Spring 2020 Semester-COVID-19 Project at Home

  Viscosity is due to an internal force that is affected by the state of being thick, sticky and semifluid in its consistency. The objective of this lab was to determine the effect of temperature on the viscosity of a fluid. The hypothesis was that all fluids will experience a lower viscosity when the temperature is higher than room temperature compared to when their temperatures are at room temperature or below room temperature. An equation for viscosity was not readily available, therefore velocity was calculated to determine relative viscosity trends. This was based on the assumption that viscosity and velocity are inversely related. To perform this experiment, first angle a cooking pan at 45-degrees, with a piece of paper taped to the back and covered smooth in saran wrap. Perform the tests by recording the time the fluid takes to travel from one end of the 8”x11.5” paper to the other end. The results confirmed and validated the hypothesis. A fluid, such as honey, was recorded traveling the length of the paper on average at 116.07 seconds while colder than room temperature. Then, while at a warmer temperature than room temperature, the honey had an average time of 0.48 seconds. Therefore, as the temperature becomes higher for the fluid, the velocity increases which correlates to a lower viscosity, and vice versa.

The force that a water jet produces is critical in the design of many apparatuses in everyday life

such as firefighting hoses, irrigation systems, mining operations, water jet cutting machines, and garden

hoses. The objective of this experiment was to determine the force that a typical garden hose water jet

can produce by using the linear momentum equation. This was achieved by measuring the time it takes

to fill a 5 gallon bucket, measuring the inside diameter of the hose, and taking the temperature of the

water. This data was used to calculate the force of the water jet from the garden hose. The results of the

lab indicate that the garden hose tested produced a force of 0.083 lbf. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBwWyYIltzQ.

Siphons have been used since very early times as a practical and inexpensive way to move water from place to place. Gravitational forces and pressure variations are the factors that allow the siphon to be successful. The objective of this lab experiment was to examine how different liquids, gas and water, flow through the siphon. This lab experiment was performed by using two measuring glasses, a 0.5-centimeter diameter clear tube, and a pipette. Once a measuring glass was placed at a higher elevation than the other and filled with the desired liquid, one end of the tube was placed into the elevated glass, while the other end of the tube was placed in the lower glass. Then, suction was applied to the exposed end of the tube until a steady flow of liquid was achieved. A stopwatch was used to determine the flow rate. The results of this lab indicated that gasoline was able to achieve a higher flow rate and velocity than water. The average velocity of gasoline at the exit of the siphon was 0.359 m/s, while the average velocity of water was 0.314 m/s. This can be expected because gasoline is less dense than water. Reynolds number for gasoline was determined to be 4642 and waters Reynolds number was 3884. Therefore, both liquids were in turbulent flow.

  The objectives of the lab were to determine velocity, flow rate, major and minor losses of two water flows out of a garden hose and prove that fluids with a higher velocity have lower internal pressure compared to those with a lesser velocity. Required materials included a garden hose, thermometer, PVC pipe, food coloring, tape measure, and stopwatch. Lengths and diameters of the garden hose and PVC pipe needed to be collected. The procedure of the experiment involved adding food coloring to water running through the PVC pipe and timing how long it took the water to reach the end of the pipe. The process was completed 6 times for two different flows. With a known length of PVC pipe and average time for each flow, average velocity and flow rates were calculated (flow 1: 2.88 ft/s, 0.0245 ft3/s and flow 2: 3.40 ft/s, 0.0272 ft3/s). Using Bernoulli’s equation and the average velocities, the pressure difference between the two flows was calculated to be 1.84 psf. Therefore, the theory that pressure is inversely related velocity was proven. The higher the velocity is for a flow of water, the lower the internal pressure is, which explains why faster moving flows of water stream farther and straighter than slower flows. Furthermore, the hose diameter and velocities were used to calculate Reynold’s Number and classify each flow. Each flow was classified as turbulent as the Reynold’s Numbers for flows 1 and 2 were 9,760 and 10,819, respectively. Lastly, the length and diameter of the garden hose were used with the flow velocities to calculate major and minor head loss within the hose for each flow of water (flow 1: 0.826 ft, 0.141 ft and flow 2: 0.916 ft, 0.174 ft). The values were added together to calculate total head loss for flow 1 (0.968 ft) and flow 2 (1.090 ft). 

