Example 1: The pump shown here is used to lift a process liquid of density 1.

93 sludge/ft3 from
a storage tank, and discharge it at a rate of 0.75 cubic feet per second into the top of an absorber.
The inlet to the absorber is located 25 feet above the free surface of the liquid in the storage
tank, and the pump inlet is located at an elevation of 15 feet above that of the free surface. You
can assume that the absorber operates at atmospheric pressure. 31.93/slugft

A 2” ID pipe leads from the storage tank to the pump, while the pipe from the pump to the top
of the absorber is of ID 3”. You can assume the losses in the 2” ID pipe to be 4 velocity heads,
and the losses in the 3” ID pipe to be 5 velocity heads. Assuming the pump is 85% efficient,
calculate the BHP (Brake Horse Power) of the pump.

Solution
Location 1 is selected to be at the free surface of the liquid in the storage tank, and location 2
at the entrance to the absorber. Further, we select the datum for measuring heights to be at the
free surface of the liquid in the storage tank, as shown in the sketch.

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Example 2: What is the direction of flow of water in this pipe? You can assume that the flow
is steady, and that the density of water is constant.

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Example 3: A siphon is a device for removing liquid from a container using a pipe that rises
above the liquid level in the container. A sketch of a typical siphon is shown below.

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Example 4: A piezometer and a Pitot tube are tapped into a 3-cm diameter horizontal water
pipe, and the height of the water columns are measured to be 20 cm in the piezometer and 35
cm in the Pitot tube (both measured from the top surface of the pipe). Determine the velocity at
the center of the pipe. The flow is steady, incompressible, and irrotational with negligible
frictional effects in the short distance between the two pressure measurement locations (so that
the Bernoulli equation is applicable).

Solution: We take points 1 and 2 along the centerline of the pipe, with point 1 directly under
the piezometer and point 2 at the entrance of the Pitot-static probe (the stagnation point). This
is a steady flow with straight and parallel streamlines, and thus the static pressure at any point
is equal to the hydrostatic pressure at that point. Noting that point 2 is a stagnation point and
thus V2 = 0 and z1 = z2, the application of the Bernoulli equation between points 1 and 2 gives

Example 5: A pressurized tank of water has a 10-cm-diameter orifice at the bottom, where
water discharges to the atmosphere. The water level is 3 m above the outlet. The tank air
pressure above the water level is 300 kPa (absolute) while the atmospheric pressure is 100 kPa.
Neglecting frictional effects, determine the initial discharge rate of water from the tank. We
take the density of water to be 1000 kg/m3.

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Solution: We take point 1 at the free surface of the tank, and point 2 at the exit of orifice, which
is also taken to be the reference level (z2 = 0). Noting that the fluid velocity at the free surface
is very low (V1 ≅ 0) and water discharges into the atmosphere (and thus P2 = Patm), the
Bernoulli equation simplifies to

Solving for V2 and substituting, the discharge velocity is determined to

Then the initial rate of discharge of water becomes

Note that this is the maximum flow rate since the frictional effects are ignored. Also, the
velocity and the flow rate will decrease as the water level in the tank decreases.
Example 6: The flow rate of methanol at 20°C (ρ=788.4 kg/m3 and μ= 5.857×10-4 kg/m·s)
through a 4-cm-diameter pipe is to be measured with a 3-cm-diameter orifice meter equipped
with a mercury manometer across the orifice place, as shown in Fig.. If the differential height
of the manometer is read to be 11 cm, determine the flow rate of methanol through the pipe and
the average flow velocity. We take the density of mercury to be 13.600 kg/m3. The flow is
steady and incompressible. The discharge coefficient of the orifice meter is C0=0.61.

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Solution: The diameter ratio and the throat area of the orifice are

Example 7: Water at 10°C (ρ= 999.7 kg/m3 and μ=1.307 ×10-3 kg/m · s) is flowing steadily in
a 0.20-cm-diameter, 15-m-long pipe at an average velocity of 1.2 m/s. Determine (a) the
pressure drop, (b) the head loss, and (c) the pumping power requirement to overcome this
pressure drop.

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Solution: (a) First we need to determine the flow regime. The Reynolds number of the flow is

Example 8: In an air heating system, heated air at 40°C and 105 kPa absolute is distributed
through a 0.2 m × 0.3 m rectangular duct made of commercial steel (f=0.01833) at a rate of 0.5
m3/s. Determine the pressure drop and head loss through a 40-m-long section of the duct. The
dynamic viscosity of air at 40 °C is μ =1.918×10-5 kg/m⋅s, and it is independent of pressure.
The density of air listed in that table is for 1 atm
Solution: The density at 105 kPa and 315 K can be determined from the ideal gas relation to
be

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Example 9: The flow rate of water at 20°C (ρ=998 kg/m3 and μ=1.002 . 10-3 kg/m · s) through
a 50-cm-diameter pipe is measured with an orifice meter with a 30-cm-diameter opening to be
250 L/s. Determine the pressure difference indicated by the orifice meter and the head loss. The
discharge coefficient of the orifice meter is C0 = 0.61.

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Solution: The diameter ratio and the throat area of the orifice are

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Example 10: A Venturi meter equipped with a differential pressure gage is used to measure the
flow rate of water at 15°C (ρ=999.1 kg/m3) through a 5-cm-diameter horizontal pipe. The
diameter of the Venturi neck is 3 cm, and the measured pressure drop is 5 kPa. Taking the
discharge coefficient to be 0.98, determine the volume flow rate of water and the average
velocity through the pipe.

Solution: The diameter ratio and the throat area of the meter are

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Example 11: The mass flow rate of air at 20°C (ρ=1.204 kg/m3) through a 15-cm-diameter duct
is measured with a Venturi meter equipped with a water manometer. The Venturi neck has a
diameter of 6 cm, and the manometer has a maximum differential height of 40 cm. Taking the
discharge coefficient to be 0.98, determine the maximum mass flow rate of air this Venturi
meter can measure. We take the density of water to be ρw = 1000 kg/m3. The discharge
coefficient of Venturi meter is given to be CV = 0.98.

Solution: The diameter ratio and the throat area of the meter are

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