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Introduction to Fluid Mechanics

Assignment- Week 1
TYPE OF QUESTION: MCQ/MSQ
Number of questions: 10 Total mark: 10 X 1 = 10
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QUESTION 1:
1. In fluid mechanics we often use the concept the control volume to derive the conservation
equations. What among of the below statement about the control volume is true?

(a) It is the other name of a closed system (also known as a control mass) and consists of
a fixed amount of mass, and no mass can cross its boundary.
(b) Without any loss of generality, we can call it an isolated system.
(c) Both mass and energy can cross the boundary (the control surface) of a control
volume.
(d) None of the above.
Correct Answer: c

Detailed Solution:

1. An open system, or a control volume, as it is often called, is a selected region in space. It

usually encloses a device that involves mass flow such as a compressor, turbine, or
nozzle. Flow through these devices is best studied by selecting the region within the
device as the control volume. Both mass and energy can cross the boundary (the control
surface) of a control volume. A large number of engineering problems involve mass flow
in and out of an open system and, therefore, are modeled as control volumes. A water
heater, a car radiator, a turbine, and a compressor all involve mass flow and should be
analyzed as control volumes (open systems) instead of as control masses (closed
systems). In general, any arbitrary region in space can be selected as a control volume.
There are no concrete rules for the selection of control volumes, but a wise choice
certainly makes the analysis much easier. If we were to analyze the flow of air through a
nozzle, for example, a good choice for the control volume would be the region within the
nozzle, or perhaps surrounding the entire nozzle.
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Systems may be considered to be closed or open, depending on whether a fixed

mass or a volume in space is chosen for study. A closed system (also known as a control
mass or simply a system when the context makes it clear) consists of a fixed amount of
mass, and no mass can cross its boundary. But energy, in the form of heat or work, can
cross the boundary, and the volume of a closed system does not have to be fixed. If, as a
special case, even energy is not allowed to cross the boundary, that system is called an
isolated system.
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QUESTION 2:
Continuum equations with the classical boundary conditions of no relative slip between the fluid
and the solid become invalid under many circumstances including small-scale flows of
gaseous substances. For a specific case where the representative system length scale is
known to be ~ 1cm while the molecular mean free path remains in the order of ~ 107 m ,
which is the most appropriate statement
(a) The flow domain can be treated as a continuum and no-slip condition can be applied.
(b) The flow domain can be treated as a continuum but no-slip condition cannot be applied.
(c) The flow domain cannot be treated as a continuum but no-slip condition can be applied.
(d) One cannot comment based on the above information.
Correct Answer: a

Detailed Solution:

2. Knudsen number ( Kn ) is an indicator of the degree of rarefaction of the system, which

determines the extent of deviation from possible continuum behavior. For 0  Kn  0.01 ,
the flow domain can be treated as a continuum, in which the continuum equations with
the classical boundary conditions of no relative slip between the fluid and the solid
boundary remains applicable. The range 0.01  Kn  0.1 is known as the slip flow regime,
over which the no-slip boundary conditions becomes invalid, although continuum can
still be used for characterizing the bulk flow. When 0.1  Kn  10 , the continuum
hypothesis progressively ceases to work altogether, thereby necessitating a shift from the
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continuum-bases analysis to particle based analysis. When Kn  0.01 , the flow becomes
free molecular in nature.
 107
Here Kn    105 . Thus the flow domain can be treated as a continuum and no-slip
L 102
is valid.
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QUESTION 3:
Which of the following statement about the mechanical pressure on a fluid element is correct?
(a) It is a tensor or order zero and also depends on the orientation of the surface on which it
acts.
(b) It is a tensor or order zero and thus does not depend on the orientation of the surface on
which it acts.
(c) It is a vector and depends on the orientation of the surface on which it acts.
(d) It is a 2nd order tensor and depends on the orientation of the surface on which it acts.
Correct Answer: b

Detailed Solution:

Mechanical pressure is a tensor of order zero and thus does not depend on the orientation of the
surface on which it acts.

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QUESTION 4:
What among the below statements is true for the mechanical ( pm ) and thermodynamic
pressure ( pth ) ?

(a) A pressure sensor records pth . However for most of the practical engineering purposes the
system at the intermediate states of a process gets enough opportunity to attain equilibrium.
Thus both pth and pm are equivalent in these cases.

(b) pm is an invariant quantity i.e. does not depend on the coordinate system used.
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(c) pth is the average mechanical pressure exerted at a point in the fluid but pm is defined as
the force exerted on container walls as fluid molecules coincide with it during their random
movement.
(d) Both (a) and (b) are correct.
Correct Answer: d

Detailed Solution:

A pressure sensor records pth . However for most of the practical engineering purposes the
system at the intermediate states of a process gets enough opportunity to attain equilibrium. Thus
both pth and pm are equivalent in these cases. Also pm is an invariant quantity i.e. does not
depend on the coordinate system used.

