UNIVERS

SITY OF CAPE
C
TOW
WN
DEPART
TMENT OF
F MECHAN
NICAL ENG
GINEERIN
NG
M
MEC3033F
F THERM
MOFLUIDS
S II
FLU
UID MECHANICS
Wo
orked exam
mples

Chapte
er 1

Q1.
The sschematic shows a piston w
with a
diametter
of
length
D 124.7
75 mm,
m
L 75 mm and mass
m 2 kg that iss being
pushed
d upwards with a force F at a speed
of v 6 m/s. Th
he internall diameterr of the
cylinde
er is 125 mm
m and the
e pressuress at the
top and bottom surfaces of
o the pistton are
d pb 100 kPa respe
ectively.
pt 101 kPa and
The g
gap betwe
een the piston an
nd the
cylinde
er wall is fiilled with a lubricantt with a
0.29 kg/ms.
viscosity of 0
Calcula
ate the po
ower required to pu
ush the
piston upwards.

Q2.
The sschematic shows a cone w
with
radius R , height H and ha
alf cone an
ngle
a an angu
ular
thatt is being rotated at
velocityy .
T
The
width of the g
gap
betwee
en the con
ne and the
e cavity is y
and the cavity iss filled witth a lubriccant
with visscosity .
Derive an expression for the
t
powerr P
require
ed to rotate
e the cone as a functtion
of the p
parameterss given above.

Chapte
er 2

Q3.
A

thrree-dimenssional flo
ow field
v 2 x 2 x xy y 3 xz z m/s.
i.

is

scribed
des

by
b

the

velocity

vector

Calculate the speed of a particcle moving through th

he point 22,3,1 .

2 .
ii. Calculate the total ac
cceleration
n of a particle moving
g through tthe point 2,3,1
iii. Calculate the rotation of the flo
ow at the point 2,3,1 .
me flow ratte through a flat surrface definned by the
e points
iv. Calculate the volum
1, 0,0 , 11,1, 0 , 1,1,1 and 1, 00,1 .

Q4.
A thre
ee-dimensional, uns
steady flow
w field is
s describe
ed by thee velocity vector
v 10t x x xy y 5t 2 z m/s.

i.

Calculate the speed

d of a partticle movin
ng through
h the pointt 10, 2,5 at time
t 5 s.

ii. Calculate the total acceleration

n of a partiicle moving
g through tthe point 10, 2,5
at time t 5 s.
iii. Calculate the rotation of the flo
ow at the point 10, 2, 5 at time t 5 s.
me flow ratte through a flat surrface definned by the
e points
iv. Calculate the volum
0,1,0 , 11,1, 0 , 1,1,1 and 0, 1,1 at timee t 5 s.

Q5.
The de
ensity distriibution in a three-dim
mensional flow
f
field is
s given by x 2 2 z kg/m3
and the
e gravitatio
onal accele
eration vecctor by g 5.7 y 8 z m/s2.
Calcula
ate the ma
agnitude off the total g
gravitationa
al force ex
xerted on thhe fluid contained
in the b
block defin
ned by the origin and x 4 , y 2 and z 2 .

Q6.
A two-d
dimensiona
al pressure
e field is giiven by p xy 2 Pa.
Calcula
ate the ma
agnitude and
a
directio
on of the gradient of
o the presssure at th
he point
0.5,3.22 .

Q7.
A two-d
dimensiona
al pressure
e field is giiven by p 3 x 2 y 2 4 x 6 y Pa.
Find th
he position x, y whe
ere the pre
essure will be a minim
mum.

Q8.
1108 N/m2 and the density at
The bu
ulk densityy of water is given a
as 6.01
a 20C,
3
ven as 1 1000.4 kg
g/m .
p1 5 MPa is giv
Calcula
ate the den
nsity 2 at 20C, p2 15 MPa.

Chapte
er 3
600

Q9.
The fig
gure showss a cone th
hat can slid
de up and down
d
on a
wire th
hrough its center without any ffriction. A water jett
with dia
ameter D1 30 mm and velociity v1 15 m/s
m that is
s

3
2

open to
o atmosph
here strike
es the cone
e symmetrrically and
withoutt friction fro
om below. The dista
ance betwe
een points
1 and 2 is 4 m. The
T heightt difference
e between 2 and 3 is
negligib
ble.

