Tutorial 6

Exercise 1
Consider the pumping of oil from a platform at sea to the mainland.
The properties of the system are:
Length of the (horizontal) pipe (L): 30 km
Diameter (D): 1m
Volumetric flow (ϕv): 4 m3/s
Density oil: 800 kg/m3
Dynamic viscosity oil: 0.01 Pa.s

The 30 km pipe used is smooth, circular and horizontal.

A) Calculate the pressure drop over L.

Answer:
Strategy: first, calculate the velocity, next Re and determine whether flow is laminar
(Re<2100) or turbulent (Re>4000). If laminar, 4f=64/Re, if turbulent AND wall surface is
smooth, Blasius (but only if 4000<Re<105) or Darcy plot (with ε/D=0). In case of rough
surface, obtain 4f graphically using the Darcy plot. Finally, apply the Fanning equation to
calculate the pressure drop over the system.
 1

 D2
v  v 
4
4 4
v 
 12
v  5.1m s
 v D
Re 

800  5,1 1

0, 01
 4.1105 Flow is turbulent!

From Darcy plot: 4 f  0.012

1 L
p1  p2  4 f   v  2
2 D
1 3 104
 0.012   800  5.12 
2 1
 437  10 Pa  37.5 bar
4

Note that we can't use Blasius here because Re>105

 2

Exercise 2
In a production unit methanol has to be pumped from a storage vessel to a reactor, with the
pump located directly after the storage vessel. The height difference between storage tank and
reactor is 10 m. Pump and reactor are connected by round 5 cm diameter tubes with a total
length of 1000 m, containing 10 bends of 900, a measuring flange and 2 open gate valves. The
amount of methanol to be transported equals 10.6 m3/hour and both the storage vessel and the
reactor are at atmospheric pressure. Assume steady-state conditions. g=10 m/s2

A) What is the pressure drop in the new smooth tubing right after installation?
B) Given a pump efficiency of 85%, calculate the required pump power under steady-state
conditions.
C) Over time the tubing starts to suffer from corrosion causing the value of 4f to increase by
10%. Assuming the volumetric flow as well as the K w values of bends, valves and flange
remain the same, what is the energy loss due to this corrosion effect and thus what is the extra
pump power required?

Methanol: η=0.584 x10-3 kg.m-1.s-1

ρ=792 kg/m3
900 bend: Kw=0.11
Flange: Kw=4.1
Valve: Kw=0.20

Answer:
A)
10.6
m  792  2.33 kg/s
3600

v 10.6 / 3600
v   1.5 m/s
A  / 4(0.05) 2

 vD 792 x 1.5 x 0.05

Re    105
 0.584 10 -3
 3

4 f  0.316 Re 0.25  0.316 x (105 ) 0.25  0.018

1 2 L 1 1  L 
e fr  4 f  v   K w  v 2   v 2  4 f   K w 
2 D 2 2  D 

1 1000
 1.52 (0.018  1.1  4.1  0.4)  411 m 2 /s 2
2 0.05

Mechanical energy balance between point directly after the pump (1) and the reactor (2)

 p  p2 
0  m [( gh1  gh2 )   1 ]  e frm
  

p1  p2
 e fr   gh1  gh2 


p1  p2  792(411 +10 x 10))  4.0 105 Pa

B)
Mechanical energy balance between point in the storage tank (1) and point in the reactor (2)

0  m ( gh1  gh2 )  w  e frm

w  m ( gh1  gh2 )  e frm  2.33 x 10 x 10  411 x 2.33  1191 W=1.2 kW

Actual pump power required: 1.2/0.85  1.4 kW

C)
1 2 L 1 1000
e fr   4 f  v  0.0018 x 1.5 2  40.5 m 2 /s 2
2 D 2 0.05

e frm  40.5 x 2.33  94.4 W

 4

Exercise 3
One way to determine the viscosity of a fluid is as follows. A cylinder of 0.122 m radius (r)
rotates concentrically inside a fixed cylinder of 0.128 m radius. The length (L) of both
cylinders is 0.305 m. The fluid of interest fills the space between the two cylinders. The
torque (=force x arm) required to maintain an angular velocity (ω) of the inner cylinder of 60
revolutions/min is 0.881 Nm.

v0

A) What is the viscosity of the fluid?

