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Pressure
Bernoulli Equation
The Bernoulli Equation can be considered to be a statement of the conservation of energy principle
appropriate for flowing fluids. The qualitative behavior that is usually labeled with the term "Bernoulli
effect" is the lowering of fluid pressure in regions where the flow velocity is increased. This lowering
of pressure in a constriction of a flow path may seem counterintuitive, but seems less so when you
consider pressure to be energy density. In the high velocity flow through the constriction, kinetic
energy must increase at the expense of pressure energy.
Index
Bernoulli
concepts
Bernoulli calculation
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Bernoulli Calculation
The calculation of the "real world" pressure in a constriction of a tube is difficult to do because of
viscous losses, turbulence, and the assumptions which must be made about the velocity profile
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(which affect the calculated kinetic energy). The model calculation here assumes laminar flow (no
turbulence), assumes that the distance from the larger diameter to the smaller is short enough that
viscous losses can be neglected, and assumes that the velocity profile follows that of theoretical
laminar flow. Specifically, this involves assuming that the effective flow velocity is one half of the
maximum velocity, and that the average kinetic energy density is given by one third of the maximum
kinetic energy density.
Now if you can swallow all those assumptions, you can model* the flow in a tube where the volume
flowrate is =
cm3/s and the fluid density is =
gm/cm3. For an inlet tube
area A1=
cm2 (radius r1 =
fluid velocity of v1 =
cm/s. Since the Bernoulli equation includes the fluid potential energy
cm2 (radius r1 =
constricted to A2=
cm.
Index
The kinetic energy densities at the two locations in the tube can now be calculated, and the Bernoulli
Bernoulli
equation applied to constrain the process to conserve energy, thus giving a value for the pressure in
concepts
the constriction. First, specify a pressure in the inlet tube:
Inlet pressure = P1 =
kPa =
lb/in2 =
mmHg =
atmos.
The energy densities can now be calculated. The energy unit for the CGS units used is the erg.
Inlet tube energy densities
erg/cm3
erg/cm3
Potential energy
density
erg/cm3
Potential energy
density
erg/cm3
Pressure energy
density
=
=
erg/cm3
Pressure energy
density
=
=
erg/cm3
The pressure energy density in the constricted tube can now be finally converted into more
conventional pressure units to see the effect of the constricted flow on the fluid pressure:
Calculated pressure in constriction =
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P2=
Pressure
lb/in2 =
kPa =
mmHg =
atmos.
This calculation can give some perspective on the energy involved in fluid flow, but it's accuracy is
always suspect because of the assumption of laminar flow. For typical inlet conditions, the energy
density associated with the pressure will be dominant on the input side; after all, we live at the
bottom of an atmospheric sea which contributes a large amount of pressure energy. If a drastic
enough reduction in radius is used to yield a pressure in the constriction which is less than
atmospheric pressure, there is almost certainly some turbulence involved in the flow into that
constriction. Nevertheless, the calculation can show why we can get a significant amount of suction
(pressure less than atmospheric) with an "aspirator" on a high pressure faucet. These devices consist
of a metal tube of reducing radius with a side tube into the region of constricted radius for suction.
*Note: Some default values will be entered for some of the values as you start exploring the
calculation. All of them can be changed as a part of your calculation.
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Curve of a Baseball
A non-spinning baseball or a stationary baseball in an airstream exhibits symmetric flow. A baseball
which is thrown with spin will curve because one side of the ball will experience a reduced
pressure. This is commonly interpreted as an application of the Bernoulli principle and involves the
viscosity of the air and the boundary layer of air at the surface of the ball.
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important! With a
perfectly smooth ball
you would not get
enough interaction
with the air.
Bernoulli
Equation
Bernoulli
concepts
Reference
Watts and
Ferrer
There are some difficulties with this picture of the curving baseball. The Bernoulli equation cannot
really be used to predict the amount of curve of the ball; the flow of the air is compressible, and
you can't track the density changes to quantify the change in effective pressure. The experimental
work of Watts and Ferrer with baseballs in a wind tunnel suggests another model which gives
prominent attention to the spinning boundary layer of air around the baseball. On the side of the ball
where the boundary layer is moving in the same direction as the free stream air speed, the
boundary layer carries further around the ball before it separates into turbulent flow. On the side
where the boundary layer is opposed by the free stream flow, it tends to separate prematurely. This
gives a net deflection of the airstream in one direction behind the ball, and therefore a Newton's 3rd
law reaction force on the ball in the opposite direction. This gives an effective force in the same
direction indicated above.
Similar issues arise in the treatment of a spinning cylinder in an airstream, which has been shown to
experience lift. This is the subject of the Kutta-Joukowski theorem. It is also invoked in the
discussion of airfoil lift.
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Airfoil
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The air across the top of a conventional airfoil experiences constricted flow lines and increased air
speed relative to the wing. This causes a decrease in pressure on the top according to the Bernoulli
equation and provides a lift force. Aerodynamicists (see Eastlake) use the Bernoulli model to
correlate with pressure measurements made in wind tunnels, and assert that when pressure
measurements are made at multiple locations around the airfoil and summed, they do agree
reasonably with the observed lift.
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Index
Bernoulli
Equation
References
Eastlake
NASA
Aerodynamics
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A vapor trail over the wing helps visualize the air flow. Photo by Frank Starmer, used by
permission.
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