DISCUSSION FORUM NO.

Name: Alfred E. Delos Santos_______________ Date:August 27, 2020

Course/Year/Block: BSChE 1-A_____________
Instructor: Engr. Lorenz E. Borromeo, AMIChemE

Problem:

1. The great Boston molasses flood occurred on January 15, 1919. In it, 2.3 million
gallons of crude molasses flowed from a 30-foot-high storage tank that ruptured, killing
21 people and injuring 150. The estimated specific gravity of crude molasses is 1.4.
What were the mass of molasses in the tank in pound mass and the pressure at the
bottom of the tank in psi? Give at least three possible causes of the tragedy.
2. In the movie The Drowning Pool, private detective Lew Harper (played by Paul
Newman) is trapped by the bad guy in a room containing a swimming pool. The room
may be considered rectangular, 5 meters wide by 15 meters long, with an open
skylight window 10 meters above the floor. There is a single entry to the room,
reached by a stairway: a locked 2-m high by 1-m wide door, whose bottom is 1 meter
above the floor. Harper knows that his enemy will return in eight hours and decides he
can escape by filling the room with water and floating up to the skylight. He plugs the
drain with his clothes, turns on the water valves, and puts his plan into action. Assume
that water enters the room at about 10 times the rate at which it enters an average
bathtub and that the door can withstand a maximum force of 4500 newtons.
Estimate:
a) whether the door will break before the room fills; and
b) whether Harper has time to escape if the door holds. State any assumptions
you make.

Preparation:

1. Given: V=2.3x106gallons ; h=30ft. ; SG=1.4

a) Mass of molasses
SG= density of substance (p)/density of water (p)
p=SG(p)
where as, density of water = 62.4 lbm/ft3(1 ft3/7.481 gal)=8.34lbm/gal
p=1.4(8.34lbm/gal)= 11.68lbm/gal
m=pV= 11.68lbm/gal (2.3x106gal)=26854800 lbm
b) Pressure at the bottom of the tank
Pg=pgh
Pg=SGpgh=1.4(62.4 lbm/ft2ft)( 32.17ft/s2)(30ft)(1lbf/32.17lbmft/s2)=2578.32lbf/ft2
(1ft2/144in2)= 17.91 lbf/in2 or psi
p=14.7 psi + 17.91 psi= 32.61 psi
c) Possible cause of the tragedy
i. The pressure was high that the tank can’t withstand on it.
ii. The molasses might cause the tank to erode causing to weakening the
material.
iii. Too much molasses is stored in the tank.
 2. Assuming the average bathtub holds 90 gallons and the bathtub dimension is 0.472m 3 and
will be full at approximately 10 minutes.
V=5m x 10m x 15m= 750m 3
Flow rate= 10x(0.472m3 / 600s)= 7.87x10-4m3/s

15m long a) F=PA

F=p(Ah)g
Where as,
5m wide p=997kg/m 3 density of
V=750m3 water
g=9.8m/s
h=7m
A=lxw=2mx1m=2m 2
10m=h-(2m+1m)
F=(997kg/m3)(7m)(2m2)(9.8m/s)
h=7m
10m high F=136788.4 kg m/s or N

Door will break since,

2m high
136788.4 N > 4500 N
1m high 1m wide

b) total volume (V)= flow rate (R)/time (t)

t=V/R= 750m3/7.87x10-4m3/s = 952986s or 265 hr

Since, the villain will back within 8 hours, the protagonist does not have enough
time to escape.

Results:

a) The door will break under the pressure of water.

b) It probably takes more than 8 hours to fill up the entire room of water.