Chapter 5: Mass, Bernoulli, and

Energy Equations
Eric G. Paterson
Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering
The Pennsylvania State University
 Introduction

This chapter deals with 3 equations

commonly used in fluid mechanics
The mass equation is an expression of the
conservation of mass principle.
The Bernoulli equation is concerned with the
conservation of kinetic, potential, and flow
energies of a fluid stream and their
conversion to each other.
The energy equation is a statement of the
conservation of energy principle.

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 Objectives

After completing this chapter, you should be able

to
Apply the mass equation to balance the incoming and
outgoing flow rates in a flow system.
Recognize various forms of mechanical energy, and
work with energy conversion efficiencies.
Understand the use and limitations of the Bernoulli
equation, and apply it to solve a variety of fluid flow
problems.
Work with the energy equation expressed in terms of
heads, and use it to determine turbine power output
and pumping power requirements.

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 Conservation of Mass
Conservation of mass principle is one of the
most fundamental principles in nature.
Mass, like energy, is a conserved property, and it
cannot be created or destroyed during a
process.
For closed systems mass conservation is implicit
since the mass of the system remains constant
during a process.
For control volumes, mass can cross the
boundaries which means that we must keep
track of the amount of mass entering and
leaving the control volume.

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 Mass and Volume Flow Rates
The amount of mass flowing
through a control surface per unit
time is called the mass flow rate
and is denoted m 
The dot over a symbol is used to
indicate time rate of change.
Flow rate across the entire cross-
sectional area of a pipe or duct is
obtained by integration

m    m   V dA n c
Ac Ac
While this expression for m  is
exact, it is not always convenient
for engineering analyses.

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 Average Velocity and Volume Flow Rate

Integral in m can be replaced with

average values of r and Vn
1
Vavg  
Ac Ac
Vn dAc

For many flows variation of r is

very small: m   Vavg Ac
Volume flow rate V is given by

V   Vn dAc  Vavg Ac  VAc

Ac

Note: many textbooks use Q

instead of V for volume flow rate.
Mass and volume flow rates are
related by m   V

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 Conservation of Mass Principle

The conservation of
mass principle can be
expressed as

dmCV
m in  m out 
dt
Where m  in and m out are
the total rates of mass
flow into and out of the
CV, and dmCV/dt is the
rate of change of mass
within the CV.

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 Conservation of Mass Principle
For CV of arbitrary shape,
rate of change of mass within the CV

net mass flow rate

Therefore, general conservation

of mass for a fixed CV is:

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 Steady—Flow Processes
For steady flow, the total
amount of mass contained in
CV is constant.
Total amount of mass entering
must be equal to total amount
of mass leaving
 m   m
in out
For incompressible flows,

V A  V A
in
n n
out
n n

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 Mechanical Energy
Mechanical energy can be defined as the form of
energy that can be converted to mechanical work
completely and directly by an ideal mechanical device
such as an ideal turbine.
Flow P/r, kinetic V2/g, and potential gz energy are the
forms of mechanical energy emech= P/r + V2/g + gz
Mechanical energy change of a fluid during
incompressible flow becomes
P2  P1 V22  V12
emech    g  z2  z1 
 2
In the absence of loses, Demech represents the work
supplied to the fluid (Demech>0) or extracted from the fluid
(Demech<0).

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 Efficiency
Transfer of emech is usually accomplished by a rotating
shaft: shaft work
Pump, fan, propulsion: receives shaft work (e.g., from
an electric motor) and transfers it to the fluid as
mechanical energy
Turbine: converts emech of a fluid to shaft work.
In the absence of irreversibilities (e.g., friction),
mechanical efficiency of a device or process can be
defined as
Emech,out Emech ,loss
 mech   1
Emech ,in Emech ,in
If hmech < 100%, losses have occurred during conversion.

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 Pump and Turbine Efficiencies
In fluid systems, we are usually interested in
increasing the pressure, velocity, and/or
elevation of a fluid.
In these cases, efficiency is better defined as
the ratio of (supplied or extracted work) vs. rate
of increase in mechanical energy
E mech , fluid
 pump 
W shaft ,in

W shaft ,out
turbine 
E mech , fluid
Overall efficiency must include motor or
generator efficiency.

