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Properties of Fluids

Mass Density

At a point:

For liquids

Varies very slightly with temperature (negligible in calculations).

Example: Water

  • - at
  • - at

For gases

Highly dependent on pressure & temperature.

Specific Weight / Unit Weight

Relative Density / Specific Density

For solids and liquids, water is the standard substance.

Bulk Modulus

In terms of the density:

High bulk modulus means hard to compress.

Vapour Pressure

Vaporisation is when evaporation happens at the free surface of a liquid.

Vapour Pressure is the pressure due to liquid vapour just above the free surface of the liquid. Increases with temperature.

A liquid boils when: vapour pressures = external pressure on the liquid

Surface Tension

Negligible in many applications. Considered in small-scale applications. Causes capillary effect.

Viscosity

The force resisting the flow of a liquid.

In liquids, viscosity is mainly caused by inter-molecular attraction. Decreases slightly with temperature.

In gases, mainly due to momentum exchange between molecules. Increases with temperature.

Newton’s law of viscosity

In straight & parallel flow, the shear stress between adjacent layers is proportional to the velocity gradient perpendicular to the layers.

Here, is stress. Force per unit area (as in ).

Finally we will get Newton’s law of viscosity as ,

Coefficient of dynamic viscosity

Above, is coefficient of dynamic viscosity or coefficient of absolute viscosity or coefficient of viscosity.

Fluids can be divided into 2 parts:

  • is a constant: Newtonian fluid
  • is not a constant: Non-newtonian fluid

Only Newtonian fluids are focused on for s1.

Coefficient of kinematic viscosity

Pressure

A force is exerted on all surfaces in contact with a fluid. A scalar.