FLUID MECHANICS

Problem Sheet No. 3

1. A hypothetical velocity distribution in a pipe has a maximum velocity of Vmax at the center and a
minimum velocity of 0.7Vmax at the wall. If the velocity is linearly distributed from the center to
the wall, What is ? What is the mean velocity in terms of Vmax? (Ans: 1.022;, 0.8Vmax)
2. Calculate  for the velocity distribution in a pipe as shown in Fig. 1.
(Ans: 2.7)
3. An approximate equation for the velocity distribution in a pipe with
n
V y
turbulent flow is    where Vmax is the centerline velocity, y is Fig. 1
Vmax  r0 
the distance from the wall of the pipe, r0 is the radius of the pipe, and n is an exponent that
1 1
depends on the Reynolds number and varies between and for most applications. Derive a
6 8
1
formula for  as a function of n. What is  if n  ? {Ans. , 1.078}
6
4. An approximate equation for the velocity distribution in a rectangular channel with turbulent flow is
n
V  y
  where Vmax is the velocity at the surface, y is the distance from the floor of the
V max  d 
1 1
channel, d is the depth of the flow, and n is an exponent that varies from about to
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depending on the Reynolds number. Derive a formula for  as a function of n. What is the value
1
of  for n  ? {Ans.  
n  13 , 1.045}
7 3n  1
5. Water is draining from tank A to tank B. The elevation difference
between the two tanks is 10 m. The pipe connecting the two tanks
has a sudden expansion as shown in Fig. 2. The cross-sectional area
of the pipe from A is 10 cm2, and the area of the pipe into B is 20
cm2. Assume the head loss in the system consists only of that due to
Fig. 2
the sudden expansion section and the loss due to flow into tank B.
Find the discharge between the two tanks. {Ans. 0.0198 m 3/s}
6. Water flows in the bend shown in Fig. 3 Fig. 3
at a rate of 5 m3/s, and the pressure at the
inlet is 650 kPa. If the head loss in the
bend is 10 m, what will be the pressure at
the outlet of the bend? Also estimate the
force of the anchor block on the bend in
the x direction required to hold the bend
in place. (Ans: 826.7 kPa; –592.7 kN)
7. A 40-cm pipe abruptly expands to a 60-
cm size. These pipes are horizontal, and
the discharge of water from the smaller
size to the larger is 1.0 m3/s. What horizontal force is required to hold the transition in place if the
pressure in the 40-cm pipe is 70 kPa gage? Also, what is the head loss? (Ans: 11 kN; 0.997 m)

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8. What power is required to pump water at a
rate of 3 m3/s from the lower to the upper Fig. 4
reservoir shown in Fig. 4? Assume the pipe
 L  V 
2
head loss is given by h L  0.018  
 D  2 g 
where L is the length of pipe, D is the pipe
diameter, and V is the velocity in the pipe.
The water tempertaure is 10C, the water
surface elevation in the lower reservoir is 150 m, and the surface elevation in the upper reservoir is
250 m. The pump elevation is 100 m, L1 = 100 m, L2 = 1000 m, D1 = 1 m, and D2 = 50 cm.
Assume the pump and motor efficiency is 74%. In your solution, include the head loss at the
pipe outlet and sketch the HGL and the EGL. (Ans: 21.54 MW)
9. An engineer is designing a subsonic wind tunnel as Fig. 5
shown in Fig. 5. The test section is to have a cross-
sectional area of 4 m2 and an air speed of 60 m/s. The
air density is 1.2 kg/m3. The area of the tunnel exit is
10 m2. The head loss through the tunnel is given by
 VT2 
h L  0.02   , where VT is the airspeed in the test

 2 g 
section. Calculate the power needed to operate the wind Fig. 6
tunnel. Assume negligible energy loss for the flow
approaching the tunnel in region A, and assume
atmospheric pressure at the outlet section of the tunnel.
(Ans: 93.3 kW)
10. Determine the discharge in the pipe and the pressure at
point B shown in Fig. 6. Neglect head losses.
{Ans. 0.311 m3/s; 11.6 kPa}
11. For the system shown in Fig. 7
a. What is the flow direction?
b. What kind of machine is at A?
c. Do you think both pipes, AB and AC, are the same diameter?
d. Sketch in the EGL for the system.
e. Is there a vacuum at any point or region of the pipes? If so, identify the location.

Fig. 7

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12. The HGL and the EGL for a pipeline are shown in Fig. 8.
a. Indicate which is the HGL and which is the EGL.
b. Are all pipes the same size? If not, which is the smallest?
c. Is there any region in the pipes where the pressure is below atmospheric pressure? If so, where?
d. Where is the point of maximum pressure in the system?
e. Where is the point of minimum pressure in the system?
f. What do you think is located at the end of the pipe at point E?
g. Is the pressure in the air in the tank above or below atmospheric pressure?
h. What do you think is located at point B?

Fig. 8

13. Water flows from reservoir A to reservoir B shown in Fig. 9. The water temperature in the system
is 10C, the pipe diameter D is 1 m, and the pipe length is 300 m. If H = 16 m, h = 2 m, and the
 L  V 
2
pipe head loss is given by h L  0.01   , where V is the velocity in the pipe, what will be
 D  2 g 
the discharge in the pipe? In your solution, include the head loss at the pipe outlet, and also sketch
the HGL and the EGL. What will be the pressure at point P halfway between the two reservoirs?
{Ans. 6.96 m3/s; 78.48 kPa}

Fig. 9

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