Academic management

Fluid Mechanics is a mandatory subject in the second year of the English Degree in the Escuela Politécnica de Ingeniería de Gijón, in the common module of the Industrial branch, within the topic "Energy and Environment". It is a 6 ECTS credit subject which combines the basic physical principals that govern the fluid flows together with many applications frequently encountered in engineering practice.

Fluid Mechanics is a complex and rich discipline with strong implications in many other scientific and technological fields, and so its study is a cornerstone in the formation of Engineering professionals in fields such as Chemical Engineering, Process Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or Energy.

The specific skills and competences to be acquired in this subject could be summarized in the "Knowledge of the basic principles of Fluid Mechanics and their application to the solution of problems in the Engineering field. The calculation of piping circuits, channels and fluid systems", as is described in the Attachments of the Ministry Order OM CIN/351/2009 of the 9th of February, about the competences to be acquired by students of Technical Engineering.

Finally, s main objectives of the specific competences, this subject would provide the students the basic knowledge to be able to:

• Apply the principles of the Fluid Mechanics to the solution of Engineering problems, keeping in mind and adopting the corresponding simplifications in each practical application.
• Be able to understand the different variables of the fluid field and analyze the fluid dynamic processes from the values of these variables.
• Design, calculate, model, analyze and understand the operation of hydraulic systems.

Being a subject based upon other different and basic subjects, it is strongly recommended for the students to have previous knowledge on the topics:Álgebra Lineal: cálculo vectorial y matricial.

• Linear algebra, vector and matrix calculus.
• Derivatives, integrals and solution of differential equations.
• Mechanics and thermodynamics: kinematics, dynamics and energy transfer fundaments.
• Thermal engineering: thermodynamic properties of materials and thermal processes.
• Resistance of materials: states of stress and strain in continuous media.

It is expected that the students would acquire the general competences CG1 a CG15 of the Degree Verification Report.

On the other hand, the subject would allow to acquire as specific competence the knowledge of the Fluid Mechanics principles, as they are collected in the Degree Report. At the end of the course, these competences should become learning results. In particular, the student should be able to:

• Understand and express mathematically the Fluid Mechanics physical principles (RMF-1).
• Apply the Fluid Mechanics principles to the solution of Engineering problems, understanding and taking into account the simplifying hypothesis considered reasonable for each particular application (RMF-2).
• Make measurements of fluid mechanic variables and analyze the state of fluid mechanic processes from the measured values (RMF-3).
• Calculate, project and understand the operation of systems with fluid flow, particularly transport systems using pipes and channels (RMF-4).
• Design, model both physically and numerically and understand systems with fluid flow (RMF-5).

Therefore, after passing the subject, the student should be able to fully understand the following contents:

• Basic concepts of the fluid properties and the most important variables to consider in this scientific discipline.
• Definition and application range of the Rheology. Application of that field to the flow at low Reynolds numbers.
• The classical techniques in the Fluid Mechanics analysis, that is, the differential, the integral and the dimensional analysis.
• Basic concepts of fluid statics applied to Engineering problems.
• Concepts related to the liquid and gas flows and their differences.
• Knowledge of applied hydrodynamics and aerodynamics.
• Analysis methods and experimental procedures in Fluid Mechanics.

The subject comprises 150 working hours of the student, out of which, 60 hours are the course itself (lectures, laboratory sessions, group tutorials and evaluation sessions) and 90 hours are devoted to the individual work of the student (Moodle and other individual works and studying of the material). The contents of the subject are divided in six blocks and structured in twenty seven didactic units, namely:

Lesson 1 - Properties of fluids

• Liquids and gases
• Molecular and continuum models
• Equations of state
• Compressibility
• Vapour pressure
• Surface tension
• Transport phenomena. Viscosity

Lesson 2 - Kinematics and conservation equations

• Kinematics of fluid fields
• Conservation equations
  • Conservation of mass
  • Conservation of momentum
  • Conservation of energy
• Particular cases
• Fluid statics
• Ideal flow

Lesson 3 - Transport of fluids

• Flow in ducts
• Introduction to fluid machinery
• Introduction to hydraulic and pneumatic drive systems
• Flow in open channels

Lesson 4 - Dimensional analysis and similitude

• Non-dimensional groups
• Similitude and model theory

Lesson 5 - Turbulence and boundary layer

• Turbulence: instabilities and scales
• Boundary layer theory
• Flow around inmersed bodies

Lesson 6 - Compressible flow

• Isentropic one-dimensional flow
• Shock waves
• Flow in nozzels
• Acoustic principles

The subject distribution foresees 60 hours at the university and 90 student individual working hours. For the detailed plan, it has been considered 2 lecturing hours per week throughout the 14 weeks of the semester, so that 28 lecturing hours are available. Also, 14 practical sessions at the class have been planned (14 weeks and one hour per week). Finally, 14 hours of laboratory sessions and simulation have been planned (7 sessions of two hours, having one each two weeks).

The working methodoly can be structured in four items: group tutorials with the teacher, individual work, group works and laboratory sessions. The final mark will be closely related to the student performance in all these four items.

Due to exceptional conditions, according to the directives of the Health Authorities, online teaching could be included in the course. In this case, the students will be informed about the changes made on the course.

For the ordinary evaluations, the final mark of the Fluid Mechanics course is a weighted average between the mark of a written exam and the mark corresponding to a variety of complementary activities undertaken during the classes. The written exam accounts for a 75% of the final mark, while the other activities represent the other 25% (15% corresponds to laboratory work and another 10% corresponds to other activities: questionnaires, exercises, individual assignments, etc). A fraction of the mark for these activities is reserved to assess the active involvement of each student. A minimum mark of 3.5 points (on a 0-10 scale) in the written exam is compulsory to pass the subject, regardless the mark corresponding to the other activities. Therefore, if the mark of the exam is below 3.5 points, the final mark of the subject, including the rest of the activities, will be limited to a maximum of 3.5 points.

The marks obtained for the laboratory work and for the complementary activities are valid for the May and July evaluations of the current academic course, and also for the January evaluation in the following academic course.

For the extraordinary evaluations, the written exam will be the only test to be carried out, and its mark (on a 0-10 scale) will be weighted by a 0.75 factor.

Differentiated assessment will consist of a single written exam on a 0-10 scale that will be weighted by a 1.0 factor (i.e. 90% of the final mark). A minimum mark of 5.0 points is compulsory in this case to pass the subject. The written exam can include questions about laboratory work or other activities developed during the academic course.

• All the evaluations will consider:
• Cleanness and general lay-out of written documents.
• Adequate essay writing,
• Clarity, exposition logic and explanation details.
• Adequate use of magnitude units. Lack of coherence in the dimensions of variables in equations will be considered as a series fault.
• Reasonable values for the resulting calculations, avoiding absurd data or physically impossible.

Due to exceptional circunstances related to health conditions, online evaluation could be included in the course. In this case, the students will be informed .

• White FM, Fluid Mechanics, McGraw – Hill Interamericana, Madrid, 2004.
• Fox RW, McDonald AT, Introduction to Fluid Mechanics, McGraw – Hill Interamericana, México, 1995. 
• Streeter VL, Wylie EB, Bedford KW, Fluid Mechanics, McGraw – Hill Interamericana, Colombia, 2000.