MREN241 - Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Power - Queen's University

Table of Contents

What you will learn

An introductory course in fluid mechanics with application to fluid power systems. Topics include properties of fluids, fluids at rest, dimensional analysis, the laws of conservation of mass and momentum, Bernoulli’s equation for incompressible flow and the energy equation, flow measurements, elementary pipe flow problems including losses due to pumps, valves etc. Laboratories will introduce students to pressure and flow measuring devices, pneumatic and hydraulic components and actuators, and circuit analysis of fluid power systems. Upon completion of the course students will be able to:

  1. Define a fluid based on its thermodynamic properties.
  2. Distinguish between a Eulerian and a Lagrangian approach to fluid mechanics.
  3. Compute pressure distribution and forces on submerged bodies in a static fluid.
  4. Handle flow problems in an integral framework using the conservation of mass and momentum.
  5. Understand the relevance of dimensional analysis and non-dimensional groups.
  6. Use Bernoulli’s equation to solve simple flow problems involving Pitot probes and Bernoulli’s obstacles.
  7. Solve pipe flow problems and piping systems involving pumps, minor and major losses.

Instructor

Dr. Ambrogi Francesco

Pre-requisite knowledge

This course is a requirement for all second year Mechanical and Materials Engineering students at Queen’s University. This course is designed for learners who have successfully completed the first-year program in engineering and a course in differential equations. Learners must have completed the prerequisite course (APSC 111 - Physics) or a similar course.

Course materials

Download the Course Syllabus HERE

Required textbook: Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics, Seventh Edition, Munson (Wiley)

Suggested time commitment

Generally, we expect that students attend all lectures (3hrs/week), review material at home (1 hr/week), complete the weekly assignment problems (1-2 hrs/week - if an assignment takes much more than 1 hr you should be doing additional problems and coming to tutorials and office hours for additional help understanding, about another 2 hours a week). If you keep up your understanding week to week, then a few hours review should be enough to do well on the final exam. An average student will be able to do well in this course by spending about 6 hours a week, over the twelve-week term.

Students feedback

Student A

The best prof I’ve had so far at Queen’s, which is high praise because I had some pretty great profs in first year. You’re so well organized and communicate all the concepts so thoroughly. The lectures themselves are enough for me to grasp the material as you always give explanations for why certain assumptions are made, why fluids exhibit certain behaviours, etc. If I had any further questions, I always feel comfortable coming to ask you. You’re very approachable and seem like you care about your students’ success. I find your class to be one of the easiest ones I have right now, but that’s purely because of how well you teach it and how engaged I am in your lectures.

Student B

Definitely my favourite professor this year. Articulate, clear and concise, and very engaging during lectures. I firmly believe that without the Francesco’s teaching style, I would find the content in this course significantly harder than I do now. It is clear he cares about the students in his class as well; I was surprised to learn he remembered my name when he greeted me at a lecture, when I had told him it only once a couple of weeks ago. I only have positive things to say about my experience with the professor for this class.

Student C

Francesco is one of the most approachable and understanding professors, and I really appreciate this. He explains content in a very clear way, makes notes available, and provides practice problems with carefully worked and explained solutions.