ME-460

(Gas Turbines)
A Quick Review on
Flow Stagnation Properties
and
Mach Number
STAGNATION PROPERTIES
Stagnation (or total) enthalpy
Consider the energy equation on unit mass basis: e  h  ke  pe
• Whenever the kinetic and potential energies of the fluid are negligible,
the enthalpy represents the total energy of a fluid.
• For high-speed flows, however, the kinetic energy can not be neglected.
• In such cases we combine the enthalpy and the kinetic energy of the fluid
into a single term called stagnation (or total) enthalpy h0, such that:

Static enthalpy is the ordinary enthalpy h

• When the potential energy of the fluid is negligible, the stagnation
enthalpy represents the total energy of a flowing fluid stream per unit
mass.
• Stagnation and Static enthalpies become identical when the kinetic
energy of the fluid is negligible i.e. (velocity approaches zero)!

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STAGNATION PROPERTIES
Stagnation (or total) enthalpy
Energy balance (with no heat or work interaction, no change in potential energy)

Conclusion:
In the absence of any heat and work
interactions and any changes in potential
energy, the stagnation enthalpy of a fluid
remains constant during a steady-flow
process. Steady flow across an adiabatic duct

If the fluid were brought to a complete stop, then the velocity at state 2 would be
zero, such that:

Conclusion:
Stagnation enthalpy represents the enthalpy of a fluid when it is brought to rest
adiabatically.

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STAGNATION PROPERTIES
Stagnation Enthalpy: The enthalpy of a fluid when it is brought to rest
adiabatically.
• During a stagnation process,
the kinetic energy of a fluid
is converted to enthalpy.
• This results in an increase in
the fluid temperature and
pressure.
Stagnation properties:
• The properties of a fluid at
the stagnation state, e.g.
(stagnation temperature,
stagnation pressure, stagnation
density, etc.)
Kinetic energy is converted to enthalpy during a
• The stagnation state is stagnation process
indicated by the subscript 0.

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Isentropic Stagnation State:
This state is achieved when fluid is brought
to rest through a reversible as well as an
adiabatic process (i.e. isentropic process).
The stagnation processes are often
approximated to be isentropic, and the
isentropic stagnation properties are simply
referred to as stagnation properties.
When the fluid is approximated as an ideal
gas with constant specific heats:

Stagnation (or total) temperature (T0) :

It represents the temperature an ideal The temperature of an ideal gas flowing
gas attains when it is brought to rest at a velocity V rises by V2/2cp when it is
adiabatically. brought to a complete stop.

The term V2/2cp corresponds to the temperature rise during such a process
and is called the dynamic temperature.
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Stagnation pressure (P0):
The pressure a fluid attains when
brought to rest isentropically.
Stagnation
Enthalpy (h0)

Stagnation density (0):

Static
When stagnation enthalpies are Enthalpy (h)
used, the energy balance for a
single-stream, steady-flow device is:

The actual state, actual stagnation

When the fluid is approximated as an ideal state, and isentropic stagnation state
gas with constant specific heats: of a fluid on an h-s diagram.

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Stagnation State:
Consider the air flow shown.
• You want to measure the Temperature of the flowing fluid.
• You immerse the thermometer in
the fluid stream.
Question:
• Which temperature does the
thermometer show?
• Static (T) or Stagnation (T0)??

Advantage of using Stagnation The temperature of an ideal gas flowing

at a velocity V rises by V2/2cp when it is
properties?? brought to a complete stop.
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 Speed of sound (or the sonic speed):
Speed of sound changes
• Speed of sound is a function of thermodynamic with temperature and varies
with the fluid
properties of fluid.
• For ideal gas

And the speed of sound (c) is represented as:

k (also symbolized as γ) is ratio of specific heats!

Mach number is the ratio of the actual velocity of

the fluid (or an object in still air) to the speed of sound
in the same fluid at the same state. Hence:
Ma =1 Sonic flow
Ma <1 Subsonic flow
Ma >1 Supersonic flow
The Mach number can be different at different Ma >> 1 Hypersonic flow
Ma 1 Transonic flow
temperatures even if the velocity is the same.