Answer:
Angular velocity: 60 revolutions/min=1/s
Tangential velocity (v) of the inner cylinder: =0 . 122× 2π×1=0 . 767m/s

torque=force× arm=τ × A×r=τ×2 πr×L×r

0 .881=τ ( 2 πr×0 .305 ) r

0 . 4597 dv
τ= −η
r2 dr

0 0 . 4597 0. 128 dr
−∫0. 767 dv= ∫0. 122 r 2
η

0 . 4597 1 1
0 .767=
η
− ( +
0 .128 0 .122 )
η=0. 23 Pa . s
 5

Exercise 4
This exercise relates to Example 5.6.2 in the book. Consider two horizontal parallel plates at
distance D. The surface area of the plates is infinite, implying all kinds of boundary effects
can safely be ignored.
Due to an applied pressure difference in the x-direction, a high-viscosity fluid is flowing
between the plates, at low uniform velocity and only in the x-direction, implying vy=vz=0.
The flow is laminar.
Gravitation is only in the y-direction, implying gx=gz=0. The pressure gradient in the x-
direction is constant. Assume steady-state conditions.

A) Schematically draw the profile of velocity and shear stress in the x-direction.
B) Derive the velocity profile for laminar flow using the Navier-Stokes equations below, i.e.,
eliminate all irrelevant terms and solve the remaining differential equation.
C) Calculate the hydrostatic pressure in the y-direction.

After removing the applied pressure, the plates are turned 90 0 degrees. Because of the high
viscosity of the fluid, the downward velocity is still very low and the flow regime still
laminar.

D) Do the same as in B, i.e., using the NS-equations, derive the velocity profile of the fluid
between the plates.

 vx vx vx vx    2vx  2 vx  2 vx  p

  vx  vy  vz     2  2  2     gx
 t x y z   x y z  x
 v y v y v y v y    2v y  2v y  2v y  p
  vx  vy  vz    2  2  2    gy
  t x y  z   x y z  y
 vz vz vz vz    2vz  2 vz  2 vz  p
  vx  vy  vz     2  2  2     gz
 t  x  y  z   x y z  z
 6

Answer:

y=D

y yx
y=0
vx
x 0 0
B) vx is a function of y only, and vy =vz=0. Due to a (constant) pressure gradient, the fluid is
moving from left to right.

 vx vx vx vx    2vx  2 vx  2 vx  p

  vx  vy  vz     2  2  2     gx
 t x y z   x y z  x
 v y v y v y v y    2v y  2v y  2v y  p
  vx  vy  vz    2  2  2    gy
 t x y  z   x y z  y
 vz vz vz vz    2vz  2 vz  2 vz  p
  vx  vy  vz     2  2  2     gz
 t x y z   x y z  z

After cancellation of all irrelevant terms, the only terms left in the x-direction (top
expression):

 2 vx p
  0
y 2 x
 2 vx 1  p    p 
      with  =   
y 2
  x    x 

vx 
  y  C1
y 
vx 1 
Laminar flow, implying  0 at y  D, giving C1  D
y 2 2
 7

 2 
vx ( y )   y  Dy  C2
2 2

vx ( y )  0 at y=0, implying C 2  0

 
vx 
2
 Dy  y 2  
2
y (D  y)

This is the same expression as Eq. 5.81 in the book

Note that because

D  y is  Dy  y   0 . So v
2

x >0 in positive x-direction.

C)
Due to gravitation, we have a hydrostatic pressure in the y-direction. vy is zero and so all its
derivative terms, leaving from the second NS expression just: Given that the positive y-
direction is defined upwards, gravitation works in the negative direction:
p p
   g y =0 and   gy (1)
y y
Integration of (1), with p=0 at y=D, gives:
0 D
 p
dp    g y  dy
y
(2)

p( y )   g y ( D  y )

or, integrating (2) between y=0 and y=y and with p0 defined as the pressure at height zero:

p( y)= p 0−ρg y y