PATTERN B

Computational Fluid Dynamics 2017

Notes:

1. There are a total of 60 questions divided into Sections A to F. Questions in Sections A and B
are generic questions covering the entire course material. Sections C to F are thematic.

2. All questions are of objective type. Section A has questions that have ONLY ONE correct
answer. Questions in Section B have two correct answers each. Questions in Sections C to F
have only one correct answer.

3. Each correct answer is worth one mark. The credit for the correct answer is given only when
ONLY THE CORRECT answer is identified in that question. Therefore in Sections A, C, D, E
and F, only one answer should be entered. For questions in Section B, you will get TWO marks
if you identify both the correct answers and only these two. Partial mark can be given only if
only correct answers are identified. For example, if (b) and (d) are the correct answers for a
question, then you will get two marks if you identify both (b) and (d) as the correct answers and
do not tick any other option. If you identify only (b) or only (d) as the correct answer, you will
get ONE mark. If you identify either (a) or (c) as the correct answer, you will not get any marks
irrespective of how many correct answers you identified correctly. Thus, the credit for the entire
question is lost if you choose an incorrect answer.

4. The total marks are 70. Section A is worth 30 marks and Section B is worth 20 marks.
Sections C to F account for 5 marks each.

Section A: General Questions (30 marks)

The questions in this section contain ONLY ONE correct answer.

1. Consider the Laplace equation describing steady state heat conduction in a two dimensional
rectangular domain. If the equation is discretized using finite difference approximations with
uniform grid spacing in both directions, and if the resulting equations are properly arranged and
written in the form of a matrix equation, then the non-zero coefficients in the coefficient matrix
will

(a) have a tridiagonal structure with three adjacent diagonals including the main diagonal.
(b) have a pentadiagonal structure with three adjacent diagonals and two other diagonals
separated diagonals separated by diagonals containing zeroes.
(c) be the sum of two tridiagonal matrices each containing three adjacent diagonals.
(d) have a pentadiagonal structure with five adjacent diagonals including the main diagonal.
2. Which of the following fluids is not Newtonian:

(a) ammonia gas

(b) mercury
(c) petrol
(d) None of the above

3. For a Newtonian fluid, τzz in incompressible flow is given by

(a) ½ μ(∂ui/∂xj + ∂uj/∂xi)

(b) ½ μ (∂u/∂y + ∂v /∂x)
(c) μ ∂w/∂z
(d) none of the above.

4. The diffusion term in the momentum conservation equation in the ith direction for constant-
property Newtonian fluid flow can be written as

(a) μ ∂2ui/∂xj2 (b) μ ∂2uj/∂xi2 (c) μ∂2ui/∂xi2 (d) none of the above

5. The continuity equation for steady compressible flow can be written as

(a) ∂um/∂xm = 0 (b) ∂ui/∂xj = 0 (c) Dρ/Dt = 0 (d) None of the

above.

6. The steady-state, 2-D momentum balance in the y-direction, neglecting gravity, can be written
for constant property flow as

(a) u∂u/∂x + v∂v/∂y = -1/ρ ∂p/∂x + μ/ρ (∂2u/∂x2 + ∂2v/∂y2)

(b) u ∂v/∂x + v ∂v/∂y = -1/ρ ∂p/∂y + μ/ρ (∂2v/∂x2 + ∂2v/∂y2)
(c) u ∂v/∂x + v ∂v/∂y = -1/ρ ∂p/∂y + μ/ρ (∂2u/∂x2 + ∂2v/∂y2)
(d) None of the above

7. The adiabatic heat transfer thermal boundary condition is an example of which type of
boundary condition:

(a) Dirichlet type (b) Neumann type (c) Robin type

(d) None of the above.
8. If we expand f(x0 - 3Δx) about the point x0 in Taylor series, then the fourth term in the
expansion is given by

(a) -(1/6) d3f/dx3|x0 Δx3 (b) -9/2 d3f/dx3|x0 Δx3

(c) (9/2) d3f/dx3|x0 Δx3 (d) (9/2) d2f/dx2|x0 Δx2

9. d2f/dx2|i = (a fi+4 + b fi+3 + c fi+2 + d fi+1 + e fi)/(Δx2) is an approximation of what order of

accuracy if a. b. c. d and e are non-zero?

