Advanced Fluid Mechanics - AM5530

Assignment and Practice Set - 3

Due Date: 1-10-2019

20 September 2019

Assignment
1. A 40 m/s wind blows toward a hill arising from a plain that can be ap-
proximated with the top section of a half-body as illustrated in figure 1.
The height of the hill approaches 200 m as shown. Assume an air density
of 1.2 kg/m3 . Find,
(a) What is the magnitude of the air velocity at a point on the hill
directly above the origin point B?
(b) What is the elevation of point B above the plain and what is the
difference in pressure between point A on the plain far from the hill
and point B?
(Hint: Use irrotational flow over half body)
2. The discharge of 30 m2 /s pollutants from a chemical plant into 10 m deep
river, flowing at 0.3 m/s, can be modelled as a 2D source across the river
depth. It is found that the fishes in a certain zone die out whereas those
outside the zone are unaffected. Find out the extent of this critical zone,
if the point of discharge is in the midplane of a wide river. (Hint : Use
superposition of uniform flow and point source to solve, so that the critical
region will be determined by half body)

3. At a certain point at the beach, the coast line makes a right-angle bend,
as shown in figure 3 (a). The flow of salt water in this bend can be
approximated by the potential flow of an incompressible fluid in a right-
angle corner.
(a) Show that the stream function for this flow is ψ = Ar2 sin(2θ), where
A is a positive constant.
(b) A fresh-water reservoir is located in the corner. The salt water is to
be kept away from the reservoir to avoid any possible seepage of salt
water into the fresh water (figure 3 (b)). The fresh-water source can

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 be approximated as a line source having a strength m, where m is
the volume rate of flow (per unit length) emanating from the source.
Determine m if the salt water is not to get closer than a distance L
to the corner. (Hint: Find the value of m in terms of A and L so
that a stagnation point occurs at y = L )
(c) The streamline passing through the stagnation point would repre-
sent the line dividing the fresh water from the salt water. Plot this
streamline.

Practice set
1. Consider the following two-dimensional velocity potential consisting of two
sources and one sink, all of strength qs
qs  p p p 
φ(x, y) = ln (x − b)2 + y 2 + ln (x − (a2 /b))2 + y 2 − ln x2 + y 2
2π
Here a and b are positive constants and b > a.
(a) Determine the locations of the two stagnation points in this flow field.
(b) Sketch the streamlines in this flow field.
(c) Show that the closed streamline in this flow is given by x2 + y 2 = a2 .
2. A circular plate is forced down at a steady velocity U0 against a flat surface
as in figure 2. Frictionless incompressible fluid of density ρ fills the gap
h(t). Assume that h << r0 = the plate radius, and that the radial velocity
ur (r, t) is constant across the gap.
(a) Obtain a formula for ur (r, t) in terms of r, U0 , and h.
(b) Determine ∂ur (r, t)/∂t.
(c) Calculate the pressure distribution under the plate assuming that
p(r = r0 ) = 0.
3. Assume a square with the vertices as sources/sinks(two opposite corners as
sources and the other two as sinks) of equal strength. What is the resulting
flow field and velocity potential function? Construct a “quadrupole” in
the same way a dipole is constructed with a single source and a single sink
(By decreasing the distance between the source and sink and increasing
their strength simultaneously).
4. An incompressible liquid with negligible viscosity and density ρ = 1250 kg/m3
flows steadily through a 5.0 m long convergent-divergent section of pipe
for which the area varies as

A(x) = A0 (1 + e−x/a − e−x/2a )

where A0 = 0.25 m2 and a = 1.5 m. Develop an expression for and plot

the pressure gradient and pressure versus position along the pipe, for the

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 Figure 1

first 5 m, if the inlet centerline velocity is 10 m/s and inlet pressure is

300 kP a.

5. A 2 m diameter cylinder is rotating at 1400 rpm in an air stream flowing at

20 m/s. Calculate the lift and drag forces per unit depth of the cylinder.
Assume air density as 1.22 kg/m3 .
6. Assume that a point vortex of circulation Γ is situated near an infinite
wall. Derive the expression for potential, velocity field, pressure field,
stream function. What will happen to the point vortex placed near wall ?
(Assume irrotational, incompressible 2D flow). (Hint: single point vortex
near the wall will not satisfy no penetration boundary condition. So place
an image vortex of same but opposite circulation in the opposite side of
the wall at same distance )
Γ
7. The velocity potential for a spiral vortex flow is given by φ = 2π θ−
m
2π ln(r), where Γ and m are constants. Plot the stream lines .Show that
the angle α between the velocity vector and the radial direction is constant
throughout the flow field.

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Figure 2

Figure 3