Mulungushi University

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
MEE 322 – Tutorial 2: Flow in Real Fluids and Drag and Lift

Date: 6th March 2024

Question 1
Water flows past a flat plate that is oriented parallel to the flow with an upstream velocity of
0.5 m/s.
i) Determine the approximate location downstream from the leading edge where the
boundary layer becomes turbulent.
ii) What is the boundary layer thickness at this location?
(Assume Linear Velocity Distribution)
Question 2
A viscous fluid flows past a flat plate such that the boundary layer thickness at a distance 1.3
m from the leading edge is 12 mm. Determine the boundary layer thickness at distances of
0.20, 2.0, and 20 m from the leading edge. Assume laminar flow. [5 Marks]

Question 3
An atmospheric boundary layer is formed when the wind blows over the earth’s surface.
Typically, such velocity profiles
can be written as a power law: 𝑢 = 𝑎𝑦 𝑛 , where the constants a and n depend on the
roughness of the terrain. As is indicated in figure below, typical values are, n=0.40 for urban
areas, n=0.28 for woodland or suburban areas, and n=0.16 for flat open country.
A. If the velocity is 6.1m/s at the bottom of the sail on your boat (y=1.22m) what is the
velocity at the top of the mast (y=9.14 m)?

B. If the average velocity is 4.47m/s on the tenth floor of an urban building, what is the
average velocity on the sixtieth floor?

Question 4
Air at 20⁰C and 1atm flows at 3m/s past a sharp flat plate 2m wide and 1m long.
A. What is the wall shear stress at the end of the plate?
B. What is the air velocity at a point y= 4.5 mm normal to the end of the plate? (Assume
Blasius Velocity Distribution)
 C. What is the total friction drag on the plate?

Question 5
Air at 20⁰C and 1atm flows at 20m/s past the flat plate in the figure below. A pitot stagnation
tube, placed 2mm from the wall, develops a manometer head h=16 mm of Meriam red oil,
SG= 0.827. Use this information to estimate the downstream position x of the pitot tube.
Assume laminar flow and use the Blasius velocity Distribution.

Question 6
A tractor-trailer truck has a drag area CDA=8m2 bare and 6.7m2 with an aerodynamic
deflector. Its rolling resistance is 50N for 0.447m/s of speed.
Calculate the total horsepower required at sea level with and without the deflector if the truck
moves at
A. 24.6m/s
B. 33.5m/s
Question 7
A small airplane has a total mass of 1800 kg and a wing area of 42m2. Determine the lift and
drag coefficients of this airplane while cruising at an altitude of 4000 m at a constant speed of
280km/h and generating 190kW of power.

Question 8
A high-speed car with m = 2000kg, CD = 0.3, and A = 1m2 deploys a 2m parachute to slow
down from an initial velocity of 100m/s (See Figure). Assuming constant CD, brakes free, and
no rolling resistance, calculate the distance and velocity of the car after 1, 10, 100, and 1000s.
For air assume Density = 1.2kg/m3, and neglect interference between the wake of the car and
the parachute.