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QUESTION 5:
The components in a stress tensor defining stress at a point in three dimensions can be expressed
in the form of a matrix. The number of independent components in that matrix gets reduced if
there is no body couple in the fluid element. What among the below comments about that matrix
is true?
(a) It is a 3x1 matrix with 2 independent components when body couple is absent.
(b) It has 6 independent components without body couple and increases to only 12 when
body couples are present.
(c) It is a 3x3 matrix with 6 independent components when body couple is absent.
(d) None of the above.
Correct Answer: c

Detailed Solution:

It is a 3x3 matrix with 6 independent components when body couple is absent.

 1,1  1,2  1,3 

 
   1,2  2,2  2,3 
 1,3  2,3  3,3 
 

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QUESTION 6:
Observe the tetrahedral fluid element shown below with the usual nomenclature of the various
traction components. Why do you think the most appropriate reason is behind choosing such a
fluid element for the proof of the Cauchy’s theorem?

(a) It is just a tradition followed and no-scientific logic is behind such choice. One cannot
proof the Cauchy’s theorem if this convention is not used.
(b) No body forces act on such a volume, only surface forces exist .
(c) Out of the 4 faces one is arbitrarily oriented while rest 3 are the mutually orthogonal
ones. Thus the traction on this 4 th surface can be decompsed in 3 mutually perpendicular
components directing along normals of the other 3 bounding surfaces.
(d) All the 4 faces are oriented along the coorinate axes chosen. Thus the analysis is very
simple.
Correct Answer: c

Detailed Solution:

Out of the 4 faces one is arbitrarily oriented while rest 3 are the mutually orthogonal ones. Thus
the traction on this 4 th surface can be decomposed in 3 mutually perpendicular components
directing along normals of the other 3 bounding surfaces.

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QUESTION 7:
Consider smoke going up a chimney as shown:
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Two approaches can be employed to measure the smoke temperature:

(i) Attach thermometer to the top of chimney, point O. Record T as a function of time. As
different smoke particles pass through O, the temperature changes. Gives T ( x0, y0, z 0, t ) . More

thermometers are used at strategic locations to get T ( x, y, z, t ) .

(ii) Thermometers are attached to a particle, A. End up with TA  TA (t ) . Can have many particles

and track T for all of them.

Now choose the correct statement:
(a) The first approach is Lagrangian approach but not suitable for fluid mechanics.
(b) The second approach is Eulerian approach and suitable for fluid mechanics.
(c) The first approach is Lagrangian approach and suitable for fluid mechanics.
(d) The first approach is Eulerian approach and suitable for fluid mechanics.
Correct Answer: d

Detailed Solution: The first approach is Eulerian approach and suitable for fluid mechanics.

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QUESTION 8:
Cauchy stress tensor at some point P within a fluid has the following components:
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1 2 3

   2 4 5  MPa . The traction vector T  Txiˆ  Ty ˆj  Tz kˆ at P on a plane whose normal
 3 5 6 
vector is given by nˆ  (iˆ  ˆj  kˆ) / 3 , is :

1 ˆ
(a) T  3iˆ  j  3kˆ
3
1 ˆ 2 ˆ
(b) T  i j  3kˆ
3 3
(c) T  iˆ  ˆj  3kˆ
1 ˆ 1 ˆ
(d) T  i j  3kˆ
3 3
Correct Answer: b

Detailed Solution:
 
Just take a Matrix-Vector multiplication of  and n̂ to get the desired result since T   nˆ .
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QUESTION 9:
For the above Cauchy stress tensor can you calculate the hydrostatic pressure?
(a) No it cannot be calculated since equation of state is not valid here.
(b) Yes. The hydrostatic pressure will be p=11/3 MPa.
(c) No, it cannot be calculated since the fluid is moving.
(d) Yes. The hydrostatic pressure will be p=-11/3 MPa.
Correct Answer: d

 1,1   2,2   3,3

Detailed Solution: Yes. The hydrostatic pressure will be p=  =-11/3 MPa.
3

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QUESTION 10:
For a two-dimensional fluid element at rest, components of stress tensor can be shown as
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 22
 21
(a)
x2  12
 11  11
x1  12

 21  22

(b)  22
 21  0

x2 12  0
 11  11
x1 12  0

 21  0  22

 22
 21
(c)
x2  12
 11  11

x1  12

 21  22
(d)

 22  0
 21

x2  12
11  0  21  0
x1  12

 21  22  0

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