(a) 3 (b) 2 (c) 4 (d) Cannot determine from given information

10. For which of the following problems can von Neumann stability analysis be used:

(a) linear problems with Dirichlet boundary conditions

(b) linear problems with Neumann boundary conditions, (c) linear problems with periodic
boundary conditions, (d) all of the above.

11. Which of the following schemes may give assurance of convergence for the unsteady
advection equation:

(a) FTBS-explicit (b) FTCS-explicit (c) CTCS-explicit (d) none of the above.

12. For the 1-d scalar transport equation with no source term, which of the following will give
oscillation-free stable solution with second order accuracy:

(a) FTBSCS-explicit (b) FTCSCS-implicit (c) CTCSCS-implicit (d) None of the above.

13. For the one-dimensional wave equation, which of the following statements is correct about
the FTFS implicit scheme

(a) Consistent, unconditionally stable, (b) Consistent, unconditionally unstable, (c) Consistent,
conditionally stable, (d) Inconsistent, unconditionally stable

14. For compressible, two-dimensional flows, the minimum number of partial differential
equations (pde) to be solved is

(a) 3 (b) 4 (c) 5 (d) 6

15. The conserved variables that are solved for in MacCormack method are:
(a) ρ, u, v, w, et
(b) ρ, ρu, ρv, ρw, ρet
(c) ρ, u, v, w, e
(d) ρ, u, v, w, T

16. Which of the following statements is true about the evaluation of pressure in MacCormack
scheme:

(a) pressure is obtained from the continuity equation

(b) pressure is obtained from the momentum equation
(c) pressure is obtained from the equation of state
(d) evaluation of pressure is not necessary for compressible flows.

17. Which of the following describes the Beam-Warming method:

(a) Explicit,1st order accurate in time, 2nd order in space, unconditionally stable
(b) Explicit, 2nd order accurate in time, 2nd order in space, conditionally stable
(c) Implicit, 1st order accurate in time, 2nd order in space, unconditionally stable
(d) Implicit, 2nd order accurate in time, 2nd order in space, unconditionally stable

18. The streamfunction-vorticity approach cannot be used for

(a) three-dimensional flows (b) time-dependent flows (c) incompressible flows (d) all of the
above.

19. A staggered grid system is used mainly

(a) to overcome the stability problem

(b) to enable treatment of flow domain of irregular shape
(c) to simplify grid generation
(d) to eliminate chequerboard oscillations in pressure

20. Which of the following describes the solution of the continuity equation in the pressure
correction method in steady flows:

(a) fully explicit

(b) fully implicit
(c) fully implicit except for the influence of pressure gradient
(d) none of the above
21. Which of the following statements is correct about solution of the linear system of algebraic
equations Ax =b with known coefficients:

(a) If Gaussian elimination works, then Gauss-Seidel method can also be used.
(b) If Gauss-Seidel method works, then Gaussian elimination can also be used.
(c) If Gauss-Seidel works, then TDMA can also be used.
(d) If LU decomposition works, then TDMA can also be used.

