TPS200 Introduction to Fluid Mechanics

Fluid mechanics is concerned with forces and motion in fluids, i.e. liquids and gases. This is a basic topic in physics with many practical applications, and the purpose of TPS200 is to provide an introduction to fluid mechanics that is suitable for engineering students. The course contains a significant laboratory component that illustrates important flow phenomena in practice. The course is particularly relevant for students in water and environmental engineering, mechanical engineering (technology and product development) and environmental physics. Adjustments have been made to the course content for the academic year 2024/2025 which strengthen this relevance (open channel flow has been moved to THT211 and pumps/turbines have been included in TPS200).

The following list summarizes the topics that are covered in the course:

Viscosity and mechanical properties of fluids. Fluids at rest and in equilibrium (fluid statics). Kinematics of fluid motion. The Euler equation and Bernoulli equation for inviscid flow. Reynold's transport theorem. Conservation of mass (continuity equation), momentum (momentum equation) and energy (energy equation) for control volumes. Cavitation. Boundary layers (simple). Incompressible flow in closed conduits. Dimensional analysis, similitude. Pumps and turbines. Lift and drag on objects. Introduction to inviscid flow analysis, Navier-Stokes equations and CFD.

Knowledge:

• The student is able to describe the most important physical properties of fluids and obtain values for these properties from tables etc.
• The student is able to understand and describe the formulae for calculating pressure forces, moments and stability for objects submerged in fluids at rest and in equilibrium
• The student is able to understand and describe kinematic concepts in fluid mechanics and is familiar with Reynolds transport theorem
• The student is able to understand and describe Euler's equation and Bernoulli's equation for steady inviscid flow
• The student is able to understand and describe the basic conservation laws in fluid mechanics and the associated control volume equations (the continuity equation, the impulse equation, the energy equation)
• The student is familiar with the boundary layer concept and the role it plays in pipe flow and for drag and lift forces
• The student is able to understand and describe the formulae for incompressible pipe flow problems
• The student is able to understand and describe the basic principles of dimensional analysis and similarity, and explain the most common dimensionless numbers in fluid mechanics
• The student is able to understand and describe the principle of operation of the most common pumps and turbines, and understand how to do calculations related to operating point, power, efficiency and cavitation
• The student is able to understand and describe the calculation of drag and lift in steady, incompressible flow and explain the significance of the Reynolds number in this context
• The student is able to describe the Navier-Stokes equations for incompressible, Newtonian flow
• The student is able to describe the principles of ideal, inviscid flow (potential flow)
• The student is familiar with the concept of CFD and the possibilities of CFD

Skills:

• The student is able to apply the knowledge described above to solve simple flow problems for mainly steady, incompressible flow using control volume analysis
• The student is able to distinguish between different categories of flow problems and identify relevant equations for a given problem
• The student is able to carry out practical experiments related to fluids in motion

General competence:

• The student has experienced that problem solving in the natural sciences and engineering usually require the use of several basic principles/equations
• The student has experienced that problems in natural science and engineering often have to be solved numerically
• The student has experience with critical interpretation of results from experiments in light of theory and measurement uncertainty
• The student has experience of working in groups