ME 130-2 (2Q SY 2021-2022)
Assignment 3
1. Consider the flow of air over the wings of an aircraft. Is this flow internal or external? How
about the flow of gases through a jet engine?
Answer: The flow of air that passes through an aircraft's engine is called an internal flow. This is
because the Jet engine limits the air flowing. Meanwhile, the air flowing over the wings is called
an external flow, for it is not within a limited space.
Reference: Speck, Thomas; Mehl, Jakob; Seifert, Udo (April 28, 2008). "Role of External Flow and
Frame Invariance in Stochastic Thermodynamics." Physical Review Letters. 100 (17)
2. Define incompressible flow and incompressible fluid. Must the flow of a compressible fluid
necessarily be treated as compressible?
Answer: Incompressible fluids are liquids that have a constant density that is not affected by
their environment. For instance, water is considered an incompressible fluid because its density
does not change even in small settings; for example, squeezing a garden hose with water
flowing through it does not change its density. On the other hand, incompressible flow describes
a flow with consistent density throughout the flow regardless of flow.
References: Richard W. Hanks, Fluid Dynamics (Chemical Engineering), Editor(s): Robert A.
Meyers, Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology (3rd Edition), Academic Press, 2003,
Pages 45-70, ISBN 9780122274107,
https://doi.org/10.1016/B0-12-227410-5/00249-0.
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0122274105002490)
3. When an airplane is flying at a constant speed relative to the ground, is it correct to say that the
Mach number of this airplane is also constant?
Answer: The Mach number is reliant on the speed of sound, and in this situation, the speed of
the airplane is relative to the ground; Therefore, the mach number is not constant. It means that
changes in altitude have some temperature changes due to which the properties for calculating
mach number also changes. Therefore mach number is not a constant. Ergo, the mach number
of an airplane flying at constant speed relative to the ground is not constant.
Reference: Cegel, Yunus (2014). " Fluid Mechanics Fundamentals and Applications3rd edition".
McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
4. When analyzing the acceleration of gases as they flow through a nozzle, what would you choose as
your system? What type of system is this?
Answer: When solving for the acceleration of gases, it is essential to analyze the flow through
the inlet and outlet of the nozzle. Therefore, treating the boundaries of the nozzle as the
system, it is evident that the gases flow past the limits. Ultimately, it is an open system.
Reference: Yunus Cengel (2015) "Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach: An Engineering
Approach 8th Edition". McGraw-Hill Higher Education. ISBN-13: 978-0077624811
5. You are trying to understand how a reciprocating air compressor (a piston-cylinder device) works.
What system would you use? What type of system is this?
Answer: When a system allows the transfer of heat energy, work, and matter across its
boundaries, it is defined as an open system. However, a reciprocating air compressor is a closed
system because there is no mass transfer, but a fixed mass exists, and an energy transfer occurs.
In this system, the compressor works the system as input work that increases the pressure and
temperature of the fixed mass. Therefore the system is closed. It is also noted that a
reciprocating air compressor could be considered as an open system during exhaust and intake.
Reference: Yunus Cengel (2015) "Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach: An Engineering
Approach 8th Edition". McGraw-Hill Higher Education. ISBN-13: 978-0077624811
6. In a news article, it is stated that a recently developed geared turbofan engine produces 15,000
pounds of thrust to propel the aircraft forward. Is “pound” mentioned here lbm or lbf? Explain
Answer: Pound force (lbf) is the force unit, whereas pound-mass (lbm) is the mass unit in the
English system. One pound force is the force required to accelerate a mass of 32.17 lbm by 1
ft/s2. The pound used in the news article is "lbf" because of geared turbofan engine produces
15,000 pounds of thrust to accelerate the aircraft.
Reference: Michael Boles Cengel (2014) "Thermodynamics 7th Edition". McGraw-Hill Higher
Education. ISBN13: 97800735293253
7. The speed of an aircraft is given to be 260 m/s in air. If the speed of sound at that location is 330
m/s, the flight of aircraft is under what mach number category.
Answer: To solve for the Mach number of the flight of the aircraft, the equation is to be used:
𝑉
𝑀𝐴 =
𝑐
Wherein c is the speed of sound at the location and V is the speed of the flight of the aircraft.
260
𝑀𝐴 =
330
= 0. 788
Since 0.788 is less than 1, the flight of the aircraft is considered to be sub-sonic. Sub-sonic
means that the speed of an object is below the speed of sound.
Reference: Yunus A Cenegal (2015) "Fluid Mechanics: Fundamentals and Applications." McGraw-
Hill Companies. ISBN-13: 978-007352926
8. A lunar excursion module weighs 1500 kgf on earth where g=9.75 mps2. What will be its weight on
the surface of the moon where gm = 1.70 mps2. On the surface of moon, what will be the force in kgf
and in N required to accelerate the module at 10 mps2? Ans. 15,087N
9. What is the mass in grams and the weight on dynes and gram-force of 12oz of salt? Local g=9.65
m/s2. Ans. 328,300 dynes
10. Derive the relation between degrees Fahrenheit and degrees Centigrade.
11. Show that ∆R=∆K(1.8)
12. Someone claims that the absolute pressure in a liquid of constant density doubles when the
depth is doubled. Do you agree? Explain.
Answer: According to Pascal's Law, the pressure applied to a confined fluid increases the
pressure throughout the same amount. The pressure in a liquid remains constant in the horizontal
direction. Based on Pascal's Law, the absolute pressure in a liquid does not double when the depth is
doubled.
Reference: Yunus A Cenegal (2015) "Fluid Mechanics: Fundamentals and Applications."
McGraw-Hill Companies. ISBN-13: 978-0073529264
13. What is a steady-flow process?
Answer: In a fluid flow, if the fluid properties like temperature density and velocity do not
change with regard to time, the flow is known as a steady flow. Many devices like boilers, heat
exchangers have operated in the same conditions for a long time. So they are known as Steady
flow devices.
In steady flow, the fluid properties change at different points, but at a fixed point, these
properties are constant. If the fluid properties at the moment vary periodically, then the flow is
analyzed as steady flow using time-averaged values. Steady flow is used to analyze the fluid flow
at different conditions.
Reference: Yunus A Cenegal (2015) "Fluid Mechanics: Fundamentals and Applications."
McGraw-Hill Companies. ISBN-13: 978-0073529264
14. Consider two identical fans, one at sea level and the other on top of a high mountain, running at
identical speeds. How would you compare (a) the volume flow rates and (b) the mass flow rates of
these two fans?
Answer: The density of air is dependent on height. As the height increases, the density of air
decreases because the air above sea level pushes its weight down and is compressed by
increasing the density.
Due to more density of air at sea level, the mass flow rate of the fan at sea level is higher than
the mass flow rate of air at the top of the mountain. However, the volume flow rate remains as
the speeds of the fans are similar.
Reference: Yunus Cengel (2015) "Loose Leaf for Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 8th
edition". McGraw-Hill Education.
15. What is the difference between gage pressure and absolute pressure?
Answer: Absolute pressure refers to the pressure relative to a perfect vacuum, and on the other
hand, gage pressure is relative to the atmosphere. Absolute pressure can be determined using
the formula below.
Absolute Pressure = Gage Pressure + Atmospheric Pressure.
Reference: Stanley I Sandler (2006) "Chemical, Biochemical, and Engineering Thermodynamics
4th Edition". Wiley. ISBN-13: 978-0471661740
