Mechanical properties of fluids

Important formulas and concepts directly from NCERT-

o Liquids and gases can flow and therefore called ‘fluids’.

o Shear stress can change the shape of a solid keeping its volume fixed.
o Shearing stress of fluids is about million times smaller than that of solids.
❖ Pressure –
➢ Smaller the area on which the force acts,greater is the impact.the impact
is “pressure”.
➢ ‘Average pressure’ is defined as normal force acting per unit area.
P = F/A
Pressure – scalar quantity , SI unit-Nm-2 ,dimension-[ML-1T-2]
➢ 1 atm = 1.013×10 5 Pa
➢ The liquid is largely incompressible and its density is therefore,nearly
constant at all pressures.
➢ Gases exhibit a large variation in densities with pressure.
➢ Density of water is 1×10 3 at 4oC (277K)
➢ Relative density = density / density of water at 4 oC.
➢ Relative density of aluminium is 2.7
o Pascal’s law –
▪ Pressure in a fluid at rest is same at all points if they are at same
height.
▪ Pressure exerted is same in all directions in a fluid at rest .
▪ The force against any area within a fluid at rest and under pressure is
normal to the area, regardless of the orientation of area.
o Variation of pressure with depth-
▪ The pressure P ,at depth ‘h’ below the surface of liquid open to the
atmosphere ,
P = Pa + ρgh
The excess of pressure , (P-Pa ) at depth h is called gauge pressure at
that point.
▪ The area of cylinder is not appearing in the expression,thus height of
fluid column is important not base area or shape of container.
 o Atmospheric pressure and gauge pressure-
▪ The mercury column in the barometer has a height of 76 cm at sea
level equivalent to 1atm.
1 atm = 76 cm of Hg
▪ A pressure equivalent of 1 mm is called a torr.
1mmHg = 1torr = 133 Pa
▪ The mm of Hg and torr are used in medicine and physiology.
In metereology , a common unit is the bar and millibar.
1 bar = 10 5 Pa
▪ In reality, the density of air decreases with height.
o Hydraulic brakes –
▪ Whenever external pressure is applied on any part of a fluid contained
in a vessel , it is transmitted undiminished and equally in all directions.
This is another form of pascal’s law.

F 2 / F 1 = A2 / A1
The applied force has been increased by a factor of A 2 / A1 , and this factor is the
‘ Mechanical advantage’.
❖ Streamline flow –
➢ The study of fluids in motion is known as ‘fluid dynamics’ .
➢ The flow of fluid is said to be steady if at any given point,the velocity of
each passing fluid particle remains constant in time.
➢ This doesn’t mean that the velocity at different points in space is same.
➢ The velocity of a particular particle may change as it moves from one point
to another.
➢ The path taken by a fluid particle under a steady flow is a streamline.it is
defined as the curve whose tangent at any point is in the direction of fluid
velocity at that point.
o Equation of continuity-
 The mass of liquid flowing out equals the mass flowing in,holds in all
cases .
For flow of incompressible fluids,
A1v1 = A2v2
▪ It is a statement of conservation of mass in flow of incompressible
fluids.
Av = constant
Av gives the flow rate or volume flux .
➢ Beyond a limiting value , called critical speed ,flow loses steadiness and
becomes turbulent.

❖ Bernoulli’s Principle–
➢ Based on ‘conservation of energy’.
➢ Bernoulli’s equation,
P + ½ ρv2 + ρgh = constant
As we move through a streamline , pressure, kinetic energy per unit
volume and potential energy per unit volume remains constant.
➢ It is ideally applies to non – viscous fluids .
➢ Fluids must be incompressible.
➢ Doesn’t hold for non – steady or turbulent flow .
➢ When a fluid at rest ;its velocity is zero everywhere.
Eqn becomes , (P 1-P2) = ρg(h2-h1)
Applications =
[1] Speed of efflux –
[torricelli’s law]
v = (2gh)1/2 [ P = Pa ]

[2] Venturimeter –
▪ It is a device to measure flow speed of incompressible fluid.
▪ The principle behind this meter has many applications –
1)The carburetor of automobile has a venturi channel (nozzle) through
which air flows with a high speed.The pressure is then lowered at the
 narrow neck and the petrol (gasoline) is sucked up in the chamber to
provide correct mixture of air to fuel necessary for combustion.
2)Filter pumps or aspirants , Bunsen burners ,atomisers and sprayers used
for perfumes or spray insectisides.
[3] Blood Flow and Heart Attack –
▪ Bernoulli’s principle heps in explaining blood flow in artery.

[4] Dynamic Lift –

▪ It is the force that acts on a body, by virtue of its motion through a
fluid .
▪ In many games , ball deviates from its trajectory ,This deviation can
be partly explained on the basis of Bernoulli’s principle.
MAGNUS EFFECT –
The diff. in velocities of air results in pressure difference b/w upper and
lower faces and there is net upward force on the ball.the dynamic lift due
to spinning is called magnus effect.

