"Fluid mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the mechanics of fluids (liquids, gases, and plasmas) and the forces on them."
Study of how fluids behave under various conditions such as pressure and temperature in both static and dynamic states.
Properties of fluids: This covers basic concepts such as density, viscosity, compressibility, and surface tension, which are important in understanding the behavior of fluids.
Fluid statics: This refers to the study of fluids at rest, including pressure variation, Pascal's law, hydrostatic forces, and buoyancy.
Fluid dynamics: This encompasses the study of fluids in motion, including Bernoulli's equation, the continuity equation, the momentum equation, laminar and turbulent flow, and Reynolds number.
Flow measurement: This deals with various techniques for measuring fluid flow rate, such as using pressure gauges, orifice meters, venturi meters, flow nozzles, and rotameters.
Fluid energy conversions: This covers topics such as hydraulic turbines, power calculations, and the efficiency of energy conversion in fluid machines.
Pipe flow: This includes fluid flow in pipes, friction losses, head losses, and pressure drop calculations.
Pumping: This covers the design and operation of pumps, pump efficiency, pump head, and pump curves.
Multiphase flow: This deals with the flow of two or more phases of fluids, such as oil and gas mixtures, in pipelines and wells.
Petroleum reservoir fluids: This involves the properties of fluids found in oil and gas reservoirs, including the behavior of crude oil, natural gas, and associated gas.
Enhanced oil recovery: This covers the techniques used to increase the production of oil and gas from reservoirs, such as water flooding, polymer flooding, and steam injection.
Well testing: This involves the methods used to evaluate the performance of oil and gas wells, including pressure transient analysis and well test interpretation.
Drilling fluids: This covers the properties, functions, and types of drilling fluids used during the drilling process, including mud weight control and lubrication.
Fluid treatment: This includes methods used for separating, treating, and storing fluids from production wells, such as chemical treatment, mechanical separation, and storage tank design.
Flow assurance: This involves ensuring that oil and gas can be produced efficiently and without interruption, by mitigating the risks of blockages and flow restrictions in pipelines, wells, and equipment.
Computational fluid dynamics: This deals with the use of mathematical models and computer simulations to solve fluid mechanics problems and design fluid systems.
Reservoir Fluid Mechanics: This type of fluid mechanics deals with the behavior and characteristics of fluids trapped in reservoir rocks. Engineers use this knowledge to better understand reservoir properties and optimize production.
Drilling Fluid Mechanics: Drilling fluids, also known as drilling mud, are used during drilling operations to cool the drill bit, remove drill cuttings, and maintain pressure control in the wellbore. This type of fluid mechanics relates to the study of the properties and behavior of these drilling fluids.
Production Fluid Mechanics: The primary purpose of production fluid mechanics is to control the flow of oil, gas, and water from oil and gas reservoirs to surface production facilities. Engineers study the properties and behavior of these fluids to design efficient production systems.
Flow Assurance: Flow assurance is the study of ensuring that fluids flow properly through pipelines and production systems. This type of fluid mechanics deals with predicting, preventing, and mitigating problems such as wax buildup, hydrate formation, and slugging.
Multiphase Flow Mechanics: Multiphase flow mechanics involves the study of fluids that contain more than one phase, such as oil, gas, and water. Engineers use this knowledge to design and optimize production systems that can handle these different phases.
Computational Fluid Dynamics: Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a numerical simulation tool used to model fluid behavior in petroleum engineering. This type of fluid mechanics involves developing, validating, and applying these models to better understand fluid behavior in reservoirs, pipelines, and production facilities.
"It has applications in a wide range of disciplines, including mechanical, aerospace, civil, chemical, and biomedical engineering, as well as geophysics, oceanography, meteorology, astrophysics, and biology."
"It can be divided into fluid statics, the study of fluids at rest; and fluid dynamics, the study of the effect of forces on fluid motion."
"It is a branch of continuum mechanics, a subject which models matter without using the information that it is made out of atoms; that is, it models matter from a macroscopic viewpoint rather than from microscopic."
"Fluid mechanics, especially fluid dynamics, is an active field of research, typically mathematically complex."
"Many problems are partly or wholly unsolved and are best addressed by numerical methods, typically using computers."
"A modern discipline, called computational fluid dynamics (CFD), is devoted to this approach."
"Particle image velocimetry, an experimental method for visualizing and analyzing fluid flow, also takes advantage of the highly visual nature of fluid flow."
"Fluid mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the mechanics of fluids (liquids, gases, and plasmas)."
"It has applications in a wide range of disciplines, including mechanical, aerospace, civil, chemical, and biomedical engineering."
"It can be divided into fluid statics, the study of fluids at rest."
"It can be divided into... fluid dynamics, the study of the effect of forces on fluid motion."
"Yes, fluid mechanics involves studying fluids at rest through fluid statics."
"Yes, fluid mechanics has applications in astrophysics."
"Yes, fluid mechanics has applications in oceanography."
"Fluid mechanics models matter from a macroscopic viewpoint rather than from microscopic."
"Yes, particle image velocimetry is an experimental method for visualizing and analyzing fluid flow."
"Many problems are best addressed by numerical methods, typically using computers."
"Fluid mechanics is a branch of continuum mechanics, which models matter without using the information that it is made out of atoms."
"Fluid mechanics, especially fluid dynamics, is an active field of research."