DIGITIZED BY: ADITYA KAPOOR (ME 14203003), ME Water Resources Engineering

PEC University of Technology, Chandigarh

EXPERIMENT NO. 2

NAME OF EXPERIMENT: - Stokes law

AIM OF EXPERIMENT: - Verification of Stokes law.

APPARATUS:- stop watch, cylinder containing liquid, different sizes of spheres of different
materials, scale, weighing balance, and a viscometer.

THEORY: - For a sphere falling in a fluid under constant velocity vo, the drag force exerted by
the liquid is equal to the submerged weight of the sphere.
i.e.

F=

d3

d2

(s f ) = CD

f vo 2

(1)

In which s & f are specific weights of the material and fluid respectively, f is mass density
of fluid material and d is diameter of the sphere.
In the experimental setup used, the fall velocity is affected by the proximity of the walls of
cylinder and the following correction may be applied to obtain the fall velocity corresponding
to infinite extent of the fluid.
d

vo = vo (1 + 2.4 )
b

Where vo =observed flow velocity. When the Reynoldss number is smaller than 0.2, the
inertial forces can be completely neglected, and it can be shown that the drag force F is given
by:

F = 3dvo

(2)

Combining equation (1) and (2) the Stokes law can be written as:

CD =
Where Re

vo d

24
Re

, equation (3) is valid upto Re = 0.2 approximately.

PROCEDURE:-

DIGITIZED BY: ADITYA KAPOOR (ME 14203003), ME Water Resources Engineering

PEC University of Technology, Chandigarh

(3)

DIGITIZED BY: ADITYA KAPOOR (ME 14203003), ME Water Resources Engineering

PEC University of Technology, Chandigarh

1. Mark a certain height of liquid column for fall velocity observations, slightly below free
surface, (say point, P).
2. Measure the diameter and weight of the various sphere to be used.
3. Release the sphere gently at the liquid surface in the cylinder and note the time of fall
over the marked distance (PQ = h).
4. Note the temperature of liquid.
5. At least 8 different diameters of spheres must be used.
6. Measure the viscosity of the liquid.
7. Measure the inner dimensions of the container.

OBSERVATIONS:-

Temperature = ..oc.
Height of fall (h) = ..cm
Kinematic viscosity for liquid used.
Smaller dimension of the container (D) = ..cm
h
T
d
Vo = ( )
(sec)
(m)
t
(m/s)

S. No.

Vo
(m/s)

Wt. of Kg/m3
sphere
(Kg)

CD
from
eq. (1)

vo d CD
from

1
2
3
4
5
6

RESULTS:1. Prepare a plot of CD obtained from Eq. (1) versus Re on a log-log paper.
2. Also plot CD (Eq. 3) Vs. Re

DISCUSSIONS:-

DIGITIZED BY: ADITYA KAPOOR (ME 14203003), ME Water Resources Engineering

PEC University of Technology, Chandigarh

eq. (3)