COMPRESSIBLE FLOW

Stagnation State Relations

• When the fluid is approximated as an ideal

gas with constant specific heats;
Stagnation State Relations
• For ideal gases with constant specific heats,
P0 is related to the static pressure of the fluid by;

Stagnation density to static density is expressed as;

SPEED OF SOUND AND MACH
NUMBER
• For the most part, we have limited our consideration so far to flows
for which density variations and thus compressibility effects are
negligible.
• We lift this limitation and consider flows that involve significant
changes in density.
• Such flows are called compressible flows, and they are often
encountered in devices that involve the flow of gases at very high
velocities.
SPEED OF SOUND AND MACH
NUMBER
• An important parameter in the study of
compressible flow is the speed of sound (or
the sonic speed), defined as the speed at
which an infinitesimally small pressure
wave travels through a medium.
• The pressure wave may be caused by a small
disturbance, which creates a slight rise in
local pressure.
SPEED OF SOUND AND MACH
NUMBER
• The amplitude of the
ordinary sonic wave is very
small and does not cause any
appreciable change in the
pressure and temperature of
the fluid.
• Therefore, the propagation of
a sonic wave is not only
adiabatic but also very nearly
isentropic.
SPEED OF SOUND AND MACH
NUMBER
• Then the thermodynamic • Finally combining the following
relation reduces to; equations;
SPEED OF SOUND AND MACH
NUMBER
• When the fluid is an ideal gas and with the
help of Tds equations;

• This quantity is called the speed of sound

because sound waves are weak pressure
waves.
SPEED OF SOUND AND MACH
NUMBER
• Noting that the gas constant R has a
fixed value for a specified ideal gas
• the specific heat ratio k of an ideal
gas is, at most, a function of
temperature,
• we see that the speed of sound in a
specified ideal gas is a function of
temperature alone.
SPEED OF SOUND AND MACH
NUMBER
• A second important parameter in the
analysis of compressible fluid flowis
the Mach number Ma, named after
the Austrian physicist Ernst Mach
(1838–1916).
• It is the ratio of the actual speed of
the fluid (or an object in still fluid) to
the speed of sound in the same fluid
at the same state:
SPEED OF SOUND AND MACH
NUMBER
• Note that the Mach number
depends on the speed of sound,
which depends on the state of the
fluid.
• Therefore, the Mach number of an
aircraft cruising at constant velocity
in still air may be different at
different locations.
• Fluid flow regimes are often
described in terms of the flow Mach
number.
SPEED OF SOUND AND MACH
NUMBER
• The flow is called
• sonic when Ma = 1,
• subsonic when Ma < 1,
• supersonic, when Ma > 1,
• hypersonic when Ma >> 1,
• and transonic when Ma ≅ 1.
Variation of Fluid Velocity with
Flow Area
• In the remainder of this section we investigate
these couplings more thoroughly, and we develop
relations for the variation of static-to-stagnation
property ratios with the Mach number for
pressure, temperature, and density.
• This is an important relation for isentropic flow in
ducts since it describes the variation of pressure
with flow area.
Variation of Fluid Velocity with
Flow Area
• We note that A, ρ, and V are positive quantities. For
subsonic flow (Ma < 1), the term 1 – Ma2 is positive;
and thus dA and dP must have the same sign.
• That is, the pressure of the fluid must increase as
the flow area of the duct increases and must
decrease as the flow area of the duct decreases.
• Thus, at subsonic velocities, the pressure decreases
in converging ducts (subsonic nozzles) and increases
in diverging ducts (subsonic
• diffusers).
Variation of Fluid Velocity with
Flow Area
• In supersonic flow (Ma > 1), the term 1 – Ma2 is
negative, and thus dA and dP must have opposite
signs.
• That is, the pressure of the fluid must increase as
the flow area of the duct decreases and must
decrease as the flow area of the duct increases.
• Thus, at supersonic velocities, the pressure
decreases in diverging ducts (supersonic nozzles)
and increases in converging ducts (supersonic
diffusers).
Variation of Fluid Velocity with
Flow Area
• Another important relation for the isentropic flow
of a fluid is obtained by substituting ρV = –dP/dV
from.
• This equation governs the shape of a nozzle or a
diffuser in subsonic or supersonic isentropic flow.
Noting that A and V are positive quantities, we
conclude the following:
Variation of Fluid Velocity with
Flow Area
• Thus the proper shape of a nozzle depends
on the highest velocity desired relative to the
sonic velocity. To accelerate a fluid, we must
use a converging nozzle at subsonic velocities
and a diverging nozzle at supersonic
velocities.
• The velocities encountered in most familiar
applications are well below the sonic
velocity, and thus it is natural that we
visualize a nozzle as a converging duct.
However, the highest velocity we can achieve
with a converging nozzle is the sonic velocity,
which occurs at the exit of the nozzle.
Variation of Fluid Velocity with
Flow Area
• If we extend the converging nozzle
by further decreasing the flow area,
in hopes of accelerating the fluid to
supersonic velocities, as shown in
Fig. we are up for disappointment.
• Now the sonic velocity will occur at
the exit of the converging extension,
instead of the exit of the original
nozzle, and the mass flow rate
through the nozzle will decrease
because of the reduced exit area.
Variation of Fluid Velocity with
Flow Area
• Based on Eq. which is an expression
of the conservation of mass and
energy principles, we must add a
diverging section to a converging
nozzle to accelerate a fluid to
supersonic velocities. The result is a
converging– diverging nozzle.
Mach number relations; Property Relations
for Isentropic Flow of Ideal Gases
• Relation between T0 and T

• Relation between P0 and P

• Relation between ρ0 and ρ

Property Relations for
Isentropic
Flow of Ideal Gases
• The properties of a fluid at a location where the Mach number is unity
(the throat) are called critical properties, Setting Ma = 1

• The critical properties of compressible flow should not be confused

with the thermodynamic properties of substances at the critical point.
The critical property ratios
(k=ϒ)
k=ϒ