ME 303 – FLUID MECHANICS I

REVIEW QUESTIONS – 2

Asst. Prof. Dr. Atakan TANTEKİN

1) Oil (SG = 0.89) enters at section 1 in Fig. P3.20 at a weight flow of 250 N/h to lubricate a thrust bearing.
The steady oil flow exits radially through the narrow clearance between thrust plates. Compute (a) the
outlet volume flux in mL/s and (b) the average outlet velocity in cm/s.

2) The water jet in Fig. P3.40 strikes normal to a fixed plate. Neglect gravity and friction, and compute the
force F in newtons required to hold the plate fixed.

3) Water at 20°C flows through a 5-cm-diameter pipe which has a 180° vertical bend, as in Fig. P3.43. The
total length of pipe between flanges 1 and 2 is 75 cm. When the weight flow rate is 230 N/s, p1 = 165 kPa
and p2 = 134 kPa. Neglecting pipe weight, determine the total force which the flanges must withstand for
this flow.

4) A liquid jet of velocity Vj and area Aj strikes a single 180° bucket on a turbine wheel rotating at angular
velocity Ω, as in Fig. P3.51. Derive an expression for the power P delivered to this wheel at this instant as
a function of the system parameters. At what angular velocity is the maximum power delivered? How
would your analysis differ if there were many, many buckets on the wheel, so that the jet was continually
striking at least one bucket?

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5) For the pipe-flow-reducing section of Fig. P3.54, D1 = 8 cm, D2 = 5 cm, and p2 = 1 atm. All fluids are at 20°C.
If V1 = 5 m/s and the manometer reading is h = 58 cm, estimate the total force resisted by the flange bolts.

6) The water tank in Fig. P3.58 stands on a frictionless cart and feeds a jet of diameter 4 cm and velocity 8
m/s, which is deflected 60° by a vane. Compute the tension in the supporting cable.

7) Water at 20°C exits to the standard sea-level atmosphere through the split nozzle in Fig. P3.62. Duct areas
are A1 = 0.02 m2 and A2 = A3 = 0.008 m2. If p1 = 135 kPa (absolute) and the flow rate is Q2 = Q3 = 275 m3/h,
compute the force on the flange bolts at section 1.

8) Gravel is dumped from a hopper, at a rate of 650 N/s, onto a moving belt, as in Fig. P3.67. The gravel then
passes off the end of the belt. The drive wheels are 80 cm in diameter and rotate clockwise at 150 r/min.
Neglecting system friction and air drag, estimate the power required to drive this belt.

9) A weir is an obstruction in a channel flow which can be calibrated to measure the flow rate, as in Fig.
P5.32. The volume flow Q varies with gravity g, weir width b into the paper, and upstream water height H
above the weir crest. If it is known that Q is proportional to b, use the pi theorem to find a unique
functional relationship Q(g, b, H).

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10) A 3-m-high large tank is initially filled with water. The tank water surface is open to the atmosphere, and
a sharp-edged 10-cm-diameter orifice at the bottom drains to the atmosphere through a horizontal 80-m-
long pipe. If the total irreversible head loss of the system is determined to be 1.5 m, determine the initial
velocity of the water from the tank. Disregard the effect of the kinetic energy correction factors.

11) The water level in a tank is 15 m above the ground. A hose is connected to the bottom of the tank, and
the nozzle at the end of the hose is pointed straight up. The tank cover is airtight, and the air pressure
above the water surface is 3 atm gage. The system is at sea level. Determine the maximum height to which
the water stream could rise.

12) An oil pump is drawing 25 kW of electric power while pumping oil with ρ = 860 kg/m3 at a rate of 0.1 m3/s.
The inlet and outlet diameters of the pipe are 8 cm and 12 cm, respectively. If the pressure rise of oil in
the pump is measured to be 250 kPa and the motor efficiency is 90 percent, determine the mechanical
efficiency of the pump. Take the kinetic energy correction factor to be 1.05.

13) A fan is to be selected to ventilate a bathroom whose dimensions are 2 m x 3 m x 3 m. The air velocity is
not to exceed 8 m/s to minimize vibration and noise. The combined efficiency of the fan–motor unit to be
used can be taken to be 50 percent. If the fan is to replace the entire volume of air in 10 min, determine
(a) the wattage of the fan–motor unit to be purchased, (b) the diameter of the fan casing, and (c) the
pressure difference across the fan. Take the air density to be 1.25 kg/m 3 and disregard the effect of the
kinetic energy correction factors.

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14) Water flows at a rate of 20 L/s through a horizontal pipe whose diameter is constant at 3 cm. The pressure
drop across a valve in the pipe is measured to be 2 kPa. Determine the irreversible head loss of the valve,
and the useful pumping power needed to overcome the resulting pressure drop.

