Oral Exam Questions

General & Based on Syllabus

1. How would you explain fluid mechanics to someone from a non-engineering background?

2. What assumptions are commonly made in fluid flow analysis?

3. Name of different Units or Chapters?

Unit I: Properties of Fluids

1. Define a fluid. How is it different from a solid?

2. What is the concept of continuum in fluid mechanics?

3. How do you measure viscosity experimentally?

4. What are the SI units of surface tension, viscosity, and density?

5. Explain the significance of compressibility in fluid mechanics.

6. What is the role of specific gravity in fluid applications?

7. Compare dynamic viscosity and kinematic viscosity.

8. Why does capillary rise occur in thin tubes?

9. Explain rheological behavior with examples of Pseudoplastics and Dilatant fluids.

10. What is the significance of vapor pressure in pump design?

11. Why do liquids exhibit capillarity but gases don’t?

12. How does pressure affect compressibility?

Unit II: Fluid Statics

1. Explain the working of an inclined manometer.

2. What are the practical applications of fluid statics?

3. Why is the center of pressure?

4. What happens to buoyancy when a body is fully submerged?

5. What are stable, unstable, and neutral equilibrium in floating bodies?

6. Why is it important to know the center of pressure in the design of dams and gates?

7. What would happen if the metacenter lies below the center of gravity?

Unit III: Fluid Kinematics

1. What is the difference between Eulerian and Lagrangian methods of flow description?

2. How do you classify a flow as rotational or irrotational?

3. What does a flow net represent and how is it useful?

4. What are streamlines and pathlines?

5. Why do we need both stream function and velocity potential function?

6. How can you determine whether a given flow field is physically possible?

Unit IV: Fluid Dynamics

1. Write Bernoulli’s equation.

2. Write Euler’s equation of motion.

3. What are the assumptions and limitations of Bernoulli’s equation?

4. Compare venturimeter, orifice meter, and pitot tube.

5. What is Couette flow and where is it applicable?

6. Explain the significance of entrance region in pipe flow.

7. What is the difference between pressure head, velocity head, and datum head?

8. How do turbulent and laminar flow differ in terms of velocity profile?

9. Why is the discharge coefficient not equal to 1?

Unit V: Internal & External Flow

1. What are the causes of major and minor losses in pipe flow?

2. How are minor losses calculated in fittings, bends, etc.?

3. What is the Reynolds number and how does it affect flow type?

4. Define hydraulic diameter and its use in non-circular pipe flow.

5. What are the effects of drag on an Aerofoil?

6. What is bluff body and streamlined body? 

7. How does pipe roughness influence friction factor?

8. What are the consequences of boundary layer separation in aircraft wings?

Unit VI: Dimensional Analysis & Similitude

1. Why do we need dimensional analysis in engineering?

2. What are the repeating variables in the Buckingham Pi method?

3. List at least 5 dimensionless numbers and explain any two.

4. What is Reynolds model law? Where is it used?

5. How do you maintain similarity between model and prototype?

6. What are scale effects in model testing?

7. What are the limitations of model studies?

Experiment Related

1. Why is Reynolds number important in flow visualization?

2. How do you ensure accuracy in manometer readings?

3. What are the challenges in measuring viscosity at high temperatures?

4. How can you determine if your experimental setup is leaking?

5. What are typical sources of error in venturimeter calibration?

6. Why do we perform simulation-based experiments in fluid mechanics?

7. A submarine’s stability needs to be tested. How would you approach it using fluid mechanics?

8. If air bubbles are seen in a water manometer, what could be the problem?