ChE 441: Advanced Transport Phenomenon October 27, 2010

MID-TERM EXAM
(130 points total)

Name: ________________________

Please answer all parts of all questions. Show all your calculations clearly,
leaving nothing to interpretation. Show all work for full credit.
1. (30 points)
A 5 mm diameter hollow sphere with a mass of 0.05 grams is released in a column of
liquid and attains a terminal velocity of 0.50 cm/s. The liquid density is 0.900 g/cm3. The
local gravitational acceleration is 980.7 cm/s2. The sphere is far enough from the
containing walls so that their effect can be neglected.
(a) Compute the drag force on the sphere.
(b) Compute the friction factor
(c) Determine the viscosity of the liquid
Solution
(a) Compute the drag force on the sphere
Drag force = Buoyant force - Gravity Force

So,

(b) Compute the friction factor

Solving for ,

(c) Determine the viscosity of the liquid

In Figure 6.3-1 on page 187 of the text, we see that
asymptote (i.e. the Creeping flow asymptote), so,

is very close the Stokes' law

Thus,

Rearranging and solving for viscosity,

2.
(60 points)
A Newtonian fluid is flowing in laminar flow through a circular horizontal tube of radius R
and length L. At the entrance the pressure is p0 and at the exit the pressure is pL. You
may assume that gravity forces in this system are negligible, and that there is no
accumulation in the system. Perform a shell balance and derive an expression for the
average velocity of this fluid.
Solution
Shell Balance:
Rate of z-momentum accumulation=Rate In - Rate Out + Force of gravity

Divide through by

and take the limit as

Dividing through by L, and noting that

and that

Rearranging,

Integrate,

Boundary Conditions:
BC#1:
This gives

and thus,

Since we have a Newtonian Fluid,

, plugging this into the above equation,

Boundary Conditions:
BC#2:

(No-Slip Boundary Condition)

Substituting,

Rearranging,

Average velocity has the equation,

Since,

3. (40 points)
We are painting the walls of a room. The walls are smooth and vertical. Our paint
behaves like a Bingham plastic with a yield stress, , of 113 dynes/cm2.When the shear
stress exceeds the yield stress, the paint behaves like a Newtonian fluid with a viscosity
of 3.0 centipoise (cp) and a density of 1.15 grams/cm3. We would like to apply the paint
so that it will stay on the wall and not drip. Beginning with the relevant equation of
motion, please calculate the maximum thickness in centimeters of paint that can be
applied.
Note: 1 dyne=1 g-cm/sec2, 1 cp=0.01 g/cm-sec, g=9.8 m/s2 (gravity constant).

Solution
Beginning with the

direction Navier-Stokes Equation,

Since we have free stream flow,

Rearranging and integrating,

Boundary Condition:
BC#1:
stress.

at

. This says that at the surface of the paint there is no shear

Substituting back,

Grouping terms:

Plugging in the information we have, and realizing that the shear will be in the negative
z-direction,