22. Under optimal condition, the number of arithmetic operations required for convergence using
the SOR method varies with the number of equations, n, as

(a) n5/4 (b) n3/2 (c) n7/4 (d) n8/4

23. Which of the following statements is NOT true about the multi-grid method of solving Ax = b:

(a) It solves the same equations on all the grids

(b) It uses several grids for the same computational domain
(c) It uses the same boundary conditions on all the grids
(d) None of the above

24. Which ranking is correct in terms of INCREASING number of floating point operations
(flops), i.e., from fewer to more number of flops, for the solution of Ax = b on very fine grids:

(a) SIP, ADI, Gauss-Seidel

(b) Gauss-Seidel, ADI, SIP
(c) ADI, optimal successive overrelation, multigrid
(d) multigrid, ADI, optimal SOR

25. Which of the statements is true about the transformation of the Poisson equation into a non-
orthogonal curvilinear coordinate system

(a) The elliptic equation becomes hyperbolic

(b) The parabolic equation becomes elliptic
(c) The transformed equation remains elliptic
(d) The transformed equation remains parabolic

26. In which of the following methods is triangulation with least aspect ratio ensured:

(a) Advancing front method

(b) Bowyer-Watson algorithm
(c) Both of the above
(d) Neither of the above

27. In which of the following methods is proper triangulation of concave surfaces ensured so that
no area lying outside the computational domain is triangulated:

(a) Advancing front method

(b) Bowyer-Watson algorithm
(c) Both of the above
(d) Neither of the above

28. Which of the following flows is likely to be turbulent:

(a) Flow in a circular pipe at a Reynolds number of 2000

(b) Flow over a sphere at a Reynolds number of 50000
(c) Flow over a flat plate at a Reynolds number of 100000
(d) None of the above

29. Which of the following statements is true about the turbulence closure problem:

(a)It does not arise for fully developed turbulent flow between two parallel plates
(b) It refers to the case of a mathematical problem in which there are too many variables and too
few equations
(c) It arises only when do direct numerical simulation of turbulence
(d) None of the above

30. The turbulent kinetic energy is representative of velocity fluctuations of

(a) large eddies (b) small eddies (c) inertial range eddies (d) all of the above

Section B: General Questions (20 marks)

The questions in this section contain TWO correct answers.

31. Which of the following statements is true for a Newtonian fluid:

(a) Viscous stress vs. strain relation is linear.

(b) Viscous stress is proportional to the local strain rate
(c) Viscosity is independent of shear stress.
(d) Viscosity is a material constant; it may change from material to material but will not change
for a given material.

32. A small fluid element in steady, laminar, fully developed flow of an incompressible fluid
between two infinitely long and wide parallel plates undergoes what kind of defomation:

(a) Rotational strain

(b) Extensional strain
(c) Shear strain.
(d) All of the above.

33. Which of the statements is true about inconsistent schemes:

(a) Inconsistent schemes cannot be stable.

(b) Inconsistent schemes cannot be convergent.
(c) Inconsistent schemes cannot match the exact solution.
(d) Inconsistency has no bearing on the goodness of the solution.

34. Which of the following schemes is stable and second order accurate in both time and space
for the unsteady diffusion equation:

(a) FTCS-explicit (b) Crank-Nicolson’s scheme (c) DuFort-Frankel scheme

(d) FTCS-implicit.

35. Which of the following statements is true about incompressible flows:

(a) Flow of gases can be incompressible

(b) Incompressible flow equations are inviscid.
(c) Incompressible flow equations are linear
(d) Equation of state is not necessary to describe incompressible flows

36. Which of the following statements is true about the MacCormack scheme

(a) It can be used only for incompressible flows.

(b) It is only conditionally stable.
(c) It can be used only for linear equations.
(d) It can be used for compressible flows.
37. The artificial compressibility approach can be used for

(a) three-dimensional flows (b) time-dependent flows (c) incompressible flows (d) all of the
above.

38. Which of the following statements is true about eddy viscosity

(a) It is dimensionless. (b) It is isotropic. (c) It varies across the cross-section of a

pipe even in fully developed flow. (d) It is constant for a given Reynolds numbers

39. In which of the following cases would you include the viscous dissipation term in the energy
conservation equation:
(a) in a pipeline transporting crude oil (b) in a pipeline transporting water to a steam condenser
(c) in a stirred tank in which a herbal medicinal oil is being mixed with honey (d) in the flow
of air over a racing car.

