OVERVIEW

The course of HYDRAULICS  is the first basic course of Fluid Mechanics encountered during the Civil and Environmental Engineering Program. This course spans approximately 120 hours over two semesters and provides 12 credits.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The main objective of this course is to introduce 2nd year students to the concepts of Fluid Mechanics, such as fluid and flow properties, fluid behavior at rest and in motion. Fundamental equations, like mass and momentum balances for simple one-dimensional steady flows, will be formally derived and applied to the study of pipe and open-channel flow.

LEARNING OUTCOMES (FURTHER INFO)

Evaluation of static forces on immersed plane and curved surfaces. Design and analysis of simple pipe networks, fluid machineries. Steady flow profiles in open channels.

TEACHING METHODS

The lectures are organized in about 70 hours of theory  and in about 50 hours of practice, with example problems. 

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Fundamentals - Fluid properties and classification. Dimensional analysis and the Buckingham Pi Theorem. Cauchy's continuum, forces,
pressure and stresses. Stress in a fluid at rest. Hydrostatic law. Stress in a fluid in motion. Material and local derivatives. Conservation of mass and momentum principle in integral and local form. Inviscid fluid and the Bernoulli's law.

Fluid at rest: hydrostatics - Pressure distribution in an uncompressible fluid and in a compressible, barotropic fluid. Forces on immersed plane and curved surfaces. Buoyancy. Stability of floating and immersed bodies.

Fluid in motion: one-dimensional flow - Definition of cross-averaged quantities. Conservation of mass and momentum principle
for a one dimensional flow: continuity and momentum equations.

Flow in pipes - Uniform and steady flow in a pipe. Friction losses. Local dissipations of energy. Design and analysis of simple
pipe networks, fluid machineries.

Flow in open channels - Uniform and steady flow in a channel. Friction losses. Uniform flow depth. The critical state. Critical flow
depth. Subcritical and supercritical flow. Gradually varied flow. Flow profiles. Rapidly varied flow: the hydraulic jump, flow in constrictions. Outline of unsteady flow in channels: the kinematic wave.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

MARCO ENRICO COLOMBINI (President)

ALESSANDRO STOCCHINO (President)

PAOLO BLONDEAUX

LESSONS

Class schedule

HYDRAULICS

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

In order to have access to the final oral examination, the student is required to pass two written exams, related to the topics presented in the first and second semester, respectively. There will be four midterm exams (two for each semester) that will grant, if passed,
direct admission to the final oral examination.

Exam schedule