The aim of the course is to extend the students knowledge of basic fluid dynamics, to introduce the student to solution methodologies including Computational Fluid Dynamics, and to relate all this to design methods for common aerodynamic and hydraulic systems. At the end of the course the student should be able to
Explain basic physical principles of fluid flow and illustrate with
reference to important building-block flows.
Identify the various terms in the Navier-Stokes equations, and apply them
to derive solutions for particular flow problems.
| Compute basic parameters of engineering systems (eg. lift of aerofoils,
efficiency of pumps).
| Combine solution techniques (experimental, analytical and computational)
to solve engineering problems. | |
Both groups of students will sit a 1 hour test at the end of the autumn term. This will assess their abilities with basic computations such as evaluating lift and drag, and will comprise 15% of the marks available.
70% of the marks will be awarded on the basis of a 2 hour exam at the end of the semester. This will stress understanding of the subject and problem solving abilities. The exam will be divided into sections A and B, with section B including material from the advanced section of the course. B.Eng students will have a free choice of questions to answer on the exam paper. M.Eng students are constrained to attempt at least 2 questions from section B of the exam.
BEng students (SOE3152) follow the core sylabus, divided into A:Threshold level (left column) and B:Good to Excellent level (right column).
MEng students (SOE3153) are also required to learn the material in the Advanced sylabus. For these students the material in the Advanced sylabus represents the A:Threshold level for the MEng course.
Core | Advanced | ||
---|---|---|---|
Foundations of Fluid Mechanics | Concept of fluid, viscosity, ideal/laminar /turbulent flow. Bernoulli (revision) | Balance equations in integral formulation, von Karman integral method. Analytic and computational (CFD) solution. Navier-Stokes equations in 2d cartesian coordinates | Navier-Stokes equations in 3d vector notation. Derivation of NSE |
Importance of dimensionless groups (Re, Fr) in fluid flow | Use of dimensional analysis in experiment and theory | ||
Turbulence and external flows | Characteristics of laminar flow over a flat plate | Outline of boundary layer flow. | Blasius solution of laminar boundary layer |
Physical picture of turbulence and its engineering importance | Energy spectrum. Concept of time averaging. Turbulent kinetic energy and length scales. Turbulence modelling | Prandtl mixing length model of turbulence. k-epsilon turbulence model in CFD. | |
Turbulent boundary layer, structure of turbulent flow over flat plate | Law of the wall | ||
External turbulent flows around cylinders and spheres. Drag coefficients | Control of turbulent boundary layers, swing in cricket balls | ||
Engineering applications of fluid mechanics | Internal turbulent flows in pipes | Frictional power loss in pipes | Pipe networks. Non-circular pipes. Water hammer |
Impellers, axial/centrifugal types. Inlet/outlet triangles. Efficiency issues | Euler analysis of impellers. Pump/pipework systems | ||
Physics of lift and aerofoils. Coefficients of Lift and Drag | Elementary potential flow analysis of lift. Computer modelling of aerofoils | Further study of potential flow theory |