OVERVIEW

The HYDRAULICS course is the first course in Fluid Mechanics that students encounter as part of the Civil and Environmental Engineering degree programme. The course is divided into two modules of 60 hours each for a total of 120 hours and provides 6 training credits for each module for a total of 12 training 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 behaviour 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.

PREREQUISITES

No specific requirements are expected.

TEACHING METHODS

The course consists of 120 lecture hours, of which 72 theory and 48 practical hours, equally divided between I and II semesters. The concepts that are gradually developed in the theory hours are used during the practice hours for application to cases of engineering interest.

Lessons will be delivered in the classroom.

Students who have valid certification of physical or learning disabilities on file with the University and who wish to discuss possible accommodations or other circumstances regarding lectures, coursework and exams, should speak both with the instructor and with Professor Federico Scarpa (federico.scarpa@unige.it  ), the Polytechnic School's disability liaison.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics - Fluid definition and its properties. Dimensional analysis and Buckingham's theorem. the fluid continuum. Forces acting on a fluid continuum. The state of tension in a fluid at rest. The equation of state. Interface phenomena. The state of tension in a fluid in motion. Material derivative and local derivative, transport theorem. The principle of conservation of mass and momentum in global form. State of tension in a fluid at rest, cardinal equations of statics, static thrusts on plane surfaces and humps. State of tension in a fluid in motion, the stress tensor. Ideal fluid scheme and Bernoulli's theorem.

Fluids at rest: hydrostatics - Pressure distribution in an incompressible fluid and in a barotropic fluid. Evaluation of thrusts exerted on flat surfaces and humps. Buoyancy and stability of submerged and floating bodies.

Fluids in motion: the flow pattern - Fluid currents: definition and characteristic quantities. The principle of conservation of mass and momentum for a current.

Pressure currents - The calculation of distributed resistances in steady and uniform motion pressure currents. Concentrated energy dissipation in pressure currents. Design and verification of simple hydraulic systems. References to hydraulic machines. Forces exerted by jets on bodies of complex shape. Hints on varied motion in pressurised currents.

Free surface currents - calculation of distributed resistances in steady and uniform motion currents. The possible states of free surface currents, the critical depth. Stationary and non-uniform currents, the profile equation. Localised phenomena: hydraulic prominence, inlet, outlet, section narrowings. Notes on wave propagation in free surface currents, the kinematic wave model.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Course handouts (available on aulaWeb together with additional material).
• Marchi-Rubatta, Meccanica dei fluidi principi e applicazioni, Utet, 1981 (in italian). 
• Cengel, Y. E Cimbala J., Fluid Mechanics: Fundamentals and Applications, Mc Grow Hill.
• Mossa, Petrillo, Idraulica, Zanichelli (in italian)

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

https://corsi.unige.it/8715/p/studenti-orario

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The student is required to pass two written exams and two oral examinations, 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 oral examination.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The written exams, both midterm and final, consist of practical exercises related to the topics covered throughout the semester, with particular emphasis on the material developed during exercise sessions and on the operational skills outlined in the learning objectives.

The written exams for the first part of the course include exercises on:

• Evaluation of forces exerted by fluids at rest,
• Mass and momentum balances,
• Design and verification of simple hydraulic systems.

The written exams for the second part of the course focus on:

• Qualitative and quantitative determination of steady flow profiles in open channel flows.

The oral exams, which students may take only after passing the written exams of each part, aim to verify their understanding of the theoretical knowledge acquired during the course. The oral exams focus on the formulation of fluid motion problems and on the related theoretical derivations, which provide the formal basis for the application tools used in the written tests.

Students who work, and those with certified learning disabilities (DSA), disabilities, or other special educational needs, are encouraged to contact the instructor at the beginning of the course to agree on appropriate teaching and assessment methods that, while respecting the course objectives, take individual learning styles into account.