Introduction to Mechanical Engineering: Fluid Mechanics

Tutorial 5 Solutions - Viscosity, Density & Pressure

1. The density of water is about 1000kg/m3. Find:

(a) The corresponding values in the following units: kg/litre, g/ml, g/cm3 , tonne/m3 and
g/litre. Which is the odd one out?

1kg = 1000g = 0.001tonne

1m3 = 1000litres = 106 ml = 106 cm3

Answer:

⇒ 1000kg/m3 = 1kg/litre = 1g/ml = 1g/cm3 = 1tonnes/m3 = 1000g/litre

(b) The specific volume of oil that has a specific gravity, soil = 0.85
ρoil
soil =
ρwater
⇒ ρoil = 0.85 × 1000 = 850kg/m3
Answer:
1 1
voil = = = 0.00118m3/kg
ρoil 850

2. Atmospheric pressure is about 100kN/m2

(a) Find the corresponding values in the following units: P a, bar, MN/m2 , mbar

1N/m2 = 1P a = 10−5bar = 10−6 bar = 10−2mbar

Answer:
⇒ 100kN/m2 = 105 P a = 1bar = 0.1MN/m2 = 103 mbar
(b) Estimate values for the atmospheric density at sea level in Scotland and at the summit of
Mount Everest where the pressure is 0.3bar and the temperature −43◦ C (for Scotland you
can assume a mean temperature of 15◦ C; optimistic eh?)
p
ρ=
RT
Answer:
1 × 105
⇒ ρAir,Scotland = = 1.21kg/m3
287 × (273.15 + 15)
Answer:
0.3 × 105
⇒ ρAir,Everest = = 0.45kg/m3
287 × (273.15 − 43)
3. A tyre pressure gauge indicates 20N/cm2 for a tyre at 34◦ C after a fast motorway run.
Assuming that the volume of air in the tyre does not change, estimate the indicated pressure
when the tyre has cooled to 10◦ C. If the tyre is treated as a tube of cross-sectional area 0.015m2
rolled into a ring of mean diameter 0.35m, estimate the mass of air in the tyre.

pc Tc
=
ph Th

Tc 10 + 273.15
⇒ pc,abs = ph × = 3 × 105 × = 2.766bar
Th 34 + 273.15
Answer:
⇒ pc,gauge = 1.766bar

V = 0.015 × π × 0.35 = 0.0165m3

Answer:
pV 3 × 105 × 0.0165
mair = = = 0.056kg
RT 287 × (34 + 273.15)

4. A plate, 0.025mm distant from a fixed plate, moves at 0.7m/s and requires a force of 0.2N per
unit meter to maintain this speed. For a linear velocity profile, determine the viscosity of the
fluid between the plates.

F du
τ= =µ
A dy

du 0.7
= = 28 × 103
dy 0.025 × 10−3

F/A 0.2
µ= =
du/dy 28 × 103
Answer:

µ = 7.14 × 10−6 Ns/m2

5. A 75mm diameter shaft slides at 0.12m/s through a sleeve 150mm long when a force of 40N
is applied. If the radial clearance between the shaft and the sleeve is 0.25mm, determine the
viscosity of the lubricating fluid being used.

Assuming a linear velocity distribution:

du 0.12
= = 480 s−1
dr 0.25 × 10−3

A = πDl = π × 7.5 × 15 × 10−4 = 0.0354 m2

F du
=τ =µ
A dv
Answer:

40
⇒µ= = 2.358 Ns/m2
0.035 × 480