There are a seemingly infinite amount of liquids in the world. Many of them one can find in their home. Our team set out to find the fluid properties of some common household liquids. Properties measured include viscosity, specific gravity, and surface tension. To accomplish this task, a home experiment was conducted. A large clear water bottle would be filled with a given fluid. A bead with measured density was dropped into the liquid and timed to see how long it would take for the bead to fall from one mark to the next. From there, the velocity of the bead can be calculated. The fluid density would also be calculated by knowing the volume and weight of the liquid. From knowing the bead density, liquid density, and bead velocity, the dynamic viscosity of the liquid can be calculated. Also, from knowing the liquid’s density, the specific gravity of the fluid can be calculated. Surface tension can be calculated by putting a straw into a liquid and seeing how high the capillary rise is. Surface tension is calculated using the capillary rise, density, and radius of the straw. These properties were then tabulated and compared.

  The purpose of this experiment was to determine the feasibility of converting the Indian Ford River Dam into a hydroelectric power supply using a turbine. The experiment was conducted by using Bernoulli's equation to determine the head loss due to the turbine and the power was calculated using the turbine power equation. Some design assumptions needed to be made due to our inability to physically take measurements of the dam. Power was calculated using both high and low flows of the river to show a range of power production. The power calculated in megawatts was then converted to equivalence in number of people the hydropower dam would service with electricity. It was concluded that the use of a turbine to harness hydroelectric power would be a feasible and recommended action.

The objective of this lab was to determine the pressure added per pump of a water gun by

using Bernoulli’s equation and kinematics. To determine the pressure added per pump, a water gun

was placed on an elevated surface at a certain height, pumped a certain number of times, shot, and

then the max distance of the water traveled was recorded. The experiment consisted of two rounds.

The only difference between them was the water guns elevation. Then the first kinematic equation

was used to calculate time of travel. The second kinematic equation calculated the max velocity of the

water. Lastly, Bernoulli’s equation was used to determine the pressure inside the water gun.

 The purpose of this lab experiment was to create a model hydraulic lift to demonstrate the applications of pressure in the real world. This was completed by using different sized syringes to see how heavier objects can be lifted from the difference in pressure within syringes. The use of Pascal’s Principle shows the force it takes to lift a certain amount of weight for each different sized syringe. 

  Bernoulli’s Equation is a simple but powerful tool that can be used to find pressure, velocity, and elevation. The objective of this experiment was to determine the pressure at the end of the hose. This was achieved by filling a 55-gallon drum with the hose set at 45 psi. The head loss and velocities were calculated after the experiment. The results found by this experiment revealed that the pressure at the end of the hose was 43.4 psi. The pressure was lower than the initial pressure of 45 psi due to major and minor head losses that occurred through the hose. 

  The purpose of this experiment is to further understand viscosity of various liquid (i.e. water, oil, etc.) by developing an experimental procedure that uses Stokes’ Law. Viscosity is defined as the internal resistance of a fluid to motion and is expressed as the ratio of shear stress to the rate of deformation. The goal of this experiment was to obtain viscosities of household liquids using Stokes law. Through ten trials of dropping a bead in a tube of water, oil, and soda water and measuring the time it takes to drop a known distance. An average mass and radius for the ten beads is found, with each bead being used being one of the ten trials. By measuring volume and mass of each liquid, a density of the liquids can be calculated. This same process can be repeated for the beads to find their density as well. Once all these values are obtained, Stokes law is utilized to find the dynamic viscosity of each liquid. The results of this experiment yielded that the dynamic viscosity of water at 20° C is 0.040575 kg/m*s, for oil at 21° C is 0.108484 kg/m*s, and for soda at 10.5° C is 0.051442 kg/m*s.

 The objective of this experiment was to determine the viscosity of water, oil and syrup by analyzing data and utilizing stokes’ law.  This was accomplished by dropping identical metal BB’s into various jars that contained different liquids and each of which had different viscosities.  The jars would be full of a liquid and each jar would have an area marked off in which the lab group would record the time it took for a BB to fall through it.  The area that was marked off varied depending on what liquid was in the jar.  When the BB’s traveled through the 10w-30 motor oil, the time it took for a BB to fall 5 inches was recorded.  When the BB’s traveled through the syrup, the time it took the BB’s to descend through 4 inches was also recorded.  The time it took for the BB to travel through 6 inches of water was also documented.  This test would be repeated 10 times per jar for all 3 jars in order to obtain good data.  When the lab was done and all of the calculations were completed, some groups found that the percent error is high.  The reason for this is due to the many complications that this lab involves.  Some factors for error could be that the metal BB’s do not fall straight down.  This extra motion could increase the BB’s traveling time.  Human error could be to blame as well when it comes to timing the BB’s descent through the marked off zone.  Due to the factors of error, some variation in the experimental data should be expected. 

