INQU4010 Sec.

77: Momentum Transfer Operations, Spring 2010

Lecturer: Ubaldo M. Córdova-Figueroa, Ph.D.
Due Date: Tuesday, April 27, 2010 @ 1:30PM
Student Name:
Student ID:

Problem Set III

Instructions: Label each problem clearly. Include your name, student ID, and date on
all sheets. State all assumptions clearly and box your final answer. You may answer in either
English or Spanish.

1: A viscous fluid (µ = 0.012 lb s/ft2 , ρ = 1.79 slugs/ft3 ) flows through the annular space
between two horizontal, fixed, concentric cylinders. If the radius of the inner cylinder is
1.5 in. and the radius of the outer cylinder is 2.5 in., what is the pressure drop along the
axis of the annulus per foot when the volume flowrate is 0.14 ft3 /s? (20 pts)

2: Consider an incompressible isothermal fluid in laminar flow between two concentric

spheres, whose inner and outer wetted surfaces have radii of κR and R, respectively.
The inner and outer spheres are rotating at constant angular velocities Ωi and Ωo , re-
spectively. The spheres rotate slowly enough that the creeping flow assumption is valid.

• Determine the steady-state velocity distribution in the fluid (for small values of Ωi
and Ωo ). (20 pts)
• Find the torques on the two spheres required to maintain the flow of a Newtonian
fluid. (10 pts)
• Simplify the velocity and torque expressions for the case of a single solid sphere of
radius Ri rotating slowly at a constant angular velocity Ωi in a very large body of
quiescent fluid. (10 pts)

Figure 1: Flow between two slowly rotating spheres

1
3: Packed sand is used to clarify water draining from an open top cylindrical reservoir tank,
as illustrated in figure 2. Sand can be regarded as spherical particles with a diameter of
30 µm. A typical void fraction is  = 0.20.

• Derive an unsteady-state mass balance for the fluid in the reservoir, assuming the
flow is laminar in the packed sand bed. Solve the mass balance to obtain an ex-
pression for the time required to clarify the contents of the reservoir. (Hint: Use
Blake-Kozeny equation) (30 pts)
• Calculate the flow rate of water exiting the reservoir when the tank is full if H =
5 m, D = 2.5 m, d = 25 cm, and L = 1 m. Verify the assumption that the flow is
laminar. (20 pts)

Open-top
Water
H D Reservoir

Packed
L Sand
Filter
d

Figure 2: Sand filter