Calculate what the diameter of the jet will be att

point 2.
Calculate the mass of
o the cone
e.

4m

Q10.

Flexiblee
couplingg

D1=80
= mm

V2
D2=40 mm

W
Water
V1

Air

Water
W
flow
ws throughh the 90 degree
bend nozz
zle in a horizontal plane.
The
T nozzle
e is fixed too the pipe system
via
v
a flexible rubbber couplling as
shown
s
and
d also to tthe ground
d with a
fixed
f
strut.. The nozzzle has a circular
cross-sectional areaa along its
s length
with
w diame
eters as inddicated. The
T flow
rate throug
gh the nozzzle is 0.01 m3/s.

Calcula
ate what th
he magnitu
ude and d irection will be of the
e resultantt force exe
erted by
the nozzzle on the
e strut.

Q11.
A sma
all toy car on wheels
s weighs m 1.2 kg and is drriven by aair issuing from a
nozzle with a diameter off D 5.0 m
mm. The air is sup
pplied at a constantt gauge
pressure of 10 kP
Pa. The combined
c
ttotal drag and
a friction
n force from
m the wheels and
the su
urrounding air on the
t
car ccan be ca
alculated as
a F 1.22 102 u 2 where

1.2 kg/m3 is the

t density
y of the surrrounding air
a and u is the speeed of the ca
ar. The
discharrge coefficcient of the nozzle ma
ay be assu
umed to be
e Cd 0.6 .

Derive an expression
n for the sp
peed of the
e car over time u t .

Determine
e the termin
nal velocityy uT .
4

Q12.
2

3
100

30

100

The pipe fitting sshown is fixed

f
to
the flat top surfaace of a tank at
point 1 but open to atmosp
phere at
points 2 and 3.
The
e pipe
3 diameters
30
aree
D1 25
2 mm,
m and
D2 15
5 mm and D3 15 mm

z
100

the velocity
v
aat the in
nlet is
e dimensio
ons are
v1 1.5 m/s. The

y
x
1

all prov
vided in mm
m. The weight of
the pipe
p
matterial ma
ay be
neglected but thhe weight of the
m
be takken into ac
ccount.
water must

Neglecct all losse

es and dete
ermine the
e magnitud
de and direction of aall the forc
ces and
momen
nts exerted
d on the su
urface of th
he tank where the pip
pe is fixed tto it.

Q13.
The flo
ow rate off water through the
e sprinkler shown ab
bove is 0 .0012 m3/s
s.
diametters of the two outlet nozzles arre 7 mm ea
ach.

Derive an
a
equatio
on for tthe
required resisting
r
torque, as a
function of
o , to maintain a
given consstant rotational speed
d.
Calculate the magn
nitude of tthe
required resisting torque to
maintain a rotational speed of
180 rpm.
Calculate what the rotation
nal
speed will be, in rpm, if no
resisting to
orque is ap
pplied.

The

D=7m
mm

Q==0.0012m3/s

Q14.
The ba
ackward curved
c
centrifugal fan
n is rotating at 3000 rpm while pumping air at a
rate
r
of v 0.5 m3//s with density
3
30

1.2 kg//m3. The ooutlet vane

e angle
is
i 30 as shown aand the absolute
a
velocity
v
at the inleet v1 is radially

v1

r2 =1
147mm

outwards.
o
The widdth of the
e vane
passages
p
is 200 mm
m.
Find
d the inlett vane an
ngle so
that
t
the air will enteer parallel to the
vane.
v
Find
d the pow
wer required to
drive
d
the fa
an if the efffficiency is 60 %.

r1 =63.5mm

Q15.
D
D=50mm
0
1m
Water
3

2.5m

Air

The fig
gure showss a tank that is open to atmosp
phere at po
oint 0. A ppipe with diameter
D 50 mm is ussed to syp
phon wate r from the
e tank. Th
he jet at ppoint 3 is open
o
to
atmosp
phere. Neg
glect all los
sses.

Determine
e the mass
s flow rate of water.
Determine
e the gaug
ge pressure
e at point 2 just inside the pipe..