  The objective of this experiment was to find the best inlet casting design that allowed the fastest flow rate while not letting an excessive amount of debris through. In order to determine which inlet casting was the best, velocity of flow would have to be determined. Velocity plays a vital role in the experiment because if the inlet has a slow flow velocity, then water could pool up and cause flooding which could lead to different infrastructure problems. Another aspect that affects the flow rate is debris in an inlet. The purpose of the casting design is to allow water to flow in while keeping debris out. Procedure of this experiment was as follows: Cut out an inlet design in four different 5 gallon buckets, one design being five 8” long by 1” wide rectangular slits, another design having nineteen equally spaced 1” diameter circles, the next design being five equally spaced 3” diameter circles, and the last being nineteen 1” squares equally spaced throughout the bottom of the bucket. After the designs were cut out, three trials were conducted on each bucket for each test conducted. The first test was simply pouring 3 gallons of water into each bucket and timing how many seconds it took to completely empty. The second test was adding in ¾” gravel into each bucket and pouring in 3 gallons and again timing how long it took for the water to filter through. Along with timing how long the water took to filter through, amount of debris that stayed in the bottom of the bucket was counted. The buckets were also tested with sticks and leaves following the same steps and data collection. After all data was collected and analyzed, flow rate was found by taking 3 gallons, converting the gallons to cubic feet, then dividing by the time it took to filter through the bucket (in seconds). Velocity of the flow was then determined by taking the flow rate and dividing it by the total area of all openings in the casting. 

 The Purpose of this laboratory experiment was to test the ram pump for its efficiencies rates compared to the ratio of output to input heads. This was accomplished by running the ram pump using different heights for the output head (Garden Hose), while keeping the input head constant, except for the largest output head trial where the input head needed to be increased. Efficiency was determined by capturing the water that was successfully sent through the pump and the water that was wasted. 

Darcy’s Equation states that the total head loss of a fluid travelling through a piping system is directly proportional to the velocity of a fluid and a unique “friction factor” that is directly proportional to the absolute roughness coefficient of the material of the pipe in which a fluid travels through. The purpose of this project was to investigate and verify if a direct relationship existed between the roughness of a pipe material and a fluid’s total head loss and between fluid velocity and a fluid’s total head loss. To achieve this, two separate experiments were conducted in which a fluid’s total head loss was determined as it traveled between two points in a ductile iron, a copper, and/or a PVC pipe of equal length and diameter in a head loss apparatus. The secondary objective of this project was to calculate the average experimental roughness coefficient of ductile iron, copper, and PVC pipes and to compare these values with theoretical values.

Experimental results revealed that fluid travelling through the ductile iron pipe was consistently subjected to the highest head loss of the three materials tested, while fluid travelling through the copper pipe was consistently subjected to the lowest head loss of the three materials tested. Average experimental absolute roughness coefficient values obtained for ductile iron, copper, and PVC pipes differed from theoretical values by approximately 21%, 22%, and 182%, respectively. Experimental results also revealed that the total head loss of a fluid travelling through a PVC pipe increased at a near steady rate as fluid velocity increased through four trials but surprisingly decreased as fluid velocity increased in two further trials. Despite the presence of some erroneous values in experimental data, results generally proved the concept that the roughness of a pipe material and the velocity of a fluid are directly proportional to the head loss a fluid is subjected to in a piping system.

 The purpose of this experiment was to calculate the major and minor losses in a piping system along with comparing the theoretical minor loss coefficient versus the experimental minor loss coefficient. This was done by first designing a piping system with five 90° smooth bend flanged elbows and two flanged branch flow tee joints, as seen in Figure 1. Along with the piping system a hydraulic bench and a bench top orifice apparatus was used. With this lab and knowledge from lecture regarding head loss, Reynold’s number, and Bernoulli’s Equation, the understanding of how to calculate and to determine how major and minor losses act on a system should be more clear. When comparing the theoretical and experimental minor loss coefficients of the apparatus and piping system the data provided results for the minor loss coefficients within a 30.1% error. In order to obtain more accurate results, it was determined that a longer piping system could be used since the short system that was used might not obtain a large head loss to begin with. 

