OVERVIEW

This module is the first Fluid Mechanics course that students encounter within the Civil, Building, and Environmental Engineering program. The module consists of 60 hours of instruction and is worth 6 ECTS credits.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course provides both the theoretical foundations and practical tools necessary to understand fluid motion. Its goal is to develop operational skills such as evaluating fluid forces in static and dynamic conditions, analyzing mass and momentum balances, and designing simple hydraulic systems.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide the student with the following operational skills:

Evaluation of static forces on immersed plane and curved surfaces.

Design and analysis of simple pipe networks, fluid machineries.

The aim of the course is to provide the theoretical tools necessary to understand the fundamental concepts of fluid motion and, at the same time, to translate these concepts into application tools that enable the student to acquire the above operational skills.

PREREQUISITES

No specific requirements are expected.

TEACHING METHODS

The course consists of 60 lecture hours, of which 36 theory and 24 practical hours. 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 - 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.

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.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The examination comprises one written test and an oral examination. The written test covers the application topics dealt during the course. Students will be admitted to the oral examination after obtaining a score of at least 18/32 in the written test. Two written interim tests are scheduled during the course. Each intermediate test is considered passed if the student has obtained a mark of at least 15/32. The student is exempt from taking the written examination if he/she has passed both midterm examinations with an average mark of at least 18/32.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The written exams, both midterm and final, focus on applied exercises related to the topics covered during the semester, with particular reference to the material addressed during problem-solving sessions and to the practical skills stated in the learning objectives.

The written exams include exercises on:

• The evaluation of forces exerted by fluids at rest,
• Mass and momentum balances,
• The design and verification of simple hydraulic systems.

Students may access the oral exam only after passing the written exams. The oral exam is intended to assess the student’s understanding of the theoretical knowledge acquired throughout the course. In particular, it focuses on the formulation of fluid motion problems and on the derivation of theoretical results, which serve as the foundation for the application tools already employed in the written tests.

Working students and students 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. These should respect the learning objectives while taking individual learning styles into account.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Please contact Prof. Nicoletta Tambroni for any further information.