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Fluid Mechanics

The engineering definitions, methods of analysis, and significance of many elements of the study of fluid mechanics are presented.

Fluids can be either liquids or gases, and fluid mechanics "refers to the study of the behavior of fluids, either at rest or in motion." Nunn elaborates that there are "two main physical properties defining a fluid: density and viscosity." Nunn then subdivides fluid mechanics into three major categories of ideal fluid flow, in which density is constant and viscous effects are negligible; compressible flow, in which density varies from place to place throughout the fluid and viscosity effects are trivial or can be greatly simplified; and viscous flow, in which viscous forces are predominant and in which density exists but is irrelevant or unchanging.

Gerhart, et al. define a fluid in terms of its ability to flow--a "process of continuous deformation," which is in turn a reaction to an applied shear stress or force. Nunn has devised a simple breakdown of mechanics, as applied to fluids, comprised of dynamics, in which the sum of all operative forces (mass times acceleration) are not equal to zero and within which there are kinematics (where motions are of predominant interest) and kinetics (where forces are of prime import); plus there is a branch of mechanics called statics, in which the sum of F = ma = 0, i.e., the fluid is at rest.

Even fluids at rest exert force, based on their own mass and the acceleration of gravity. The weight (mass x gravity acceleration) is exerted as pressure (e.g., pounds per square inch) on an area (e.g., square inches) perpendicular to the force. The amount of the force (pressure) is directly proportional to the depth of the fluid, or pressures everywhere are proportional to distances below the surface. Algebraically,

in which p = pressure, z = distance above a datum (such as the bottom of a reservoir or a glass), and ? = the specific weight of the fluid ...

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Fluid Mechanics. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 01:39, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1692853.html