Spreadsheet Analysis of Fluid Mechanics Problems

Ratan Kumar and Abdulraouf O. Al-Shantaf Department of Engineering Technology University of North Texas Denton TX 76203
Abstract - This paper presents a study to obtain solutions to some fluid mechanics problems by spreadsheet analysis. By utilizing some of the many features available in spreadsheets, which are increasingly gaining popularity in the industry and academia, different aspects of fluid flow problems can be easily and graphically examined. It has been successfully used to study a majority of topics covered in a typical undergraduate fluid mechanics textbook. Some of the topics covered were determination of hydrostatic pressure and forces, buoyancy and stability, Bernoullis equation and open channel flow. The spreadsheet solutions provided a simple means to solve fluid mechanics problems and proved to be effective tool in teaching undergraduate technology students. In order to use the spreadsheet modules developed for class purposes, the user must have a solid understanding of the theory to find a solution for the problem. For instance, the user must be conversant with fluid tables to input the right values, be able to calculate some parameters such as the moment of inertia (during pressure location), be able to distinguish between turbulent and laminar flow, and be able to calculate hydraulic radius etc. Some of these input features can very easily be calculated within the spreadsheet but were deliberately neglected to be solved by the students.

Topics Covered
This methodology was used to demonstrate different fluid flow problems like: determination of hydrostatic pressure at various depth for different fluids, finding the resultant force and center of pressure for submerged bodies, obtaining the hydrostatic forces on submerged bodies analyzing Bernoullis equation and open channel flow. The two main topics that are offered in this paper are computing forces on a submerged curved surface and finding pressure, height, or velocity using Bernoullis Equation. Computing Forces on Submerged Curved Surfaces The following procedure and example has been taken from Mott1. To calculate the force on a submerged curved surface through conventional methods, some of the series of steps are [refer to page 92 of reference 1]: 1. Find the vertical component of the force (Fv) Fv = JAw where J = specific weight of the fluid A= rectangular projected are of the curved surface w= width of the curved surface 2. Compute the depth to the centroid (dc) of the projected area dc = d + s/2 where s = the height of the curved area the height of the plane area d = 3. Compute the magnitude of the horizontal component of the resultant force FH = Jswdc

Introduction
Fluid mechanics problems require a series of equations to be followed in order to get a solution. The process is tedious and possibilities for errors can be relatively high. However if one has a good understanding of the physics behind the problem, then by automating the solution process, the calculation error can be eliminated. In this paper a method allowing a spreadsheet analysis to these series of equations is shown. The interactivity between text, spreadsheet and graphical plotting, that is a common feature of modern spreadsheet packages, is exploited. This type of analysis serves as a useful supplemental tool to textbooks in that mundane mathematical difficulties can be eliminated and the students can focus on the problem itself. It also befits the engineering technology teaching style, where emphasis is on using modern tools to solve problems so that the students are not bogged down with mathematical manipulations. Since the tool was developed for engineering technology students, the problems used were directly extracted from engineering technology fluid mechanics book. In this case the book by Mott[1] was used as the textbook and examples have been taken from it. It should be noted that spreadsheet solutions are generic and any other text book could have been easily selected for this purpose. The software tool used was Microsoft Excel[2].

4.

Compute the resultant force FR =

FH  FV
2

However, when utilizing the spreadsheet solution all the previous steps are integrated behind the scenes where the user only sees the results. The following example illustrates the power of the spreadsheets by solving a problem picked out from Reference 1 (page 112). Example: Compute the magnitude of the horizontal component of the force, and compute the vertical component of the force exerted by the fluid on that surface. Then, compute the magnitude of the resultant force and its direction. The surface of interest is a portion of a cylinder with a width of 1.50 m (Figure 1) In order to solve this problem using the spreadsheet solution, the user must define the following parameters: the width of the surface, the value of J, the height of the curved surface and the height of the plane area.

on the appropriate button. So if the unknown is the final velocity, the following steps are followed: 1. Click on the Final Velocity button on the menu 2. Enter the given values corresponding to each variable 3. Click on click here to go back bar when done 4. Click on click here to start bar in general menu It is difficult to show each screen shots for the above steps but in general the user has to encounter very few steps. For calculation of losses a similar interface was developed. Figure 4 is the main screen from which losses are found out. The different types of losses that were considered are: frictional losses and minor losses due to sudden enlargement, sudden contraction, gradual enlargement, gradual contraction, entrance loss, exit loss and losses due to pipe bends.

