UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI

FIRST SEMESTER EXAMINATIONS 2022

THIRD YEAR EXAMINATIONS FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF

SCIENCE IN MECHANICAL AND MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING

FME/FPE231/FME331: FLUID MECHANICS I

DATE: TIME:2HRS

INSTRUCTIONS

1. This paper contains FIVE Questions

2. Attempt any THREE questions
3. Where necessary take density of water as 1000kg/m3 and gravitational
acceleration as 9.81m/s2
4. IGG for a circle 0.25 π R4, Semi circle 0.1102 R4, where R is the radius

Question ONE

(a) Define the following terms as applied to fluid flow.

(i) Mass flow rate (1.5 marks)
(ii) Streamline (1.5 marks)
(iii) Streak line (1.5marks)
(iv) Steady uniform flow (1.5marks)
(v) Unsteady non uniform flow (1.5marks)
(b) The velocity distribution for laminar flow of a liquid of mass density ρ flowings in a
circular pipe is given by 𝑢 = 2𝑈(1 − 𝑟 2 /𝑅 2 ) where u is the velocity at a radius r
while U and R are the mean velocity and radius of the pipe respectively. Give
expressions for the;
(i) Total mass flow rate through the pipe. (2 marks)
(ii) Maximum velocity (1.5 marks)
(iii) For the above laminar flow of water in a pipe of radius 10cm, 9536 litres were
collected in a bucket in 90 seconds, determine the mean velocity, maximum
velocity and Radius at which the velocity is same as mean velocity.(5 marks)
(c) A spherical ball 1.5m diameter is completely immersed in water and chained at the
bottom, the chain is found to have a tension of 5.3KN.
(i) State the reason for the chain to be under tension. (1 mark)
(ii) Determine the weight of the ball in air once removed from water. (3 marks)

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Question TWO

(a) Define the following terms and give their respective S.I units and dimensions.
(i) Surface Tension (2 marks)
(ii) Specific weight (2 marks)
(iii) Dynamic viscosity (2 marks)
(iv) Bulk modulus (2 marks)
(b) From first principles derive an expression for the capillary rise in a thin glass tube open
at both ends dipped in a liquid of specific weight w. (5 marks)
(c) A thin rectangular plate of 2mm thickness is 3m wide and 8m long, it is towed
lengthwise in a vertical direction between two parallel walls 16mm apart containing
oil of viscosity 0.02 Pa s. If the plate is 6mm from one wall and towing is done such
that it is parallel to the walls, determine the force and power required to tow the plate
at a constant speed of 4m/s. (7 marks)

Question THREE

(a) A cylindrical tank of diameter 60cm and height 0.8m is open at the top and filled with
water a depth of 65cm from the bottom. It is given an horizontal acceleration while its
axis remains vertical. Determine the acceleration required for the water to just start
spilling. ( 4marks)
(b) If the horizontal acceleration is stopped and the tank is spun about it central vertical
axis, show that the water surface takes the form of a paraboloid (6marks)
(c)
(i) Determine the angular speed when water just starts spilling. (3 marks)
(ii) Speed at which the centre bottom is just exposed and amount of liquid lost.
(3 marks)
(iii) Speed when a circle of radius 12cm of the tank bottom is exposed. (4 marks)

Question FOUR

(a) A plane rectangular surface of area A is totally immersed in a liquid of density ρ and
is inclined at an angle ϴ to the water surface. From first principles determine the
resultant force acting on one side of the plane surface and hence the depth of the centre
of pressure, indicate any assumptions you make. (10 marks)
(b) A semicircular gate having a radius of 1.2m and weighing 12KN can swing about its
diameter which is kept horizontal. tThe water surface on one side of the gate is 5m
above the diameter. Determine the minimum force required to keep the gate closed if
the gate lies in a plane making 30 degrees with the horizontal water surface. Centre of
gravity from the diameter is 4R/3π where R is the radius. (10 marks)

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Question FIVE

(a)
(i) Define the term centre of pressure for a surface totally immersed in a liquid and
state the conditions when it coincides with the centroid of immersed surface.
(3marks)
(ii) A Circle of radius R is totally immersed in a liquid such that the depth of the
circumference varies from zero to half the circle radius, determine the depth of
centre of pressure. (3 marks)

(b) With aid of a sketch describe briefly how you can use an inverted U tube manometer
to measure the pressure difference between two points in a pipeline conveying oil,
indicate all your assumptions. (6 marks)

(c) (i) A tank has a rectangular base 6m × 4m and a height of 10m. It is filled with
water to a height of 6m. Determine the total force acting on the 4m × 10m vertical
side of the tank. (3 marks)
(ii) Determine the force acting on the 6×10 side if oil of specific gravity 0.8 is
slowly added to fill the tank completely. (5 marks)

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4.3 A nozzle is formed so that its cross-sectional area converges linearly along its length. The inside diameters are 75 mm
and 25 mm at inlet and exit and the length of the nozzle is 300 mm. What is the convective acceleration at a section
halfway along the length of the nozzle if the discharge is constant at 0.014 m3 s−1 ? [337.94 ms−2 ]