MTH486-Fluid Mechanics - Lecture Notes

LECTURE No. 3

PROPERTIES OF FLUIDS
Any characteristic of a system is called a property. Some familiar properties are pressure P,
temperature T, volume V, and mass m. The list can be extended to include less familiar ones such as
viscosity, thermal conductivity, modulus of elasticity, thermal expansion coefficient, electric resistivity,
and even velocity and elevation. Properties are considered to be either intensive or extensive. Intensive
properties are those that are independent of the mass of a system, such as temperature, pressure, and
density. Extensive properties are those whose values depend on the size—or extent—of the system.
Total mass, total volume V, and total momentum are some examples of extensive properties.

FLUID AS A CONTINUUM
The mathematical idealization of continuous distribution of matter, i.e. when the
properties of the matter are considered as continuous function of the space variables, then the matter
is called a continuum.
All fluids are composed of molecules in constant motion. However, in most engineering
applications, we are interested in average or macroscopic effects of many molecules. It is these
macroscopic effects that we can precise and measure. We thus treat a fluid as an infinitely divisible
substance, a continuum and do not concern our self with the behavior of individual molecules.
As a consequence of the continuum assumption, each fluid property is assumed to have a
definite value at each point in space. Thus fluid properties such as density, temperature, velocity and so
on, are considered to be continuous functions of position.

FLUID KINEMATICS
Fluid kinematics is that branch of fluid mechanics which deals with the motion of the
fluid without considering the actual forces which cause the motion. Considerations of velocity,
acceleration, flow rate, nature of flow and flow visualization are taken up under fluid kinematics.

Methods of describing the fluid motion

A flow field is specified by the velocities at different points in region at different times. A fluid
mass can be conceived by consisting of a number of particles. Hence, the instantaneous velocity at any
point in a fluid region is actually the velocity of the particle that exists at a point and at that instant. In
order to obtain a complete picture of the flow, the flow may be analyzed by the following two methods.

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(A) Lagrangian method

In this method, a particle or an element fluid is identified and followed during the course of motion with
time. The identified lump of fluid may change shape, size and state it moves. The laws of mechanics
must be applied to it all times. If a particular particle of a fluid is specified its initial position by

 
r0  x0ıˆ  y0 ˆj  z0 kˆ at a given time t  t 0 . At a later time t  t , the same particle is at position

r  xıˆ  yˆj  zkˆ  . The position of the particle is completely specified if the position vector
 
r is given

as a function of time and the initial position r0 .
  
r  r r0 , t 
or in rectangular Cartesian coordinate system
x  x  x0 , y 0 , z 0 , t 
y  y  x0 , y 0 , z 0 , t 
y  y  x0 , y 0 , z 0 , t 

Now, r0 cannot vary as it describes the initial location of a particle. Therefore, if we want to evaluate a

property, say velocity of this particle, we will have to differentiate the position vector r w.r.t time t
i.e,
  dr 
V 
 dt  r0

or in terms of scalar components,

 dx   dy   dz 
u   , v  , w 
 dt  x0 , y0 , z0  dt  x0 , y0 , z0  dt  x0 , y0 , z0

Where V  uıˆ  vˆj  wkˆ and u, v and w are the velocity components in the x, y and z directions,

respectively. Similarly the components of acceleration a  a x ıˆ  a y ˆj  a z kˆ are

 d 2x  d2y  d 2z 
a x   2  , a y   2  , a z   2 
 dt  x0 , y0 , z0  dt  x0 , y0 , z0  dt  x0 , y0 , z0

Thus we can obtain the motion of each and every particle of a fluid, but this analysis has a serious
drawback. The equation of motion obtained in Lagrangian form are very difficult to solve, because
these are non-linear in nature, and it sometime requires statistical techniques and is therefore

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occasionally used. In fact, the present method is employed with an advantage only in some one-
dimensional problems. Hence we need to think about another method of describing the fluid motion.

(b) Eulerian Method

The Eulerian method of specification is based on the technique of selecting a fixed point in space
occupied by the fluid by observing the changes in the properties of the fluid as it passes through that

point. Let  x , y , z  be the coordinates of the fixed point whose position vector is r . Motion of the
fluid is specified by the velocity components expressed as a function of space time,
  
V  V( r , t )
or
u  u  x , y , z , t , v  v  x , y , z , t , w  w x , y , z , t 
In the Eulerian method, the fluid motion at all points in the flow field is determined by applying the laws
of mechanics at all fixed locations. The equation of motion obtained in Eulerian method is also
nonlinear, but they can be linearzed after appropriate assumptions are made. This simplification is not
possible with the Lagrangian approach, and therefore, the second method will be used to describe the
fluid properties and flow characteristics in the fluid mechanics.

Example: The velocity components for a two-dimensional fluid system can be given in the Eulerian
system but u  2 x  2 y  3t , v  x  y  12 t. Find the displacement of the fluid particle in the
Lagrangian system.
Solution: Given
u  2 x  2 y  3t ,
1 (1)
v  x  y  t.
2
In terms of the displacements x and y , the velocity components u and v may also be represented
by
dx dy
u , v (2)
dt dt
From (1) and (2), we have
dx
 2 x  2 y  3t
dt
(3)
dy 1
 x y t
dt 2
Let D  d / dt . Then Eqs. (3) become

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( D  2) x  2 y  3t , (4)
1
 x  ( D  1) y  t (5)
2
Operating (5) by  D  2 , we have
 ( D  2) x  ( D  2)( D  1) y  ( D  2)t
1 (6)
or  ( D  2) x  ( D 2  3D  2) y  t
2
Adding (4) and (6), we get
1
( D 2  3D ) y   2t (7)
2
Solving (7), we arrive at
C.F  c1  c 2 e 3t
1  t
2
1 7t
P.I    2t   
D  3D  2
2
 3 18
Hence the general solution of (7 ) is

t 2 7t
y  c1  c 2 e 3t   (8)
3 18
From (8)
dy 2t 7
 3c2 e 3t   (9)
dt 3 18
Re-writing second eq. of (3) we get
dy 1
x  y t (10)
dt 2
dy
Putting the values of y and dt given by (8) and (9) in (10) we get,

 2t 7   t 2 7t 
x   3c 2 e 3t      c1  c 2 e 3t   
 3 18   3 18 

t2 7 7
x  c1  2c2 e 3t   t (11)
3 9 18
We now use the following initial condition:
x  x 0 , y  y 0 when t  t 0  0 (12)
Using (12), (8) and (11) reduces to
7
y0  c1  c2 and x0  c1  2c2  (13)
18

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Solving (13) for

2 y 0  x0 7 y  x0 7
c1   , c2  0  (14)
3 54 3 54
Using (14), (11) and (8) give
1 2 1 7 7 t2 7
x x 0  y 0   2 x 0  2 y 0   e 3t  t  
3 3 3 9 9 3 27
(15)
1 2 1 7 7 t2 7
y   x 0  y 0   2 x 0  2 y 0   e 3t  t  
3 3 3 18  18 3 54
Eqs. (15) give the desired displacements x and y in the Lagrangian system involving the initial

positions x0 and y0 and the time t.

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