Conclusion
The spreadsheet analysis for fluid flow problems was well received by the students. These simple and user friendly interfaces developed helped the students to accurately solve a host of typical undergraduate fluid mechanics problem. The spreadsheet analysis offered a host of advantages. They cut down the amount of time spent in the regular process of solving a problem. They are user friendly and can contain text and graphs on the same sheet. When the user enters the parameters required to solve the problem the solution is presented at the corresponding cell instantly. The spreadsheets are designed so the user will only have to input the necessary parameters in their corresponding cells, which are colored differently than the rest of the sheet. In addition, the spreadsheets offer ease of move from a location to another. For instance, in the Bernoullis equation solver the user uses the mouse pointer to point to the button that will move to the sheet with the parameter solved for. A possibility of expansion of the main programs to solve more types of applications is a great advantage for those who have special applications. Also, it is an advantage for the regular user to widen their scope of understanding fluid mechanics. By changing one parameter in the problem the solution is changed as well. This feature allows the user to experiment with different values of the parameters used. At the end the of this process the user should get a better understanding of how a parameter can change the resultant value. From an instructional viewpoint, this approach allows the students the opportunity to focus on the fluid flow problems and leave the mathematics to the software. Class response from some the students indicate that students will readily adapt to this approach than traditional techniques. The program, however, is not a general-purpose tool for any fluid flow problems. It is a useful tool for students who know the theory well and are using some fundamental fluid mechanics textbook.

Figure 1The solution by spreadsheet is illustrated next. RESULTS: As seen in Figure 2, the spreadsheet offers solution to the horizontal and vertical components of the resultant force, as well as, the resultant force and its inclined angle with the horizontal. It should be noted that the user is only using the front end of the software and is shielded from the programming intricacies involved for the problem. Such useful front-ends for problems involving planar and inclined surfaces were also developed.

Bernoulli's Equation Solver

This module was developed to find out the pressure head, velocity head or the height associated with the flow. The aim was to find either the initial or final unknown parameters. Some features like usage of the continuity equation and losses have been accounted for. Figure 3 shows the user interface that was developed for this purpose. In order to find the unknown, the user has to click

E n te r th e w id th o f th e c u rv ed su rfac e: E n te r th e v a lu e o f G A M M A : E n te r th e h e ig h t o f th e c u rve d a rea : E n te r th e h e ig h t o f th e p la n e a re a: S q u a re : E nte r th e H eig h t R ec tan g le : E nte r th e H eig h t E nte r th e W idth T ria n g le: E nte r th e H eig h t E nte r th e B a se C irc le : E nte r th e D iam ete r R in g : E nte r th e O ute r D ia m e te r E nte r th e In ne r D ia m e te r S em icircle : E nte r th e D iam ete r Q u a d ra n t: E nte r th e D iam ete r T ra p ez o id : E nte r th e H eig h t E nte r th e B a se E nte r th e U pp er W idth

w => J => s => d =>

E nter 1 for +

1 .5 9 .8 1 1 .2 2 .8

12 2 .8 1 .2

1 .4 4

3 .3 6

0 0

0 0 2 .4 -1.1 30 9 73

T o ta l A rea : V ertica l c o m p o n e n t o f th e re su ltan t fo rc e: T h e D e p th o f th e to p o f th e p ro jec ted are a: H o riz o n tal c o m p o n en t o f th e res u lta n t fo rce : T h e d e p th to th e lin e o f ac tio n to F H : T h e R e su ltan t F o rce : T h e A n g le o f in clin atio n o f F R to th e h o riz o n ta l:

0 A =>

3 .6 6 90 27 F V => dc = FH = dp = FR = 5 3.9 89 73 3 .4 6 0.0 37 2 3 .4 3 52 94 8 0.7 42 53 4 1.9 64 14

Figure 2: Spreadsheet to find hydrostatic forces on curved surface

Figure 3. Graphical front-end for Bernoullis equation solver

Figure 4. Screenshot to show options available for calculating losses

References
1) Mott, Robert L. Applied Fluid Mechanics, 4th ed. New York: Merrill, 1994. 2) Excel, Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington, 1996.