40. Which of the statements is true about the transformation of the Laplace equation into a non-
orthogonal curvilinear coordinate system

(a) The transformed equation is elliptic

(b) The transformed equation does not contain cross-derivatives
(c) The transformed equation is hyperbolic
(d) The transformed equation contains cross-derivatives

40. Which of the following statements is true about the Rhie-Chow interpolation scheme

(a) is needed only for non-staggered grids

(b) it is used to evaluate velocities at cell centroids
(c) is needed only for staggered grids
(d) it is used to evaluate velocities at cell faces

Section C: Solution of Navier-Stokes Equations (5 marks)

The questions in this section contain ONLY ONE correct answer.

You wish to demonstrate your CFD skills by doing a calculation for the unsteady developing,
constant property flow between two infinitely wide plates separated by a constant height H.
Assume that the flow is incompressible and laminar and that the fluid is Newtonian. Assume
that x-direction is along the plate and y-direction is normal to the plate and you want to do a two-
dimensional flow simulation. For this case,

41. The momentum balance in the x-direction, neglecting gravity, can be written as

(a) ∂u/∂t = -1/ρ ∂p/∂x + μ/ρ (∂2u/∂x2 + ∂2v/∂y2)

(b) ∂u/∂t + u ∂u/∂x + v ∂u/∂y = -1/ρ ∂p/∂x + μ/ρ (∂2u/∂x2 + ∂2v/∂y2)
(c) ∂u/∂t + u ∂u/∂x + v ∂u/∂y = -1/ρ ∂p/∂x + μ/ρ (∂2u/∂x2 + ∂2u/∂y2)
(d) ∂u/∂t = μ/ρ (∂2u/∂x2 + ∂2u/∂y2)

42. For this problem, which of the following statements is true:

(a) We do not need to solve the momentum balance equation in the y-direction.
(b) We can assume pressure gradient in the x-direction to be constant.
(c) We can neglect pressure variation within the flow domain.
(d) None of the above.

43. Taking advantage of symmetry, we wish to solve only for the flow field up to mid-height, ie.,
from y=0 (bottom plate) to y = H/2. The boundary condition at y = H/2 is:

(a) v = 0 (b) u = 0 (c) p = 0 (d) none of the above.

44. Regarding the solution of coupled equations, which of the following methods can be used:

(a)artificial compressibility method

(b)streamfunction-vorticity method
(c) the MacCormack method.
(d) None of the above.

45. A momentum source term of the form Su = -k is added to the x-momentum equation where
k is a constant. For what value of k may the source term lead to loss of diagonal dominance of
the discretized equation if the source term is discretized implicitly?

(a) k > 0 (b) k < 0 (c) any non-zero value of the k (d) the source term does not
have any influence on the diagonal dominance.

Section D: Solution of Linear Algebraic Equations (5 marks)

The questions in this section contain ONLY ONE correct answer.
You wish to solve the Poisson equation in a rectangular two-dimensional domain spanning a
length L in the x-direction and width W in the y-direction. You have divided the domain into
rectangular tiles by dividing the length L into 20 equal intervals, and the width W into 30 equal
intervals. You further subdivide each of the small rectangles into triangles by drawing one
diagonal of each rectangle. You have Dirichlet boundary conditions on all sides. You discretize
the Poisson equation using the finite volume method. The source term is a constant. You wish
to solve the resulting set of linear algebraic equations, which you express as Ax = b. For this
problem, answer the following questions.

46. The number of equations to be solved will be

(a) 100 ± 10 (b) 1100 ± 20 (c) 1200 ± 20 (d) 1300 ± 20

47. The percentage of non-zero elements in matrix A will be of the order of

(a) 0.001% (b) 0.05% (c) 0.1% (d) 0.5%

48. The matrix A would be of the following form:

(a) tridiagonal (b) five adjacent non-zero diagonals (c) three non-zero adjacent
diagonals and two more non-zero diagonals (d) none of the above

49. You wish to solve the set of equations using the Gauss-Seidel method. A sufficient
condition for this method to converge is:

(a) matrix A is non-singular (b) the spectral radius of A must be less than one (c) matrix A is
diagonally dominant (d) none of the above.

