Fluid Mechanics 1

Fluid Mechanics deals with the study of the properties and movement of liquids. Fluids are found and used in every facet of our lives, ranging from the water we are so much dependent on to complex hydraulic machines. The history of fluid mechanics is as old as civilisation itself, as water has been used for centuries for irrigation, power, navigation, and so on. This unit of study aims to provide students with a strong understanding of the basic concepts of fluid mechanics, which is essential for most engineering disciplines. It would introduce and teach students numerous concepts in static fluids as well as fluids in motion. Most of these concepts would be taught using practical examples found in day-to-day life (eg. objects immersed in water, water flowing in garden hoses and pipes, pumps, etc). Practical lab experiments would be undertaken to explain these concepts using hands-on experiments and demonstrations. Topics include: Hydrostatics, pressure, force on immersed surfaces; Pressure measurement, piezometers and U-tube manometers; Stability of floating bodies, Archimedes principle and metacentric height; Hydrodynamics, classification of flows, continuity, momentum and energy equations and their applications; Flow in pipes, pipe friction equations and Moody's diagram, Flow measurement in pipes (venturi meter and orifice meter); Pumps, types of pumps, performance equations, affinity laws, pumps in series and parallel, cavitation and surge.