Intermediate Fluid Dynamics– Course Syllabus

University of Utah
Mechanical Engineering Department

Class: ME EN 5700/6700
Fall 2023
3 credits hours – lecture
Prerequisites: Undergraduate fluid mechanics. ME EN 3700 or equivalent (e.g., CH EN 3353)

Instructor: Amirhossein (Amir) Arzani, PhD.

Office: WEB 3616
E-mail: Amir.Arzani@sci.utah.edu
Office Hours: Mon/Tue 3:30-4:30pm.

TA:
Matt Huckins
Email: u1344866@utah.edu
Office (just for office hours): MEK 2445
TA Office Hours: Thurs 3-4pm.

Link to lecture notes (updated in real-time):

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AhykNxG-_bqWhzNy3AwMW4Lf-Oxd

Course Overview:
This class will introduce students to a variety of higher-level topics in classical fluid mechanics and will provide
bridge between undergraduate fluid mechanics and more advanced fluid mechanics topics.

Course Objectives:
• Understanding basic descriptive terminology of fluid dynamics
• Understanding kinematics of fluid flow by connecting mathematics to flow visualization observations,
• Utilizing fundamentals of mathematics and physics to determine the governing equations of fluid
dynamics and interpret/analyze them,
• Determining important non-dimensional parameters in fluid flows and how these are used in scale
analysis and model testing,
• Gaining an ability to explain fluid motion through vorticity dynamics,
• Understanding the basic behavior and mathematical theory of boundary layers,
• Analyzing experimental/computational fluid flow data and comparing it to theory, and
• Using MATLAB or Python to solve fluid dynamics problems and visualize results.

Course Student Learning Outcomes:

Students will learn how solve fluid dynamics problems by blending mathematical and physical analysis. They
will learn how to simplify fluid dynamics problems to solve them and analyze fluid flow data.
Grading System:

Homeworks 20%
Midterm exam 25%
Final exam 30%
Labs/project 25%
Total 100%

Readings and Materials:

Textbook (required for reading assignments):

S. P.K. Kundu, I. M. Cohen, and D. R. Dowling, Fluid Mechanics. Elsevior (6th edition, 2016)

The pdf version of the book can be downloaded for free with University of Utah internet:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780124059351/fluid-mechanics

Supporting Texts:
1- R. L. Panton, Incompressible Flow, 3rd or 4th ed, Wiley.
Full text can be accessed and downloaded through University of Utah Library https://lib.utah.edu/
2- D. J. Tritton, Physical Fluid Dynamics, 2nd ed, Oxford.
More focused on flow physics rather than math.
3- E. Guyon, Physical Hydrodynamics, 2nd ed, Oxford.
Full text can be accessed and downloaded through University of Utah Library https://lib.utah.edu/
4- J. Powers, Mechanics of Fluids, 1st ed, Cambridge
A more detailed mathematical treatment of the subject.
5- G. K. Batchelor, An Introduction to Fluid Dynamics, 2nd ed, Cambridge
This is probably one of the most advanced fluid dynamics books.
6- R. Aris, Vectors, Tensors and the Basic Equations of Fluid Mechanics, Dover
For Math lovers (just focuses on mathematics)!

Undergraduate Texts:
If at any time during the course you feel that you need to review your undergraduate fluid mechanics material, I
recommend the widely popular “Fox & McDonald”, “Munson”, or “White” Fluid Mechanics textbooks.

Course Topics Covered:

1. Governing Equations of Fluid Motion and Mathematics
a. Review of important basic concepts (definition of a Fluid, Eulerian vs. Lagrangian, etc) – Kundu
Chap. 1, Chap. 3
b. Introduction to Cartesian tensors and index notation - Ch. 2- Kundu
c. Review of some important mathematical theorems (Stokes, Gauss, Leibniz, etc.) – Kundu Ch. 2
d. Kinematics, Kundu Chap. 3
 e. Derivation of the differential form of conservation of mass, momentum and energy equations –
Kundu Ch. 4.
f. Simplification of equations (including developing the mechanical energy equation) and
interpretation of various terms.
2. Scaling and Scale Analysis (undergraduate fluid mechanics textbooks and handouts)
a. Non-dimensionalizing the governing equations of motion
b. Quick review of basic dimensional analysis concepts including Buckingham Pi.
c. Quick review of similitude
d. Scale Analysis

3. Laminar Boundary Layers (Ch. 10 Kundu)

a. Boundary layer equations
b. Introduction to combination of variables - Blasius Solution
c. Advanced topics in boundary layers.