50. The norm of the residual at the end of m iterations can be evaluated as

(a) the largest value in magnitude of (b- Axm) (b) the largest value of |(xm- xm-1)|
(c) ||(xm-xm-1)||2 (d) Any of the above

Section E: Turbulence Modelling (5 marks)

The questions in this section contain ONLY ONE correct answer.

51. Which of these is a characteristic feature of turbulent flows:

(a) spatially smooth but temporally fluctuating flow parameters

(b) temporally smooth but spatially fluctuating flow parameters
(c) both temporally and spatially fluctuating flow parameters
(d) Either temporal or spatial fluctations

52. Which of the following statements is true about the turbulence closure problem:

(a) It arises only when we time-average the governing equations.

(b) It refers to the case of a mathematical problem in which there are too many equations and too
few variables
(c) It does not arise for steady flow even if it is turbulent.
(d) It arises only when do direct numerical simulation of turbulence.

53. We are solving the case of steady, fully developed turbulent flow between two infinitely
long and wide parallel plates using the mixing length turbulence model. For this case, the
number of differential equations that we need to solve is

(a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d) 4.

54. Turbulent kinetic energy is defined as (here <…> indicates time averaging)

(a) ½ <u′i u′j> (b) ½ <u′m u′m> (c) (μ/ρ) <∂u′m/∂xn ∂u′m/∂xn>
(d) (μ/ρ) <∂u′i/∂xj ∂u′m/∂xn>

55. Which of the following statements is true about Reynolds stresses?

(a) They are dimensionless. (b) They are constant for a given Reynolds number. (c) They are
constant across the cross-section of a pipe in fully developed flow although individual stresses
are different. (d) None of the above.

Section F: Reacting Flows (5 marks)

The questions in this section contain ONLY ONE correct answer.

We need to solve for the flow in a chemical reactor in which A gets converted B (the desired
product) and C (the by-product) as per the following reaction scheme:

aA —> bB + cC

The reaction is endothermic and heat needs to be supplied. All the species are in gas phase as the
reaction happens at high temperatures. We have a reactor of dimensions L x W x H. Further, W
>> H and variations in the width direction can be neglected. The top and the bottom sides of the
reactor are heated. We need to find out how much conversion takes place, i.e., how much of A
coming through the inlet gets converted to B. We want to find this out using CFD simulation.
Assuming steady, laminar flow through the reactor, answer the following questions:

56. Which of the following simplifications can be made:

(a) the flow is steady (b) the flow is isothermal (c) the flow is fully developed
(d) the flow is two-dimensional.

57. How many mass conservation equations do we need to solve?

(a) only the one for species A (b) only the for species B (c) three, one each for species A, B
and C (d) four including one overall mass balance and the three for the three species.

58. Which of the following statements is true about the energy conservation equation?

(a) Terms related to the reaction rate would need to be added to the energy conservation
equation.
(b) The energy conservation equation is unaffected by the rate of chemical reaction.
(c) The energy conservation equation is affected only to the extent that the properties change as
the mixture composition changes.
(d) None of the above.

59. Which of the following statements is NOT true about the chemical reaction?

(a) The kinetic parameters of the reaction need to be specified.

(b) The rate of reaction need not be specified; it will be predicted by CFD.
(c) The rate of reaction need not be specified as it can be calculated assuming thermodynamic
equilibrium.
(d) The reaction rate is likely to vary with position within the reactor.

60. Compared to the case of a non-reacting, isothermal flow through the same duct, how many
additional partial differential equations need to be solved for this case of reacting flow:

(a) 4 (b) 3 (c) 2 (d) 1