Fluid Mechanics I

Course Description

ETM 2310C Fluid Mechanics I is the engineering technology introduction to fluid mechanics: how liquids and gases behave at rest and in motion. The statewide description covers "fluid properties, fluid statics, buoyancy and stability, flow of fluids in pipes and open channels, flow measurement, and forces due to fluids in motion."

⚠ One institution in Florida teaches it: Florida A&M University, at 3 credits, in its engineering technology programmes. FAMU's description has a machinery emphasis: "the properties and characteristics of liquids and gases, flow of liquid through pipes and hydraulic and pneumatic machines, motors and devices."

⚠ Three things to know about how FAMU packages it

• There is a separate lab. FAMU also lists ETM 2310L Fluid Mechanics Lab (1 credit), although the C suffix normally means the lab is built in. Ask whether you register for both.
• ⚠ The sequel may not run. The state lists ETM 3311C Fluid Mechanics II at FAMU, but FAMU's own catalog has not described it since 2005. Do not plan on a second fluids course under this prefix.
• Hydraulics follows it. FAMU's upper-division ETM 3316 Hydraulics (prerequisite Statics) takes the statics, pipe-flow and channel-flow material further. It has its own guide on this site.

How it differs from the engineering course

Engineering majors take fluid mechanics as EML 3701, CWR 3201 or EGN 3353C, built on calculus and differential equations. The engineering technology version answers the same practical questions with algebra and trigonometry: how big a pipe, how much pressure, what force on a gate, what flow from a pump. ⚠ The two are not interchangeable in transfer. An engineering programme will not accept this course in place of its calculus-based one.

Learning Outcomes

Required Outcomes

• Define and use fluid properties: density, specific weight, viscosity, pressure and compressibility.
• Calculate hydrostatic pressure and the forces on submerged surfaces.
• Apply buoyancy and stability to floating and submerged bodies.
• Apply the continuity equation and Bernoulli's equation to flow problems.
• Calculate flow in pipes, including friction and minor losses.
• Describe open-channel flow.
• Use flow-measurement devices: venturi meters, orifices, weirs and flowmeters.
• Calculate the forces of moving fluids on vanes, bends and nozzles.
• Explain how pumps, hydraulic and pneumatic machines and motors use these principles (FAMU's emphasis).

Optional Outcomes

• Read a pump curve and match a pump to a system.
• Run flow and pressure experiments and report the results (the lab).

Major Topics

Required Topics

• Fluid properties
• Fluid statics and pressure measurement
• Forces on submerged surfaces
• Buoyancy and stability
• Continuity and Bernoulli's equation
• Flow in pipes and energy losses
• Open-channel flow
• Flow measurement
• Forces due to fluids in motion

Optional Topics

• Pumps and pump selection
• Hydraulic and pneumatic machines

Resources & Tools

• Mott and Untener, Applied Fluid Mechanics (Pearson), the standard engineering technology text, written at the algebra-and-trigonometry level.
• A fluids laboratory: hydrostatic bench, flow-measurement apparatus and pump test rig.
• Engineering calculator; spreadsheet software for pipe-flow calculations.

Career Pathways

• Mechanical engineering technologists and technicians (SOC 17-3027). See this site's Mechanical Engineering Technician path.
• Civil engineering technologists and technicians (SOC 17-3022), especially in water, stormwater and drainage work. See the Civil Engineering Technician path.
• HVAC, plumbing and water-utility design and operations roles, where pipe flow and pumps are daily work.
• A fluid mechanics course is part of the preparation for the FE exam's fluids content, for technologists pursuing licensure.

Special Information

Offering Notes

The only carrier is FAMU, at 3 credits. The guide records 60 contact hours, the Florida convention for a three-credit C course; the separate lab may add hours.

Prerequisites

The statewide record lists algebra. Trigonometry and a first physics course make the course much easier, and FAMU's programme sequence will place statics or physics around it.