15) Water enters a hydraulic turbine through a 30-cm-diameter pipe at a rate of 0.6 m3/s and exits through a
25-cm-diameter pipe. The pressure drop in the turbine is measured by a mercury manometer to be 1.2
m. For a combined turbine–generator efficiency of 83 percent, determine the net electric power output.
Disregard the effect of the kinetic energy correction factors.

16) Water is pumped from a lower reservoir to a higher reservoir by a pump that provides 20 kW of useful
mechanical power to the water. The free surface of the upper reservoir is 45 m higher than the surface of
the lower reservoir. If the flow rate of water is measured to be 0.03 m3/s, determine the irreversible head
loss of the system and the lost mechanical power during this process.

17) A fireboat is to fight fires at coastal areas by drawing seawater with a density of 1030 kg/m3 through a 10-
cm-diameter pipe at a rate of 0.04 m3/s and discharging it through a hose nozzle with an exit diameter of
5 cm. The total irreversible head loss of the system is 3 m, and the position of the nozzle is 3 m above sea
level. For a pump efficiency of 70 percent, determine the required shaft power input to the pump and the
water discharge velocity.

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18) A 90° elbow in a horizontal pipe is used to direct water flow upward at a rate of 40 kg/s. The diameter of
the entire elbow is 10 cm. The elbow discharges water into the atmosphere, and thus the pressure at the
exit is the local atmospheric pressure. The elevation difference between the centers of the exit and the
inlet of the elbow is 50 cm. The weight of the elbow and the water in it is considered to be negligible.
Determine (a) the gage pressure at the center of the inlet of the elbow and (b) the anchoring force needed
to hold the elbow in place. Take the momentum-flux correction factor to be 1.03 at both the inlet and the
outlet.

19) Water accelerated by a nozzle to 35 m/s strikes the vertical back surface of a cart moving horizontally at a
constant velocity of 10 m/s in the flow direction. The mass flow rate of water through the stationary nozzle
is 30 kg/s. After the strike, the water stream splatters off in all directions in the plane of the back surface.
(a) Determine the force that needs to be applied by the brakes of the cart to prevent it from accelerating.
(b) If this force were used to generate power instead of wasting it on the brakes, determine the maximum
amount of power that could ideally be generated.

20) An unloaded helicopter of mass 12,000 kg hovers at sea level while it is being loaded. In the unloaded
hover mode, the blades rotate at 550 rpm. The horizontal blades above the helicopter cause a 18-m-
diameter air mass to move downward at an average velocity proportional to the over-head blade
rotational velocity (rpm). A load of 14,000 kg is loaded onto the helicopter, and the helicopter slowly rises.
Determine (a) the volumetric airflow rate downdraft that the helicopter generates during unloaded hover
and the required power input and (b) the rpm of the helicopter blades to hover with the 14,000-kg load
and the required power input. Take the density of atmospheric air to be 1.18 kg/m3. Assume air
approaches the blades from the top through a large area with negligible velocity and air is forced by the
blades to move down with a uniform velocity through an imaginary cylinder whose base is the blade span
area.

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21) Water enters vertically and steadily at a rate of 10 L/s into the sprinkler shown in figure. Both water jets
have a diameter of 1.2 cm. Disregarding any frictional effects, determine (a) the rotational speed of the
sprinkler in rpm and (b) the torque required to prevent the sprinkler from rotating.

22) A periodic Kármán vortex street is formed when a uniform stream flows over a circular cylinder. Use the
method of repeating variables to generate a dimensionless relationship for Kármán vortex shedding
frequency fk as a function of free-stream speed V, fluid density ρ, fluid viscosity μ, and cylinder diameter
D. Show all your work.

23) Consider a liquid in a cylindrical container in which both the container and the liquid are rotating as a rigid
body (solid-body rotation). The elevation difference h between the center of the liquid surface and the
rim of the liquid surface is a function of angular velocity v, fluid density ρ, gravitational acceleration g, and
radius R. Use the method of repeating variables to find a dimensionless relationship between the
parameters. Show all your work.

24) Establish the Reynolds number for a fluid flowing through the pipe in figure using dimensional analysis,
realizing that the flow is a function of the density ρ and viscosity μ of the fluid, along with its velocity V
and the pipe’s diameter D.

25) A student team is to design a human-powered submarine for a design competition. The overall length of
the prototype submarine is 4.85 m, and its student designers hope that it can travel fully submerged
through water at 0.440 m/s. The water is freshwater (a lake) at T = 15°C. The design team builds a one-
fifth scale model to test in their university’s wind tunnel. A shield surrounds the drag balance strut so that
the aerodynamic drag of the strut itself does not influence the measured drag. The air in the wind tunnel
is at 25°C and at one standard atmosphere pressure. At what air speed do they need to run the wind
tunnel in order to achieve similarity?