Q16.
The total hea
ad loss in the pipe system
sho
own is give
en in term
ms of the velocity
2
L
v
hea
ad as hL f K
witth K
D
2g
the sum of
o
the respective
e loss
coe
efficients K , the friction factor
f 0.02 , the pipe diam
meter D 0.25 m

200kPa

K4=0.25
oil

K5=1.0

and
d the to
otal
L 150 m.

P
K1=0.5
=
10m

K2=3

K3=0.25

20m

lengthh

of

the
e

pipe

Dettermine the
e mass floow rate off the oil
with
h density 850 kgg/m3 and viscosity
v

8.5 103 kg/ms

k
if thhe pump supplies
s
a he
ead of hM 45.2 m.

Q17.
The fig
gure show
ws a pipe with inne
er
radius D 100 mm throu
ugh whicch
water w
with a den
nsity of 1000 kg/m3 iis
flowing
g. A pitot-static tub
be with a
an
outer d
diameter of
o 3.2 mm is used tto
determ
mine the mass flow ra
ate throug
gh
the pip
pe. For this the pipe
p
crossssection
nal area is divided into equa
al
increments with width dr as show
wn
and the tip of th
he pitot tu
ube is the
en
ned in turn
n at ri at th
he centre o
of
position

R
ri

dr

each o
of these inccrements fo
or i 1...m .
i
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1
10

r[i]
[mm]
0
5
11
16
21
26
32
37
42
47

dP[i]
[Pa]
1125
1108
1090
1070
1046
1018
985
942
880
760

The positio
on of the tip of the
e pitot tubbe could only
o
be
to the nearest 1 mm andd the pressure
measured
m
over the pitot
differential o
p
tube could
c
onlyy be measured to
th
he nearesst 1 Pa. The table
e providess the res
sults of
0.
measureme
m
ents taken with m 10
Determine
D
tthe total mass
m
flow rate
r
througgh the pipe
e based
on the data provided.

Q18.
A pipe with an inn
ner diametter of D1 150 mm is
s fitted with
h a venturi tube with a throat
diametter of D2 75 mm. Air
A with visscosity 1.821 10 5 kg/ms at p1 100 kPa
k
and
enturi tube
e and the pressure difference over the tube is
T1 20 C flows into the ve
measured as p 20 kPa
a.

For th e venturi tube it is given thaat Cd 0.9

995 for

05 Re D 1106 witth the Re

eynolds
50mm D1 250m
mm , 0.4 0.75 and 2 10
numbe
er of the approaching
g flow deffined as Re
R D

v1 D1
. Also giiven for th
he air is

K and cv 0.718
kJ/kg
gK.
c p 1.0006 kJ/kgK
0

Determine
e the mass flow rate iif the flow is
i assumed
d be incom
mpressible..
Determine
e the mass
s flow rate if the flow
w is assum
med to be ccompressible and
isothermal.
Determine
e the mass
s flow rate
e if the flow
w is assum
med to be compressible but
not isotherrmal.
Compare the three results byy calculatin
ng the res
spective errrors in the
e mass
flow rates..
8

Chapte
er 4

Q19.
A visco
ous liquid flows dow
wn the ou
utside of a vertical
round b
bar under the influen
nce of gravvity as sho
own. The
radius of the solid bar is a and the outer radius of the
fluid iss b . Th
he outside
e of the liquid is open to
atmosp
phere. Th
he flow can be asssumed to be fully
developed at th
he point of
o interesst and the
e friction
betwee
en the liqu
uid and the
e air can be assumed to be
negligib
ble.
Derive a relation
nship for the velociity profile vz as a
function of the radius r , the
t
fluid d ensity , the fluid
viscosity , gravvitational acceleration
n g and th
he radii a
and b .

Q20.
A viscous
s liquid flow
ws down a ramp with angle
ence of g ravity as shown.
under the influe
The thickn
ness of the
e liquid layyer is H . The
T top
of the liqu
uid layer is
s open to aatmospherre. The
flow can be assume
ed to be ffully develo
oped at
the point of interes
st and the
e friction between
b
d to be
the liquid and the air can bee assumed
negligible.

Derive an expression
n for the sttatic pressure p as a function oof z .

Derive an expression
n for the ve
elocity proffile vx f z, , g , , H , .

n for the m
maximum shear stress max f , g , , H , .
Derive an expression

Derive an expression
n for the vo
olume flow
w rate v f , g , , H , .