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 General Energy Equation

One of the most fundamental laws in nature is the 1st

law of thermodynamics, which is also known as the
conservation of energy principle.
It states that energy can be neither created nor
destroyed during a process; it can only change forms

Falling rock, picks up speed

as PE is converted to KE.
If air resistance is neglected,
PE + KE = constant

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 General Energy Equation
The energy content of a closed
system can be changed by two
mechanisms: heat transfer Q and
work transfer W.
Conservation of energy for a closed
system can be expressed in rate
form as
dEsys
Qnet ,in  Wnet ,in 
 
dt
Net rate of heat transfer to the
system:
Q net ,in  Q in  Q out
Net power input to the system:
W net ,in  W in  W out

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 General Energy Equation

Recall general RTT

“Derive” energy equation using B=E and b=e

Break power into rate of shaft and pressure work

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 Ecuación General de la Energía

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 General Energy Equation
Where does expression for pressure work
come from?
When piston moves down ds under the
influence of F=PA, the work done on the
system is dWboundary=PAds.
If we divide both sides by dt, we have
ds
 W pressure   W boundary  PA  PAVpiston
dt
For generalized control volumes:
 

 W pressure   PdAVn   PdA V  n
 
Note sign conventions:

n is outward pointing normal
Negative sign ensures that work done is
positive when is done on the system.

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 General Energy Equation

Energy equation results in:

Recall that P/r is the flow work, which is

the work associated with pushing a fluid
into or out of a CV per unit mass.

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 General Energy Equation

As with the mass equation, practical analysis is

often facilitated as averages across inlets and
exits. Para un Volumen de Control fijo:

Since e=u+ke+pe = u+V2/2+gz

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 Energy Analysis of Steady Flows

 V2   V2 
Qnet ,in  Wshaft ,net ,in   m  h   gz    m  h   gz 
out  2  in  2 

For steady flow, time rate of change of the

energy content of the CV is zero.
This equation states: the net rate of energy
transfer to a CV by heat and work transfers
during steady flow is equal to the difference
between the rates of outgoing and incoming
energy flows with mass.

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 Energy Analysis of Steady Flows

For single-stream
devices, mass flow rate
is constant.

V22  V12
qnet ,in  wshaft ,net ,in  h2  h1   g  z2  z1 
2
P1 V12 P2 V22
wshaft ,net ,in    gz1    gz2   u2  u1  qnet ,in 
1 2 2 2
P1 V12 P2 V22
  gz1  wpump    gz2  wturbine  emech ,loss
1 2 2 2

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 Energy Analysis of Steady Flows

Divide by g to get each term in units of length

P1 V12 P2 V22
  z1  hpump    z2  hturbine  hL
1 g 2 g 2 g 2g
Magnitude of each term is now expressed as an
equivalent column height of fluid, i.e., Head

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 The Bernoulli Equation
If we neglect piping losses, and have a system without
pumps or turbines

P1 V12 P2 V22
  z1    z2
1 g 2 g 2 g 2 g

This is the Bernoulli equation

It can also be derived using Newton's second law of
motion (see text, p. 187).
3 terms correspond to: Static, dynamic, and hydrostatic
head (or pressure).

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 HGL and EGL
Is convenient to plot
mechanical energy
graphically using heights.
Linea de Gradiente
Hidraulico
P
HGL  z
g
Linea de Energía (or total
energy)

P V2
EGL   z
 g 2g

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 The Bernoulli Equation

The Bernoulli equation

is an approximate relation
between pressure,
velocity, and elevation
and is valid in regions of
steady, incompressible
flow where net frictional
forces are negligible.
Equation is useful in flow
regions outside of
boundary layers and
wakes.

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 The Bernoulli Equation

Limitations on the use of the Bernoulli Equation

Steady flow: d/dt = 0
Frictionless flow
No shaft work: wpump=wturbine=0
Incompressible flow: r = constant
No heat transfer: qnet,in=0
Applied along a streamline (except for irrotational
flow)

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