Fluid Mechanics: Branches, Applications & More
The concept study of fluids is determined by Fluid Mechanics. It is a branch of science that deals with study and observation of fluids and fluid systems to learn their physical behavior, actions of varied energies, governing laws and variety flow patterns.
It is a subject of engineering that makes an impact in several engineering disciplines. The subject of fluid mechanics has significance in civil, mechanical, environmental and chemical engineering.
In fact, the basic laws that are involved in fluid mechanics are also introduced in primary and secondary education level and therefore, it can be rightly said that it is a widely familiar subject. But how does the concept of fluid mechanics come to play in our life on a regular basis?
Keep reading till the end to find out the answer to this question and learn more about this branch of science.
Different Fluid Mechanics Branches
There are three branches of fluid mechanics depending on different energy and force. They are – Hydrostatic, Dynamics and Kinematics.
Hydrostatic
The study of fluids or their elements when they are at rest is known as hydrostatic. Here the fluid is not experiencing any shearing stresses and has no fluid flow. Some examples of fluids at rest are dam, pond, lake, etc.
Dynamics
The full study of flowing fluid is known as Dynamics. Here, the velocity, forces, energies and acceleration is studied and how they act on the flowing fluids. An apt example of dynamics is the study of fuel flow in a diesel fluid injector or fluid flow inside the turbine.
Kinematics
This one involves study of specific fluid flows such as rotary, translation or deformation. Unlike dynamics, here no forces or energies are considered for the study of flowing fluids. Some valid examples of kinematics are flowing fluid in a canal or a river.
Classification of Fluids
Before we learn about the classification of fluids, we must know what a fluid flow means. When a liquid or gas is moving or traveling from one point of destination to another, it is known as fluid flow.
There are mainly two types of fluid flows and they are – Ideal Fluid and Real Fluid.
Ideal Fluid – Ideal fluid doesn’t have any existence in nature but considering certain characteristics of ideal fluids such as incompressible, non-viscous, etc. for practical purpose, air and water can be considered as Ideal Fluids since they have lower viscosity and water is comparatively incompressible than air.
Real Fluid – All of the fluids present in our nature can be termed as real fluid since they all have the characteristics of real fluid. The characteristics of real fluid are surface tension, viscous, friction and compressibility.
Applications of Fluid Mechanics
The application of fluid mechanics can be seen in both domestic and industrial domains Some of these applications are –
· Hydraulics structures and hydraulic machineries are designed depending on the principles of fluid mechanics. Machineries such as turbines, actuators, pumps, valves, etc. are fluid mechanics based.
· Water distribution networks and pipelines set for industrial and domestic applications are based on fluid mechanics principles.
· Power plants such as thermal power, hydroelectric power use fluid mechanics.
There are other more applications of fluid mechanics which impacts our daily life.