Momentum balance derivation in equations

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In fluid mechanics, equations derived for horizontal flow (x-direction) can often be adapted for vertical flow (y-direction) systems, but adjustments are necessary. Specifically, when transitioning to a vertical system, additional terms accounting for gravity (ρgh) must be included to accurately represent the forces acting on the fluid. For gas dynamics, gravity can often be neglected at certain scales, while in liquid dynamics, gravity is a significant factor that must be considered. It's important to recognize that other body forces may also influence fluid behavior in chemical engineering contexts.
Fishinev
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I'm a little confused, in my fluid mechanics course we've covered many equations and they are all derived using an x-direction fluid flow. If I was to use these in a system in which fluid flowed in the y-direction would I have to re-derive them? Or would it be more of a case of using a horizontal system in a vertical direction?
 
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Hi Fishinev! Welcome to PF! :smile:
Fishinev said:
I'm a little confused, in my fluid mechanics course we've covered many equations and they are all derived using an x-direction fluid flow.

Do you mean that the entire flow is horizontal, so that gravity doesn't have to be taken into account?

In that case, if you want to apply the equations to a vertical system, you'll need extra (ρgh) terms to deal with gravity.
 
In that case, if you want to apply the equations to a vertical system, you'll need extra (ρgh) terms to deal with gravity.

If this is a gas dynamics question you can usually ignore body forces such as gravity at chemical engineering scales.

If this is a liquids questions then a body force such as gravity may well come into play.

Remember in chemical engineering other body forces are often also in play.
 
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