Chapte
er 5

Q21.
The fig
gure below
w provides the
t perform
mance currves for a specific
s
waater pump with an
impelle
er diameterr of 160 mm
m.

Make use
e of dimen
nsional an
nalysis to derive the
e relevant non-dime
ensional
PI groups that chara
acterize the
e pump perrformance.
oints on the perform
mance currves to dra
aw up graaphs show
wing the
Use 20 po
relationshiips betwee
en the PI g roups.
Make use of the rela
ationships a
above to determine
d
what
w
the p ressure he
ead and
required power
p
willl be if a geometric
cally simila
ar pump with an impeller
diameter of
o 230 mm
m is used to
o provide a water mass
m
flow rrate of 4.5 l/s at a
rotational speed
s
of 2700
2
rpm.

10

Q22.
H

A dam wall with a length off L 1250 m is desig

gned so that if waterr flows ove
er it at a
1 m/s.
of H 10 m,
m the average veloccity of the water
w
overr the wall w
will be v 1.2
depth o
1
You arre asked to
o design a
scale m
model of th
he dam wa
all to study the flow patterns.
50
You kn
now that the gravity g will be an
n importan
nt paramete
er in the sccaling proc
cess.

Make use of dimens

sional ana
alysis to de
erive the relevant noon-dimensiional PI
groups.
Determine
e what the volume flo
ow rate ov
ver the wall of the sccale model should
be to ensu
ure similarity.

11

Chapte
er 6

Q23.
A pipe
eline consissts of thre
ee differen t
pipes as sho
own with
h interna
al
diametters D1 00.05 m, D2 0.152 m
and D3 0.076 m and tottal lengthss
L1 45.72 m,
L3 544.86 .

L2 27.43 m

and
d

K=0.5
K=0.95

30.48m

The
e surface roughnesss

K=6.3

of all th
hree pipes is 0.04
d
46 mm and
the hea
ad over the turbine is
i given ass
ues of the
e
hM 224.66 m. The valu

1
Valve
K=0.95

Turbine
3

unknow
wn second
dary loss coefficients
c
s
3
3
are givven. (For water
w
and 103 kg/ms.)
10 kg/m a
Take in
nto accoun
nt the frictional losse
es as well as all the
e relevant ssecondary
y losses
om the fluiid via the turbine.
and de
etermine th
he power ex
xtracted fro

Q24.

6
60m

K=0
0.5

Th
he diamete
ers of the pipes connecting
the
e
two reservoirss
shown
n
are
and
D1 0.05 m,
D2 0.12 m
t pipe suurface roughness
D3 0.1 m, the

are
e
K=0
0.5

1 2.5
5 mm,

m
2 1.2 mm

and

a
the ppipe lengtths are
3 2 mm and
and L3 120 m.
L1 60 m, L2 90 m a
2

Take in
nto accoun
nt the frictio
onal lossess as well as the inlet and outlet losses wh
here the
pipes a
are conneccted to the
e reservoirrs and dettermine wh
hat the totaal mass flo
ow rate
will be between the two res
servoirs.

12

Q25.
100m
m
B

70m
C

30m
A

3
1

The
figure
shows
three
rese
ervoirs opeen to atmo
osphere
that are connnected via
a three
pipes with a ccommon junction
point J. The ppipes all have
h
an
interrnal
diameter
of
D 250 mm and a surface
roug
ghness of 0.5 mm
m. The
pipe lengths are L1 80 m,
d L3 110 m.
L2 150 m and

Neglecct all secon

ndary losse
es and dete
ermine the
e magnitud
de and direection of the mass
flow ratte of waterr in each of the three
e pipes.

Q26.

2
A

Pump

The fig
gure show
ws a pipe network w
with D1 0.1
0 m, D2 0.12 m, D3 0.05 m and
D4 0.1 m;

m and
1 0.002 m, 2 0.00112 m, 3 0.0025 m and 44 0.002 m;

d
in the tota
al head
L1 1200 m, L2 90 m, L3 60 m an d L4 80 m. The difference
betwee
en A and D is H A H D 78 m a
and the pump efficien
ncy is 00.58 .
Neglecct all secon
ndary losse
es and dete
ermine wh
hat the inpu
ut power reequirementt will be
of the p
pump to ob
btain a tota
al volume fflow rate from A to D of v 0.033 m3/s.

13