❖ Viscosity –
➢ Most fluids are not ideal and offer some resistance to fluid motion like an
internal friction,this is viscosity.
➢ This force exists when there is relative motion b/w layers of liquid .
➢ The coefficient of viscosity for a fluid defined as ratio of shearing stress to
strain rate.
η = Fl / ʋA
➢ SI unit is poiseiulle (Pl) .
➢ Units – N s m-2 or Pa s.
➢ Dimensions – [ ML-1T-1]
➢ Blood is more thicker (more viscous) than water.
Further,the relative viscosity (η / ηwater) of blood remains constant b/w 0 oC
and 37 oC.
 ➢ Viscosity of liquids decreases with temp,while it increases in the case of
gases.
o Stokes’ law –
Viscous force, F = 6Πηrʋ
▪ Viscous force is directly prop to velocity and opposite to the direction
of motion.
▪ Terminal velocity , ʋt = 2 r2 (ρ – σ)g / (9η)
ρ and σ are mass densities of sphere and fluid respectively.
❖ Surface Tension –
➢ As liquids have no definite shape but have a definite volume , they acquire
a free surface when poured in a container . these surfaces posses some
additional energy.this phenomenon is surface tension and it is concerned
with only liquids as gases do not have free surfaces.
➢ A liquid tends to have least surface due to surface tension.
➢ Surface tension = Surface energy / area
= force per unit length exerted by fluid
➢ For a film , if area is dl then,
Surface energy = S × 2dl ( film has 2 surfaces )
➢ Surface tension of liquid air interface ,
S =(W/2l) = (mg/2l) [ for glass plate]
o Angle of contact –
▪ Angle b/w tangent to the liquid surface at point of contact and solid
surface inside the liquid .
If angle of contact is an obtuse angle If angle of contact is an acute angle
• Water leaf interface • Water plastic interface
• Liquid doesn’t wet the solid. • Liquid wet the surface.
• Happens with water on a waxy or • Happens for water on glass or on
oily surface , and with mercury on plastic and for kerosene oil on
any surface. virtually anything.

▪ Soaps , detergents and dying substances are wetting agents,when they

are added the angle of contact becomes so small so these may
penetrate well and become effective.
▪ Water proofing agents create a large angle of contact b/w water and
fibres.
o Drops and bubbles –
▪ Rain drop is spherical in shape due to surface tension because
spherical shape has less area so less surface energy
▪ In general,for a liquid gas interface, convex side has a higher pressure
than the concave side.
▪ For drop, pressure difference,
 (Pi – Po = 2S/r)

For bubble ,
Pi – Po = (4S/r)
o Capillary rise –
Height of rise in capillary = 2S/ρgr
( r = radius of curvature of liquid surface)
H = 2Scosɵ/ρgR
( R = radius of capillary tube )

SUMMARY
1. The basic property of a fluid is that it can flow. The fluid does not have any resistance to
change of its shape. Thus, the shape of a fluid is governed by the shape of its container.
2. A liquid is incompressible and has a free surface of its own. A gas is compressible
and it expands to occupy all the space available to it.
If Fis the normal force exerted by a fluid on an area A then the average pressure P
3. is defined as the ratio of the force to area
F/A
4. The unit of the pressure is the pascal (Pa). It is the same as N m². Other common units of
pressure are 1 atm = 1.01×105 Pa 1 bar = 105 Pa 1 torr 133 Pa = 0.133 kPa
1 mm of Hg= 1 torr
5. Pascal's law states that: Pressure in a fluid at rest is same at all points which are at the
same height. A change in pressure applied to an enclosed fluid is transmitted undiminished
to every point of the fluid and the walls of the containing vessel.
6. The pressure in a fluid varies with depth h according to the expression P= P + pgh where
p is the density of the fluid, assumed uniform.
7. The volume of an incompressible fluid passing any point every second in a pipe of non
uniform crossection
8. Bernoulli’s principle states that as we move along a streamline,the sum of the pressure
(P),kinetic energy per unit volume (ρv2 /2) and the potential energy per unit volume (ρgy)
remains a constant = constant.
P + ρv2 /2 + ρgy = constant
The equation is basically the conversion of energy applied to non viscous fluid motion in
steady state.There is no fluid which have zero viscosity, so the above statement is true only
approximately. The viscosity is like friction and converts the kinetic energy to heat energy.
9. Though shear strain in a fluid does not require shear stress, when a shear stress is
applied to a fluid, the motion is generated which causes a shear strain growing with time.
The ratio of the shear stress to the time rate of shearing strain is known as coefficient of
viscosity, η.
where symbols have their usual meaning and are defined in the text.
10. Stokes' law states that the viscous drag force F on a sphere of radius a moving with
velocity through a fluid of viscosity is, F 6πηαν.
11. Surface tension is a force per unit length (or surface energy per unit area) acting in the
plane of interface between the liquid and the bounding surface. It is the extra energy that
the molecules at the interface have as compared to the interior.
Important points from NCERT SUMMARY AND POINTS TO
PONDER –

➢ Viscosity is like friction and coverts kinetic energy to heat energy .

➢ Surface Tension is the extra energy that the molecules at the interface
have as compared to interior.

➢ The expression ,
P = Pa + ρgh
Hold true if fluid is incompressible and hence constant with height.

➢ Devices measure the gauge pressure

Tyre pressure gauge and blood pressure gauge (sphygmomanometer)
➢ In a steady flow, two styreamlines do not intersect as it means that fluid
particle will have two possible velocities at The point.

➢ As Temperature Increases,
for liquid , η decreases
For gases , η Increases