 The objective of this project was to calculate and compare head loss across pipes made of different materials and with different diameters. In this project the pipes used were as follows: one half-inch PVC, one half-inch iron, one five-eighths-inch iron, and one half-inch copper. For this, the change in pressure and flow rate were measured, and calculations were made to determine the theoretical and experimental head losses. Overall, the experiment was successful in determining and comparing the head losses in the PVC, one half inch iron, and copper pipes; however, the experiment was not successful in determining the head loss in the 5/8” iron pipe, having an approximate error of one hundred percent.   

The purpose of this report is to relay results from a student designed lab. The lab was designed to record the necessary data that would help to calculate the Output Shaft Power and Maximum Power Output of a Pelton Turbine. This was done by connecting the Pelton Turbine to a hydraulic bench in the fluids lab in order to record revolutions per second and flow rate. Another objective of the lab was to compare the Output Shaft Power and the Maximum Power Output. The results showed that the Output Shaft Power is 0.242 Watts while the Maximum Power Output for this particular Pelton Turbine is 91.8 Watts. What this means will be discussed in the analysis portion of this report.

The objectives of the lab were to determine head loss of a pump by using Bernoulli’s equation, and to find the horsepower of the pump during the experiment. The procedure included the use of the pump in the open channel system, measuring the lengths of the piping, and counting the number of elbows and valves for total head loss calculations. The head loss of the pump was then calculated using Bernoulli’s Equation, and the horsepower was calculated after that. Schematics for the specific pump used in the experiment were researched online and then compared with the experimental data. When comparing the manufacturer data with the data found during the lab, a relatively large percent error was observed. However, the pump was not run at its ideal efficiency, so some variation in data was expected.

A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aquaculture, and navigability. Hydropower is often used in conjunction with dams to generate electricity. A dam is real world application of fluid mechanics. Determining the hydrostatic force and pressure to hold back water are major calculations conducted, as well as determining the dimensions for the damn, determining the flow rate going through the turbines, and determining the velocity going through the turbine.

 The design consisted of several pieces of PVC pipe measured and connected to each other, while filter media was placed in between the pieces. Construction took place in the Engineering Hall shop utilizing multiple machines to cut and drill the piping. Pipes were then sanded and filed to achieve snug fits into holes and were then epoxied together. The purpose the apparatus was to find the minor losses created by the filter in the system. Multiple types of media were used inside of the filter which showed changed in pressure head for both upstream and downstream. Pitot tubes were used to find pressure heads before and after the filter. The polyester media was found to have a higher impact on head loss compared to the scouring media. Hydraulic conductivity values for the polyester and scouring media were 0.9704 and 1.204 in/s 

 A pumped storage hydropower system is a source of renewable energy that uses an elevation difference in water to produce electricity. The Bernoulli's equation was the key to determine the correct variables needed to design this system. A prototype was built and tested to ensure the correct equations were in use to design a full-scale system to produce enough power for a single-family house.  

 The purpose of this design project is to introduce the idea of building a dam for the Cedar River. The design of this new dam will help prevent flooding problems in nearby cities from heavy rain fall. The purpose of the concrete dam is to hold back water to a certain point. Once the water approaches the top of the dam, a pipe near the top will carry the water to the other side of the dam. This will cause the water to flow more slowly to the other side. Complete construction and no leaks in the system is necessary. Disregarding this may lead to erosion problems around the flow way or flooding in the nearby cities.  

A client representing a city is in pursuit of a renewable energy source. Looking to utilize the nearby water source, a river, the client contracted with the Dam Engineers to design and present the plausibility of installing a hydroelectric dam to produce clean, renewable energy for the client’s city.

The purpose of the project is to consider the constraints and power requirements of the city and design a hydroelectric dam that will produce the proper output. The city has a unique restriction on the area of the output of water. Due to this constraint, the variable left to be determined will be the amount of head to maintain behind the dam to create the proper flow into the turbines.

To test the plausibility of a hydroelectric dam, Dam Engineers created a scaled model of the dam and turbine combination. A holding tank with an orifice was used to represent the dam itself, PVC pipe connections was used to represent the piping system, and a small turbine was used to extract energy from the water and convert it to electricity.  Some key data collected during the design process include the turbine head (ht) value of the turbine, the efficiency needed to produce enough power .

Through a series of 5 trials, flow of the water was found as well as the pump power to determine if this model would be dependable and work in the field. To replicate a real-life model that firefighters use to fight fires with and how a firefighting operation could determine how long their water reserves will last.

