Mech 280, Final Exam: April 19th 2013

Name: Student number:

Exam duration 2.5 hours, closed book
Instructions:
1. Check that you have 14 pages and 5 questions. Answer all questions.
2. 2 double sided letter-sized sheets of notes are permitted.
3. You may use a non-programmable calculator.
4. No wireless communication devices are permitted.
5. Write your answers on the same sheet as the question.
6. Put your name and student number on the top of each sheet.
7. Write neatly and structure your answers in a clear way. State physical
assumptions that you make

Good luck

Pump chart for question 5:

Note: scale for NPSHrequired is on right-hand side of the above chart

Mech 280, Final Exam: April 19th 2013

Name: Student number:

Minor loss coefficients:

Other data:

 1 m3 = 264.172 US gallons;
 1 ft = 0.3048 m; 1 inch = 0.0254 m
 Patm = 101.325 kPa
 g = 9.81 m/s2.
 At 5ºC, water viscosity  =1.519  10-3 Pa.s; density  = 1000 kg/m3.
 Vapour pressure of water at 5ºC = 0.87 kPa.
 At 20ºC, water viscosity  =1.02  10-3 Pa.s; density  = 998 kg/m3.

Centroid and centroidal moments of inertia for some common shapes

Mech 280, Final Exam: April 19th 2013

Name: Student number:

Mech 280, Final Exam: April 19th 2013

Name: Student number:

Question 1. (20 marks)
Water at 20C is to be pumped from reservoir A to reservoir B. Both reservoirs are large, at the
same elevation (zA=zB=0m) and open to the atmosphere. The reservoirs are connected by two 25m
long cast iron pipes (=0.3mm) connected in parallel. The diameters of the 2 pipes are 3cm and
5cm. Water is pumped by a single 68% efficient pump unit that draws 7 kW of electric power
during operation, i.e. the relationship between the total flow rate pumped, Q, and the pump head
provided is:
ghpump
W elect,in  Q
 pump-motor
For this question you may assume that any minor losses and head loss in the pipes connecting the
reservoirs to the two 25m pipes may be considered negligible. You may also assume that the flow
in each pipe is turbulent and in the fully rough regime, where the friction factor is independent of
Re, given by the von Karman equation:
1   
 2 log 
f  3.7 D 
a) Derive expressions for the head loss along each pipe as a function of the flow rates through
each pipe.
b) Determine the total flow rate between the reservoirs, the flow rates and head loss through
each of the pipes.
c) Was the initial assumption of turbulent flow and fully rough regime valid?
Mech 280, Final Exam: April 19th 2013

Name: Student number:

Mech 280, Final Exam: April 19th 2013

Name: Student number:

Question 2. (20 marks)
a) A flat body of dimension L slides on top of a maple syrup bath at constant speed V (it does not
break the surface but “floats” along the top, in contact with the syrup).
(i) Use the Buckingham Pi theorem to derive a dimensionless expression for the force F that
resists the motion. You may assume that the force F depends only on V, L and the physical
properties of the syrup: , .
(ii) If the speed V were sufficiently low to be able to neglect inertial effects in the flow of syrup
under the body, how many experiments would be needed to determine your expression?
Explain your answer clearly.
b) An experimentally derived formula for the secretion rate of urine in mammals is given as:
V=pMq,
where
V = urine secretion rate, in ml/day;
M = mass of animal, in lb;
p = 33.63 (a dimensional constant);
q = 0.75 (a dimensionless constant).
(i) What are the dimensions of p and what is the value of p if we were to use SI units
throughout? (1 lb = 0.4536 kg)
(ii) How much urine does a 20kg racoon produce in a day (i.e. according to the formula).
Mech 280, Final Exam: April 19th 2013

Name: Student number:

Mech 280, Final Exam: April 19th 2013

Name: Student number:

Question 3. (20 marks)

A reducing elbow is used to deflect water flow

through an angle of 45 degrees, discharging water
into the atmosphere. The cross-sectional area of the
inflow is 150cm2 and the outflow is 25 cm2. The
elevation difference between inflow and outflow is
40cm and the mass of water in the elbow is 10kg.
You may take momentum and energy correction
factors to be 1 and assume the density of water to be
1000kg/m3. In the sketch, gravity acts downwards.

a) Assuming a steady flow, a mass flow rate of m =30kg/s, and ignoring wall shear stresses,
calculate the anchoring force required to keep the elbow stationary.
b) Suppose now that the reducing elbow is oriented so that the exit points at 45 degrees
downwards instead of upwards (or equivalently, gravity acts upwards in the sketch). If the
elbow is not attached to anything, can a 20kg boy holding the elbow prevent it from lifting
upwards?
Mech 280, Final Exam: April 19th 2013

Name: Student number:

Mech 280, Final Exam: April 19th 2013

Name: Student number:

Question 4. (20 marks)

A sluice gate, which controls the flow of water along a

channel by simply raising or lowering a vertical plate,
is commonly used in irrigation systems. Assume that
the flow is steady, incompressible, frictionless,
uniform and that wall shear forces at all the surfaces
are negligible. The flow channel is open to the
atmosphere above. You may take momentum and
energy correction factors to be 1 and assume the
density of water to be 1000kg/m3.

a) Assuming the width of the channel to be W and with the heights as shown, find expressions
for the flow rate through the sluice gate and the mean velocities V1 and V2, in terms of the
heights of fluid y1 and y2, as shown.
b) Define the hydraulic diameter and give expressions for the Reynolds number both upstream
and downstream of the sluice gate.
c) Derive an expression for the force F exerted on the vertical plate
Mech 280, Final Exam: April 19th 2013

Name: Student number:

Mech 280, Final Exam: April 19th 2013

Name: Student number:

Question 5. (20 marks)
You want to pump water at 5ºC through a 2 inch copper pipe (roughness 0.01mm) from a
reservoir to a swimming pool at Roberto Luongo’s cabin. You need to deliver a flow rate of
27.25m3/hr. The surface of the swimming pool is 10m above the surface of the reservoir. The
total length of pipe is 30m. The line runs horizontally from the reservoir for 20m before turning
vertically upwards. The pump is to be situated a distance xpump (m) along the horizontal section,
after the inlet. 3 x 90 degree elbows (screwed long radius) are used in the line, all situated after
the pump. Before the pump there is a 2 inch fully open flanged gate valve.

a) Calculate the total frictional head loss, the total pump head required and the shut-off
head.
b) Discuss which impeller diameter would you choose?
c) What is the maximum distance from the lake xpump, that the pump could be placed at,
while avoiding cavitation? Is there any risk of cavitation in this setup?
d) Suppose that the pump is only supplied with the 6.25 inch diameter impeller, but that
you may vary the rpm of the pump. How would you estimate the required rpm of the
pump in order to deliver 27.25 m3/hr?

Assumptions & useful data: You may assume the inlet and exit pressures are atmospheric. The
pump operates at 3500rpm (in parts a-c), with performance chart as shown on page 1 of the
exam. The inlet loss coefficient is 0.8 and the exit loss coefficient may be neglected. For other
minor losses see page 2 for coefficients. See the start of the exam for other data.
Mech 280, Final Exam: April 19th 2013

Name: Student number:

Mech 280, Final Exam: April 19th 2013

Name: Student number:

The End