ME231A Fluid Mechanics

Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Kanpur

Academic year: 2022-2023

Instructor:
Dr Pranav Joshi (NL-301, Ph: 2023, [email protected])
Office hours: Tuesday 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm.

Teaching assistants:
1. Radha Ram Pandey (roll number 21105077)
2. Papu Sahu (roll number 22105051)
3. Akshay Manjarekar (roll number 21105013)
4. Ankit Kumar (roll number 22105009)
5. Keshav Kumar (roll number 22105034)
6. Abhinesh Pandey (roll number 21105003)
7. Shashank Shekhar (roll number 21105096)
Course objectives:
The course will provide the students with a broad perspective of the field of fluid mechanics
and the kinds of techniques utilized to study it. It will also equip the students with various
tools for analysing the behaviour of fluids and its impact in various applications, and
understanding the conditions under which certain simplifying approximations are valid.
Prerequisites: None
Summary of course contents:
Reynolds Transport Theorem; Integral form of continuity, momentum and energy; Eulerian
and Lagrangian viewpoints; Constitutive relations; Navier Stokes equations: Exact solutions;
Potential flow; Boundary layer theory; Separation and drag; Turbulent flow: Reynolds
averaged equations; Turbulent flows in pipes and channels; compressible flows
(As per OARS Course Master Database available on the DoAA website:
https://www.iitk.ac.in/doaa/data/List-of-courses-2016-with-course-contents.pdf)
Detailed course contents:
Module 1: Introduction and preliminaries (2 lectures)
Introduction, concept of a fluid, continuum hypothesis, fluid properties, types of fluid flow,
various approaches to flow analysis, streamlines, streaklines, pathlines, stream tubes.
Module 2: Fluid statics (4 lectures)
Equilibrium of a static fluid element, pressure force on a fluid element, forces on a moving
fluid element, pressure distribution in hydrostatics and manometry, forces on submerged
bodies, buoyancy and stability.
Module 3: Control volume analysis (6 lectures)
Systems and control volumes, Reynolds transport theorem, applications to mass, momentum,
angular momentum, and energy balance, Bernoulli equation and applications
Module 4: Differential analysis (6 lectures)
Lagrangian and Eulerian description, material derivative, stress, strain, vorticity, differential
equations for mass and momentum, constitutive relations, Euler and Navier-Stokes
equations, boundary and initial conditions
Module 5: Exact solutions to Navier-Stokes equations (2 lectures)
Modified pressure, plane couette flow, plane Poiseuille flow, circular Poiseuille (pipe) flow,
flow between concentric cylinders
Module 6: Dimensional analysis and similarity (3 lectures)
Principle of dimensional homogeneity, Pi Theorem, non-dimensionalization of basic
equations, similarity and modelling
Module 7: Potential flow (7 lectures)
Introduction to potential flows, vortex line, circulation, Kelvin’s theorem (persistence of
irrotationality), special character of potential flows (linearity, uniqueness), building block
solutions, superposition and the method of images, complex potential, analytic functions,
conformal transformations, standard flow patterns, flow over a circular cylinder, flow over a
cylinder with circulation, Joukowski transformation (overview only), Kutta condition and the
lift of an airfoil
Module 8: Boundary layers (7 lectures)
Similarity solution – Stokes’ first problem, Introduction to boundary layers, definition of BL
thicknesses, momentum integral relation, use of guess velocity profile, order of magnitude
analysis, Derivation of BL equations, Blasius solution, shooting method, Falkner-Skan
similarity profiles, BL separation, drag and its dependence on BL separation
Module 9: Turbulent boundary layers and pipe flows (3 lectures)
General properties of turbulent flows, RANS equation, Reynolds stresses, turbulent BL:
velocity profile and skin friction coefficient, turbulent flow in pipes
Grading policy:
Homework: 5%
Quizzes: 30%
Midsem exam: 25%
Final exam: 40%

Instructions:
1. The course will be conducted in an in-person mode in lecture hall L1. However,
homework assignments and some resources will be published on the course portal:
https://hello.iitk.ac.in/. The completed assignments have to be uploaded on the same
portal.
2. The details of the quizzes and their mode of conduct will be shared later.
3. No makeup quiz or exam will be held for missed quizzes and the midsem exam.
4. All exams and quizzes will be closed books and notes unless explicitly stated otherwise.
5. All students are expected to show academic integrity. Any malpractice such as copying
or collaborative work (unless specifically allowed by the instructor) in quizzes/exams
will attract zero marks for all the students involved. Repeat offenders will be de-
registered from the course and will be reported to DoAA.

Books
1. White, F.M., Fluid Mechanics, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1986.
2. Cengel, Y. A. and Cimbala, J. M., Fluid Mechanics: Fundamentals and Applications,
McGraw-Hill, 2019.
3. Kundu, P., Cohen, I. and Dowling, D., Fluid Mechanics with Multimedia, 5 th edition,
Elsevier publishers, New York, 2011.
4. Currie, I.G., Fundamental Mechanics of Fluids, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1993.
5. Anderson, Jr., J.D., Fundamentals of Aerodynamics, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1986.
6. Batchelor, G.K., An Introduction to Fluid Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, UK,
1993.
7. Fox, R. W., McDonald A. T. and Mitchell, J. W., Fox and McDonald's Introduction to Fluid
Mechanics, John Wiley & Sons, 2020.
8. Vallentine, H. R., Applied Hydrodynamics, Butterworths.