The objective of this lab experiment was to find the pump head and power for a splash pad system using Bernoulli’s equation. ¾’’ PVC pipe was the material used and the system had two elbows, a steel wool filter, and a Y distribution valve. The respective major and minor losses were calculated for the Bernoulli’s equation calculations. Four different flow rates were used to find four pump head values and a graph was generated from the results. This graph was then used to find the appropriately sized pumps to use in future splash pad design systems.

The Purpose of this project was to experiment with the effect of five consecutive 90° bends on a PVC piping system and compare the results to that of the same piping system constructed from copper piping. These two materials were chosen to use for this project due to their frequent use within municipalities, private and commercial, and for their availability along with ease of construction for this arrangement. This project is set up to evaluate the efficiency of the two piping systems in terms of fluid flow along with the cost of materials. The hypothesis in this experiment was that the resulting head loss of PVC pipe would be less than that of copper pipe. The resulting head losses were compiled for PVC pipe with five bends, and these results were compared to the resulting head losses compiled for copper pipe with five bends. The flow was determined and classified for both pipe sections with Reynold’s number and the friction factor for major head loss was obtained from Haaland’s Equation. Figure 1 below shows the piping arrangement used for this project.  

The team was asked to design a piping system to remove water from the bilge of a boat using a bilge pump. The design team used ¾ inch schedule 40 PVC pipe and 90° PVC elbow for the piping system.  The design team found the theoretical headloss from the manufacturers flow rate of the pump and found the headloss to be 4.4 ft. An experiment was conducted to find the actual flow rate of the bilge pump with the piping system and found the actual flow rate to be 523 GPH. The theoretical flow rate of the pump was 750 GPH. From the test results the design team found that the bilge pump was 69.7% efficient. The team was able to recommend this design to be installed on the boat by the client. 

Spillways are designed to provide a controlled release of flow and reduce the mechanical energy of water to prevent the damage of a dam. The purpose of this lab was to compare the energy dissipation ratio and coefficient of discharge of a straight drop, cascading, and vertical shaft spillway. This was accomplished by constructing three different spillways to examine the effects in an open channel system. The velocity of the water was recorded on each side of the structure, as well as the height of the water. These values where then used to determine head loss, specific energy, and the coefficient of discharge of the system to compare across the three spillway designs.

The behavior of a fluid in an open channel flowing over a bump is something can be characterized using fluid mechanics. Different concepts can be used to determine how high a bump needs to be in order to cause a desired amount of energy loss in a channel. This can be applied in streams and rivers while designing a wing dam to help reduce shore-line erosion by flowing water. Froude’s number describes the character of flow in an open channel and can define flow as being subcritical, critical, or supercritical. The energy dissipation ratio shows how much the obstruction affects the flow in the channel. The objective of this lab was to see how different obstructions in an open channel affect Froude’s number, the energy dissipation ratio, and determine the experimental height of the obstruction in the channel. Three trials were performed for each of the two shapes, a concrete cube and a cylinder, at differing velocities. Velocity data was gathered before and after each concrete shape and water height as well as shape dimensions were recorded. Conclusions from this lab indicate that as the size of the object increases, the energy dissipation ratio increases as well. As the velocity of the water increases, the energy dissipation ratio decreases. The Froude’s Number should that the flow in the channel was subcritical, and the Froude’s Number over the bump was very close to 1 and critical. The experimental values for the height of the bump in the channel were found and had a percent error of 81%-128%. This is most likely due to inaccurate equipment and readings during the lab.

 The objective of this experiment is to evaluate and design a water delivery system for a fire suppression or yard sprinkler. Bernoulli’s equation would be used to calculate the expected overall changes in energy and compare them to changes measured in the experiment. The process included the use of a single PVC pipe with several holes drilled into its side (seen in Figure 1 below), which water would sequentially flow out of. The heights, dimensions, positions, outflow velocities, and pressures recorded at each of these locations were then used to determine the differences in resulting head at the end of the system. These losses were then compared to expected changes in pressure and velocity heads using Bernoulli’s equation. Changes in pressure occurred similarly to predicted trends with variations only occurring due to other losses throughout the system. Velocity head gradually increased over the length of the piping, due to errors in the design of the pipe, but changes in flow rates as holes were blocked provided data agreed with theoretical values. Overall the pipe would need to be heavily modified for use in an actual fire safety system.