.5 x 106 N/m2

2. (a) 760 Pa , (b) 3.6 x 103 Pa
3. 0.107 m
4. 0.611 kg
5. 0.258 N
6. (a) 9.80 N, (b) 6.17 N
7. (a) 472 m/s, (b) 52.4 m/s
8. 37.5 cm/s
9. 28.4 m/s
10. (a) 1470 Pa, (b) 13.9 cm

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 FLUID MECHANICS

Name: ____________________________________ Section: _________________________

7
PROBLEM SET

Instructor: _________________________________ Date Submitted: __________________

1. A rectangular tank 7.0 by 8.0 ft. is filled with gasoline to a depth of 9.0 ft. The pressure at
the surfaced of the gasoline is 16.9 lb/in2. Find the pressure and the force exerted at the
bottom of the tank. (

2. A tall cylinder with a cross-sectional area 15 cm2 is partially filled with mercury; the surface
of the mercury is 6.00 cm above the bottom of the cylinder. Water is slowly poured in on top
of the mercury, and the two fluids don’t mix. What volume of water must be added to double
the gauge pressure at the bottom of the cylinder?

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3. A hollow plastic sphere is held below the surface of a freshwater lake by a cord anchored to
the bottom of the lake. The sphere has a volume of 0.750 m3 and the tension in the cord is
900 N. (a) Calculate the buoyant force exerted by the water on the sphere. (b) What is the
mass of the sphere? (c) The cord breaks and the sphere rises to the surface. When the
sphere comes to rest, what fraction of its volume will be submerged? A slab of ice floats on a
freshwater lake. What minimum volume must the slab have for a 55.0-kg woman to be able
to stand on it without getting her feet wet?

4. Water is flowing in a pipe with a circular cross section but with varying cross-sectional area,
and at all points the water completely fills the pipe. (a) At one point in the pipe the radius is
0.150 m. What is the speed of the water at this point if water is flowing into this pipe at a
steady rate of 1.20 m3/s? (b) At a second point in the pipe the water speed is 3.80 m/s.
What is the radius of the pipe at this point?

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5. An incompressible, nonviscous fluid is initially at rest in the vertical
portion of the pipe, where L = 2.00 m. When the valve is opened, the
fluid flows into the horizontal section of the pipe. What is the speed of
the fluid when all of it is in the horizontal section, as in the figure?
Assume the cross-sectional area of the entire pipe is constant.

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