CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Fluid Mechanics

1. Define fluid mechanics and explain the importance of the same in

industries.
2. Define fluid.
3. Differentiate between units and dimensions?
4. Name the seven primary dimensions.
5. What is the primary reason to nondimensionalize an equation?
6. How do you distinguish between intensive and extensive properties?
7. What is the distinction between macroscopic and microscopic
energy?
8. Define normal stress and shear stress.
9. What is the physical significance of Reynolds number?
10. Describe the principle of conservation of momentum. What can you
say about a body's momentum if there is no net force acting on it?
11. Describe body forces and surface forces, and explain how the net
force acting on control volume is determined.
12. Define specific volume and specific gravity.
13. What is surface drag?
14. Explain the term ‘flow separation.’
15. What is viscosity?
16. Define API gravity? Where is it used?
17. What is kinematic viscosity?
18. What is the unit of kinematic viscosity?
19. What effect does temperature have on the kinematic viscosity of -
(a) liquids and
(b) gases
20. What is surface tension?
21. How does the viscosity (m) of a gas change with temperature and
pressure?
22. Define compressible and incompressible flow.
23. What is the definition of vapor pressure? What is the relationship
between it and saturation pressure?
24. What is the difference between gauge pressure and absolute
pressure?
25. Explain Pascal’s law.
26. What is the significance of the compressibility factor?
27. Define coefficient of volume expansion.
28. What is rheology?
29. What are the differences between Newtonian and non- Newtonian
fluids?
30. What does the word kinematics mean? Explain what the study of
fluid kinematics involves.
31. What does the Lagrangian model of fluid motion entail?
32. What does the Eulerian model of fluid motion describe?
33. Define streamline. What does it indicate?
34. Define stream function.
35. Define pathline and streakline.
36. Define mass and volume flow rates.
37. What is mechanical energy? What distinguishes it from thermal
energy?
38. Express the Bernoulli equation in three different ways using (a)
energies, (b) pressures, and (c) heads.
39. What are the three fundamental assumptions that the Bernoulli
equation is based on?
40. Define pressure head, velocity head, and elevation head for a fluid
stream.
41. Consider the steady adiabatic flow of an incompressible fluid. Is it
possible for the fluid's temperature to drop during flow?
42. Write the momentum equation for steady one-dimensional flow for
the case of no external forces.
43. What is power-law fluid?
44. Difference between shear thinning and shear thickening fluids?
45. Give examples of shear-thinning fluids?
46. What is Bingham plastic?
47. What is a differential U-tube manometer?
48. Name some fluids used as manometric liquids.
49. What are eddies? Where do you find these?
50. What is turbulence?
51. What is Prandtl mixing length?
52. What is eddy viscosity?
53. What is potential flow?
54. What is superficial velocity?
55. What is mass velocity?
56. What is a fully developed flow?
57. What is the Stokes regime?
58. What is the equivalent diameter?
59. How is the boundary layer formed?
60. What is Bernoulli’s principle?
61. State assumptions involved in Bernoulli’s equation?
62. Describe the working of the venturi meter?
63. What is drag?
64. What are the different types of drags you know?
65. What is stagnation pressure?
66. What is the stagnation point?
67. What is the drag coefficient?
68. What is creeping flow?
69. What causes water hammering?
70. Which parameters are important in the analysis of a water hammer?
71. What is the maximum velocity attained by a compressible fluid inside
a pipe?
72. What is the physical significance of mach number?
73. What is the difference between sonic and supersonic flow?
74. What is the physical significance of friction factor?
75. How does the friction factor vary with respect to temperature?
76. How does pressure drop calculated for an incompressible fluid?
77. What is relative roughness?
78. In which case the friction factor will be more, in an elbow or a bend?
79. What is hydraulic diameter?
80. What is the definition of the hydrodynamic entry length for flow in a
pipe? In a laminar or turbulent flow, is the entrance length longer?
81. How does the wall shear stress vary along the flow direction in the
fully developed region in (a) laminar flow and (b) turbulent flow?
82. Will the velocity profile alter the flow direction in a fully developed
flow region in a circular pipe?
83. What is minor loss in pipe flow?
84. A piping system involves two pipes of identical diameters but of
different lengths connected in parallel. How would you compare the
pressure drops in these two pipes?
85. What are the primary considerations when selecting a flowmeter to
measure the flow rate of a fluid?
86. What are the major differences between pipe and tube?
87. Why are liquids usually transported in circular pipes?
88. What is the commonly recognized Reynolds number above which
smooth pipe flow becomes turbulent?
89. Explain why the incompressible flow approximation and the constant
temperature approximation usually go hand in hand.