4. Introduction to Vorticity Dynamics (Ch. 5 Kundu)

a. Introduction basic vorticity concepts
b. Derivation of the vorticity transport equation
c. Kelvin’s circulation theorem
d. Law of Biot and Savart

5. Introduction to Turbulence (Ch. 12 Kundu)

a. Basic concepts, description and definitions
b. Derivation of time averaged equations
c. Discussion of stresses and closure problem

6. Selected advanced topics (time permitting!)

Homework:
Regular homework assignments will be posted on Canvas. Homework is expected to be uploaded onto Canvas
by the due date. Late homework will not be accepted (except with CDA accommodation).

Reading Assignments
Each lecture comes with required reading assignments. The reading assignments are listed in the tentative
schedule attached to the syllabus. You are required to do those readings after each lecture. The reading
assignments will: 1- help you further comprehend the material discussed in the lecture, 2- read about some of the
details and sub-topics that we do not cover in lecture but are of significance, 3- study sample solved problems.

Laboratory:
There will be a total of three introductory labs as part of the class.

Particle image velocimetry (PIV) lab: One lab is an introduction to PIV and will meet at Building 60. The TA
will run this lab and will show you how to use PIV to experimentally measure fluid flow velocity.

Experimental flow visualization lab: One lab is directed experiments (demos) and will meet in the undergraduate
TFES lab in MEB. The TA will run this lab and will show you how to setup your experiments for your final
project.
ParaView virtual lab: ParaView is a powerful and popular open-source data analysis/visualization lab. I will
provided pre-recorded tutorials on how to use ParaView for fluid flow data analysis. I will also hold one or two
online QA sessions were you will have the opportunity to ask your questions.

Attendance for all labs is mandatory! For ParaView, recordings will be available but for the experimental lab
accommodations cannot be made.

Final Projects:
Based on the above two labs and student interests, the students will have the option to select two tracks for their
final project:

1- Experimental project: It is an open-ended final project, which requires students to design an

experiment, conduct the experiment in the lab, analyze data, and present results.
2- Computer data analysis/visualization project: Computational data will be provided to students (or
students can propose to use their own data with instructor’s approval). The students will then need to
design a virtual experiment in ParaView, where they extract data, process data, and visualize the results.

A short (5-10 minute) YouTube video is a required product for either tracks. More description about the final
project will be provided on Canvas.

Class Policies:
No late HW or late project will be accepted (Expect with CDA accommodation). Attendance for the class is
mandatory and students should not arrive late.

Cheating:
You are allowed to cooperate on homework by sharing ideas and methods. Copying will not be tolerated.
Submitted work copied from others will be considered academic misconduct and will be reported to the appropriate
University of Utah entities.

Detailed course schedule:

See attached page.
 Intermediate Fluid Dynamics (ME EN 5700/6700)
Course Schedule, Fall 2023, All dates are tentative and subject to change!
Week Class Day Date Lecture Topics Textbook (6th ed) reading Lab/Projects
1 M 21-Aug Intro, Definitions; Viscosity; Continuum Hypothesis 1.1-1.10
1 2 W 23-Aug Math Review; Lagrangian vs. Eulerian; Material Derivative 3.1-3.2, 2.12, 2.13
3 F 25-Aug Introduction to Index Notation 2.1-2.11
4 M 28-Aug Introduction to Index Notation continued 2.1-2.11
2 5 W 30-Aug Streamlines; Streaklines; Pathlines 3.3
6 F 1-Sep Material Line Stretching; Strain Rate Tensor 3.4
M 4-Sep Labor Day
3 7 W 6-Sep Vorticity and Circulation, Rotation Tensor 3.4
8 F 8-Sep Examples: Parallel and Vortex Flows from a Kinematic Perspective 3.5
9 M 11-Sep More about kinematics; RTT review handout and 3.6
4 10 W 13-Sep Conservartion of mass 4.1-4.2
11 F 15-Sep Streamfunction; Stress tensor 4.3, 2.4, 2.6
12 M 18-Sep Newton's 2nd Law, Linear Momentum; Boundary Conditions 4.4, 4.10
5 13 W 20-Sep Constitutive Law for Newtonian Fluid 4.5
14 F 22-Sep Navier-Stokes Equation and its different forms 4.6, 9.6
15 M 25-Sep Exact Solutions of the Navier-Stokes Equation: Couette Flow and Poiseuille Flow 9.1-9.2
6 16 W 27-Sep Exact Solutions of the Navier-Stokes Equation: More advanced solutions 9.4-9.6
17 F 29-Sep Exact Solutions of the Navier-Stokes Equation: More advanced solutions 9.4-9.6
18 M 2-Oct First Law of Thermodynamics: Thermal Energy Equation 4.8
7 19 W 4-Oct Applications of the Energy Equation 4.8-4.9
20 F 6-Oct Applications of the Energy Equation 4.8-4.9 ParaView Introduction
22 M 9-Oct FALL BREAK Sample exam posted
8 23 W 11-Oct FALL BREAK
24 F 13-Oct FALL BREAK
25 M 16-Oct Exam Review (sample exam)
9 26 W 18-Oct Midterm Exam
27 F 20-Oct Nondimensionalization of Governing Equations and Nondimensional Parameters 4.11 and undergrad textbooks Lab 1 - PIV Lab (Bld 60)
28 M 23-Oct Significance of Parameters; Scale Analysis 4.11, handout ParaView QA
10 29 W 25-Oct Review of Buckingham's Pi Theorem and Similarity 1.11 and undergrad textbooks Final project introduced
30 F 27-Oct Boundary Layer Approximation and Governing Equations 10.1
31 M 30-Oct Boundary Layer Thickness; Momentum Thickness; Skin Friction 10.2
11 32 W 1-Nov Blasius Solution of Flow Along a Flat Plate 10.3 Lab 2 - Demos (MEB blg TFES lab)
33 F 3-Nov Blasius Solution of Flow Along a Flat Plate 10.3 Lab 1 PIV results due
34 M 6-Nov Von Karman momentum integral equation 10.5
12 35 W 8-Nov Von Karman momentum integral equation cotinued 10.5
36 F 10-Nov Falkner-Skan Solution for Laminar Boundary Layers with Non-zero Pressure Gradient 10.4 Lab 2 report due
37 M 13-Nov Effect of Pressure Gradient; Separation 10.7
38 W 15-Nov More on boundary layers, Intro to vorticity, link to WSS/pressure 10.8, 10.11, 5.1, 3.5
13
YouTube Experiment (in Fluids
Kelvin's Circulation Theorem
39 F 17-Nov 5.2 Lab)
40 M 20-Nov TA (APS DFD conference) TA: vorticity video + QA for final projects
14 41 W 22-Nov Vorticity Transport Equation 5.3
42 F 24-Nov Thanksgiving Holiday
43 M 27-Nov Vorticity Transport Equation cotinued 5.4-5.5 ParaView QA
15 44 W 29-Nov Intro to Turbulence; Time Averages; Correlations 12.1-12.4
F 1-Dec Averaged Equations of Motion 12.5-12.6
43 M 4-Dec Kinetic Energy Budget of Turbulent Flow 12.7
15 44 W 6-Dec Turbulence in Wall-Bounded Flows (time-permitting) 12.9
Sample final exam posted

16 12-Dec Comprehensive Final Exam (1:00 - 3:00pm) YouTube Video Due

Tue