1

Chapter 12

Fluid Mechanics

12.1 Density
A. The density ! of a substance of uniform composition is
defined as its mass M divided by its volume V. That is,

V
M
= !

The density of water at 4
o
C is 1000 kg/m
3
= 1 g/cm
3

B. The specific gravity of a substance is defined as the
ratio of the density of that substance to the density of
water at 4
o
C.
The density of gold is 19.3g/cm
3
. Hence the specific
gravity of gold is 19.3.

12.2 Pressure in a Fluid
The average pressure P is the perpendicular component of
the force F divided by the area A on which the force acts.

2
!
P =
F
"
A


The force exerted by a fluid on a submerged object at
any point on the object is perpendicular to the surface
of the object.
The unit of pressure in the metric system is the
Pascal = Pa = 1 N/m
2
.
Force is a vector and pressure is a scalar. No
direction is associated with pressure, but the direction
of the force associated with the pressure is
perpendicular to the surface of interest.

Variation of Pressure with depth
Consider a fluid at rest. Then all portions of the fluid are
in static equilibrium. In the following figure, how is the
pressure P
1
related to the pressure P
2
?

Consider a sample of liquid of cross-sectional area A and
height h. Then since the fluid is in static equilibrium,
0 F
y
= ! . Thus,
0 mg F F
1 2
= ! !
use F
2
= P
2
A
F
1
= P
1
A
( ) Ah V m ! = ! =




3
so that F
2
F
1
mg = 0 becomes

P
2
A P
1
A - !Ahg = 0

!
P
deeper
level
= P
upper
level
+ "gh

Clearly, the pressure increases as you go deeper in the
fluid. At sea level, the atmospheric pressure is
P
o
= 1.013x10
5
Pa = 1 atm. Pressure is constant at the
same depth.

Pascals Principle (1623 1662)

If an external pressure is applied to an enclosed fluid, the
pressure at every point within the fluid increases by that
amount. Pascals principle underlies the operation of a
hydraulic press.

"P
in
= "P
out

!
F
in
A
in
=
F
out
A
out


!
F
out
=
A
out
A
in
"
#
$
%
&
'
F
in



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That is, a small force F
in
applied to the left end results in a
large force F
out
applied to the right end if A
out
>> A
in
.

Gauge pressure: The excess pressure above atmospheric
pressure is called gauge pressure, and the total pressure is
called absolute pressure.

Pressure Measurements

A. The open-tube manometer
This apparatus is used to measure the pressure in an
enclosed fluid. The governing equation is P = P
o
+ !gh.

















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B. The Barometer (Torricelli 1608 1647)
This apparatus is used to measure atmospheric pressure.
The governing equation is:
P
o
= P + !gh

P
o
= !gh.















For mercury ! = 13.6x10
3
kg/m
3
, and atmospheric
pressure at sea level is P
o
= 1.013x10
5
Pa which
corresponds to a height of 76 cm = 0.76 m = 760 mm =
29.92 inches of mercury.



6
12.3 Buoyancy

Archimedess Principle (287 212 B.C.)
Any object completely or partially submerged in a fluid is
buoyed upward by a force whose magnitude is equal to
the weight of the fluid displaced by the object.

Buoyant force = F
B


!
F
B
" F
2
# F
1


!
F
B
= P
2
A" P
1
A

!
F
B
= P
2
" P
1
( )
A

but
!
P
2
" P
1
= # g$h so that

!
F
B
= " g A#h

!
F
B
= "
fluid
V
submerged
volume
only
g

The magnitude of the buoyant force F
B
is equal to the
weight of the fluid displaced by the submerged object.




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12.4 Fluid Flow
Laminar flow: when each particle of the fluid follows a
smooth path so that the paths of different particles never
cross each other.

The Continuity Equation !results from conservation of
mass in laminar flow.





!
dV
dt
= A
1
v
1
= A
2
v
2







Mass Flow Rate ! mass of fluid per unit time passing
through any cross-section.

The law of conservation of mass in fluid dynamics states
that

mass flow rate through A
1
= mass flow rate through A
2


8

!
dm
1

dt
=
dm
2
dt


!
dm
1
= "
1
(dV
1
)
!
dm
2
= "
2
(dV
2
)

!
"
1
(dV
1
)
dt
=
"
2
(dV
2
)
dt


but

!
dV
1
= A
1
ds
1

!
dV
2
= A
2
ds
2


so that the above becomes

!
"
1
A
1
ds
1

dt
=
"
2
A
2
ds
2

dt


using
ds
1
= v
1
dt
ds
2
= v
2
dt

one obtains

!
1
A
1
v
1
= !
2
A
2
v
2


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If the fluid is incompressible, then !
1
= !
2
and

!
dV
dt
= A
1
v
1
= A
2
v
2
or Av = constant

Note that Av has units of volume/time = volume flow
rate.

12.5 Bernoullis Principle (1738)

Bernoullis principle results from conservation of energy.

Applying the work-energy theorem to the laminar flow of
the entire shaded fluid described below at a particular
instant of time:















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!
E
1
+ "W
other
= E
2


where E
1
is the initial mechanical energy of the fluid
element, E
2
is the final mechanical energy of the fluid
element, and
!
"W
other
is the work done by the non-
conservative forces (or the forces other than the
conservative forces). Note that

!
E
1
=
1
2
dm
1
v
1
2
+ dm
1
g y
1


!
=
1
2
"dV v
1
2
+ "dV g y
1


!
"W
other
= F
1
ds
1
# F
2
ds
2



!
= P
1
A
1
ds
1
" P
2
A
2
ds
2



!
= P
1
dV " P
2
dV

!
E
2
=
1
2
dm
2
v
2
2
+ dm
2
g y
2


!
=
1
2
"dV v
2
2
+ "dV g y
2


Plugging all these into the work-energy theorem equation
yields
!
E
1
+ "W
other
= E
2


11
!
1
2
"dV v
1
2
+ "dV g y
1
+ P
1
dV # P
2
dV =
1
2
"dV v
2
2
+ "dV g y
2


note that the volume elements cancel out, and re-
arranging terms yields

!
P
1
+
1
2
"v
1
2
+ "gy
1
= P
2
+
1
2
"v
2
2
+ "gy
2

or
!
P+
1
2
"v
2
+ "gy = cons tant

Applications of Bernoullis principle:
1. Blowing over sheet of paper in front of your mouth.
2. Canvas top puffs upward in moving convertible cars.
3. Houses may explode during thunderstorms.
4. Lift force on airplane wings:
Lift force = (pressure difference)*(area of wing)
Lift is greater when the wing area is large or
when the plane moves fast so that the pressure
difference across the top and bottom of the wing
is large. The Magnus force is indicated by the
red arrow in the figure below.