Laboratory Manual

FLUID MECHANICS
ME 211

C. M. Megaridis and W. J. Minkowycz Mechanical and Industrial Engineering University of Illinois at Chicago August 2003

EXPERIMENT#2
TO DETERMINE TERMINAL VELOCITY OF A SHPERE IN WATER Objective This experiment examines some fundamental concepts relevant to the gravitational settling of a solid sphere falling within a liquid medium. The main goal of the experiment is to measure the drag force exerted on the sphere and examine the dependence of the drag coefficient on the associated Reynolds number. Theoretical background Consider a solid smooth sphere moving along the direction of gravity (see schematic below). The forces acting on the sphere are: a) its weight W=mg , b) the drag force D, which opposes motion, and c) the buoyant force Fb (due to the displacement of the liquid).

D Fb
g

Fig. 1: Schematic of the forces exerted on a smooth solid sphere falling within a liquid in the direction of gravity.

The drag force on a sphere of diameter d,which moves with instantaneous velocity given by D=C A fluid U 2 /2 (1) D where A=p d 2 /4, andC D is the drag coefficient. The Reynolds number is defined by Re =
fluid

U, is

U d/ fluid

(2)

When Re <<1, the drag is given by Stokes law D=3 p fluid U d (3)

In the above , fluid and fluid denote the viscosity and density of the fluid, respectively. Note that when the value of Reis not low enough, then the expression given by Eq. (3) cannot be used to determine D . The figure below (Fig. 7.7 of tex tbook) displays the effect of

Reynolds number on the drag coefficient of a smooth sphere moving inside a fluid. It can be seen that CD is a strong function of Re.

Fig. 2: The effect of Reynolds number on the drag coefficient CD of a smooth sphere of diameter d.

According to Archimedes principle, the buoyant force is given by Fb =

fluid

g pd 3 /6

(4) a 0), then the force balance (5)

If ais the instantaneous acceleration of the sphere (generally on the sphere can be written as W- D - F b = m a Using Eqs (1) and (4), we can rewrite Eq. (5) as m g- C D A
fluid

U 2 /2 -

fluid

g pd 3 /6 = m a

(6)

If L denotes the distance traveled by the sphere in time t,it is U=dL/dt and a=dU/dt . If the variation of CD (Re)shown in Fig. 2 is considered, Eq. (6) can be integrated numerically to determine the variation of U(t) and L(t) . These two functions are shown in Fig. 3 (a: velocity, b: displacement) for three stainless-steel spheres with respective diameters 0.0625 in. (smallest), 0.2500 in. (intermediate), and 0.5000 in. (largest). Time zero corresponds to the instant when the sphere is released. The arrow on each curve marks the moment when the velocity achieves constant value (called terminal velocity ). From that moment on, each sphere moves with unchanged velocity ( a=0). You can see that it takes only a small fraction of a second for the sphere to achieve terminal velocity.

0.5 0.45 0.4 0.35 0.3 0.25 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25

Smallest size Intermediate size Largest size

Time (s) S phere velocity vs. time (t=0 at release). Fig. 3a: The arrows indicate the in stance when th e terminal velocity is attained.

0.09 0.08 0.07 0.06 0.05 0.04 0.03 Smallest 0.02 Intermediate size 0.01 0 0 0.05 0. 1 0.15 0.2 0.25 Time (s) Sphere displacement vs. time (t=0 at release). Fi g. 3b: The arrows indicate the instance when the terminal velocity is attained. Largest size

When a sphere is moving with terminal velocity, Eq. (5) may be used to determine the drag force D = W- F b .In addition, when Re<<1 (Stokes flow) and the terminal velocity is known or can be measured, Eq. (3) can be used to evaluate the viscosity fluid of the ambient fluid. Note that in order to check whether Re<<1, one must have the value of fluid . For motion with terminal velocity the drag force is known, therefore Eq. (1) can be used to evaluate the drag coefficient CD . Subsequently, a CD vs. Re plot can be drawn (as in Fig. 2). Finally, the measured drag force can be compared to that calculated using Stokes law (Eq. 3). Experiment outline 1. Review apparatus description and overall procedure. 2. Measure, calculate, or obtain the quantities listed in the attached Table. 3. Plot the CD vs. Re data on a log-log plot (similar to that shown in Fig. 2). 4. Discuss the results of the ex periment in a brief and precise manner. 5. Follow the lab report write-up format given in this manual.

Apparatus 1. Large vertical plastic clear cylinder filled with glycerin 2. Stainless steel spheres of different diameters 3. Micrometer and scales 4. Timing mechanism

Procedure 1. Measure the weight and diameters of the spheres. Determine the density of the fluid in the cylinder ( fluid ). 2. Gently drop the balls into the glycerin column and determine the time for the spheres of different diameters to fall through the test length marked along the vertical cylinder.

3. Using data from the smallest sphere, determine the viscosity of the fluid using Stokes law for drag (Eq. 3). Use this value of viscosity to determine the Reynolds number for the remaining spheres. 4. Determine the value of CD for each case, and plot CD vs. Re on log-log paper. 5. For each sphere, use Eq. (3) to evaluate the drag force corresponding to Stokes flow, irrespectively of the condition Re<<1 being true or not. Discuss the differences between the measured values of D and those calculated from Eq. (3)

6. Finaly determine the terminal velocity of the sphere in water by Questions 1. Why is it valid to use data for the smallest sphere to obtain the viscosity through Stokes law? 2. If you dropped the spheres close to the cylinder's wall, would you expect the same results? 3. If some small air bubbles attach themselves to your sphere in a given test, will the resulting datum point lie above or below the expected curve? Give reasons for your answer. 4. What do you conclude from the shape of the CD (Re)curve? 5. Why is the CD versus Replot drawn on log-log paper?

Experiment#2 Fluid Dynamic Drag and Relevant Parameters

DATA ANALYSIS TABLE d [m] W [N]

fluid

Drop

t [s]

L [m]

U [m/s]

Fb [N]

[kg/m

3]

D= W-Fb [N]

fluid [Pa.s]

CD

Re

D [N] Eq.(3)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Experiment#2 Fluid Dynamic Drag and Relevant Parameters

DATA TAKING SHEET

Drop 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Diameter ( d) [in.] [m] x 10

t [s]

Density of Steel = 7800 kg/m 3