90. Write the expression of continuity equation.
91. Write out the three components of the Navier–Stokes equation in
Cartesian coordinates.
92. What flow property determines whether a region of flow is rotational
or irrotational? Explain.
93. What is terminal velocity? How is it determined?
94. What is the difference between skin friction drag and pressure drag?
95. What is darcy’s equation?
96. What is fluid property responsible for the development of the velocity
boundary layer? What is the effect of the velocity on the thickness of
the boundary layer?
97. What are the different types of tube fittings you know?
98. How do leakages in the piping system occur?
99. How to minimize piping leakages?
100. How are leakages prevented from pipe joints?
101. What is a gasket?
102. What are the factors on which a gasket is selected for a process?
103. What does a valve do?
104. State different types of valves?
105. Under what circumstances Gate valves are used?
106. Where does a globe valve is used?
107. Turndown ratio of a flow meter?
108. Describe the mechanism of an orifice meter?
109. What do you mean by the term vena contract?
110. What are the demerits of an orifice meter?
111. What is the coefficient of discharge?
112. Why is the coefficient of discharge higher for venturi meter than
orifice meter?
113. What is a pitot tube?
114. Describe the working principle of a rotameter?
115. What are the advantages of a rotameter?
116. What are the demerits of a rotameter?
117. What is a turbine flow meter?
118. What are the various applications of turbine meters?
119. Classify different types of pumps?
120. Describe the working principle of a centrifugal pump?
121. Tell some salient features of centrifugal pumps?
122. Describe different parameters required to specify a centrifugal pump?
123. Describe different types of impellers?
124. Difference between open and enclosed impeller?
125. Which kind of impeller is used while pumping water from a pit?
126. Tell some applications of axial flow pumps?
127. What is a total dynamic head?
128. What is NPSH?
129. Factors on which NPSH of a centrifugal pump depend?
130. How can you increase the available NPSH?
131. How to reduce NPSH?
132. What is priming?
133. What is a self-priming pump?
134. What is brake horsepower?
135. What is the best efficiency point?
136. What is cavitation?
137. What are the indications of cavitation?
138. How to prevent suction cavitation?
139. How does cavitation occur at the discharge end?
140. What is the performance curve of a centrifugal pump?
141. What is a shut-off head?
142. When should we operate pumps in parallel?
143. What are the common criteria to select a centrifugal pump?
144. What is a reciprocating pump?
145. What are the uses of plunger pumps?
146. Tell me some applications of piston pumps?
147. Which pump has higher efficiency, centrifugal or reciprocating pump?
148. What causes pulsations in the flow?
149. How to prevent flow pulsations?
150. What are the major characteristics of rotary pumps you know?
151. Tell me some applications of rotary pumps?
152. What are the advantages of rotary pumps?
153. What are the salient features of a rotary screw pump?
154. What are the limitations of a screw pump?
155. What is a peristaltic pump?
156. What are the applications of ejectors?
157. What are the demerits of ejectors?
158. What is the operating mechanism of an ejector?
159. What is a steam jet ejector?
160. What is a booster ejector?
161. What are the different types of fans and blowers?
162. What are the applications of fans?
163. What are the different types of compressors you know?
164. What is the difference between pumps and compressors?
165. What are the advantages of centrifugal compressors?
166. What are the disadvantages of reciprocating compressors?
167. Tell some advantages and disadvantages of rotary screw compressors?
168. What is the specific speed of a compressor?
169. What is the range of efficiencies of rotary compressors?
170. What is surging in a compressor?
171. What are the consequences of compressor surging?
172. What is mixing?
173. Differentiate mixing and agitation?
174. How is mixing achieved?
175. Tell some applications of mixing?
176. Difference between micro and meso mixing?
177. Give some real-life examples of agitation?
178. What are the basic flow patterns in mixing processes?
179. What are the factors on which the efficiency of mixing depends?
180. What are the variables that influence the power requirements of an
agitator?
181. Differentiate batch and continuous mixing?
182. How does non-Newtonian behavior affect agitation in a mixer?
183. What is the Froude number for an agitator?
184. What is the impeller Reynolds number?
185. What is the power number for an impeller?
186. What is the relation between power number and Reynolds number?
187. What is the flow number?
188. What are the disadvantages of vortex formation in mixing operations?
189. How to prevent vortex formation?
190. What are the means usually used to increase mixing in a reactor?
191. Why are baffles used during mixing processes?
192. What will happen when we increase the number of baffles?
193. When should we avoid the use of baffles?
194. What is an impeller?
195. Classify different types of impellers?
196. What are the salient features of propeller mixers?
197. What are axial flow impellers?
198. What are radial flow impellers?
199. What is a draft tube?
200. What is a vortex mixer?