IA: 1P1: Thermofluid Mechanics Flashcards
(224 cards)
What is the technical definition of a fluid?
A fluid is a substance which when at rest, cannot sustain shear stress. Shear stresses can only be sustained in a fluid when relative motion between fluid particles takes place. Solids on the other hand, are always capable of sustaining shear stresses.
When do fluids and solids act the same and when do they act differently?
- They act the same way when subjected to a uniform pressure
- They act differently when subjected to shear forces
What is Pascal’s law?
For a fluid at rest, the absence of shear stresses means that:
* Pressure acts uniformly in all directions
* Pressure forces act normal to surfaces
* Pressure force = pressure x area
Prove Pascal’s law by using a small element of fluid at rest:
How does pressure vary with depth in a fluid of uniform density?
Linearly
Prove pressure varys linearly with depth for a fluid of uniform density
For a fluid of constant density, what is the pressure at a depth h?
p = pₐ + ρgh
What is true for all pointas at an equal depth in a fluid?
The pressure is the same. They all have the same relative difference in height to the free surface at atmospheric pressure, pₐ, and so they have the same pressure.
What is a manometer?
A U shaped column of fluid that is connected to an unknown pressure pₘ (in air) at one end and the other is connected to a known pressure (in the below example it is open to the atmosphere). Inside the tube there is a denser fluid (usually water or mercury). The difference in height, h, can be used to determine the pressure difference.
Derive the expression for pₘ?
pₘ = ρₗgh + pₐ
What is a gauge pressure?
The pressure relative to the atmosphere
What is a barometer?
A long tube which is closed at one end and open at the other. It is filled with a fluid (usually mercury) and then inverted. The height of the column indicates atmospheric pressure. pₐ = ρ(Hg)gh
What is archimedes’ principle?
A body wholly or partially submerged in fluid receives an upthrust equal to the weight of fluid it displaces
Prove archimedes’ principle:
How can you calculate the force acting on a submerged vertical plane?
Derive the expression
Force = average pressure x area
How can you calculate the force acting on a submerged plane surface?
Derive the expressions
The total force on a plate of general shape submerged in a fluid is calculated by integrating the forces along the surface of the plate.
For a submerged plane surface, what can be said about the horizontal component of the force acting on it?
It is the same as that on a vertical plane with the same projected area. Therefore for the horizontal component, the shape does not matter as long as the projected area is the same. However, the shape does matter for the vertical component.
For a submerged plane, how can you determine the point of action of the equivalent net force (the centre of pressure)?
The centre of pressure is found by integrating the moments acting on the surface to find the moment arm needed to balance the net force.
For a vertical submerged plane, where is the centre of pressure (where h is the length submerged below the surface)?
2h/3 below the surface
What is a streamline?
Streamlines are curves which are in line with the velocity vectors at each point in the flow, the velocity tangential the streamline (vₛ) is |v| and the velocity normal to the streamline (vₙ) is 0:
* No mass can cross a streamline
* Streamlines cannot cross
* Streamlines cannot randomly stop in a flow
* In general streamlines move closer together in regions of high flow velocity and further apart in regions of low velocity
Why can’t streamline cross?
Because at any given point, the flow cannot have two different velocities at the same time.
What is a stagnation point?
A point on the surface of an object where the flow velocity is zero:
* Flow velocity = 0
* Every flow with a body has at least one
What is flow separation?
Streamlines will usually follow the surface of an object. However, flows will separate from the surface when they cannot follow irs curvature or if the pressure gradients are too large.
What is a steady flow?
In steady flow, the trajectories of particles passing through each point in space do not change with time