KNES 311 (Final Exam)

Chapter 8: Fluid Mechanics

- What is fluid mechanics and what are the major fluid forces we are interested
in?
o The study of forces that develop when an object moves through a fluid
medium
Buoyancy, drag and lift
- Be able to define pressure, buoyancy, and buoyant force
o Pressure Force that water exerts due to the weight of the water above
you
o Buoyancyo Buoyant force Due to an objects immersion in a fluid
Size is equal to the weight of the volume of fluid displaced by
the object
Weight= downward force Buoyancy= upward force
- Identify the dynamic components of fluid forces
o Drag forces
Fluid resists movement of objects traveling through them
Will be experienced by objects moving through fluids
Surface drag and form drag
o Surface Drag
Friction between the objects surface and the
fluid
Dependent on smoothness of objects
surface and amount of surface area
As fluid makes contact with our surfaces,
small pockets or ridges in our skin and
clothing catch the fluid, thus allowing a force
to be applied and energy to be transferred
Surface drag is basically a friction
force
o Form Drag
Also called shape or pressure drag
Fluid molecules strike the swimmers body as
she moves forward
Molecules bounce off the swimmer and strike
other fluid molecules
Molecules are then pushed back into the
surface of swimmers body
o Essentially: molecules follow the curvature of the
objects surface as the object moves past it. The
more erratic the flow- the greater the drag force is
created
Small drag when moving in
streamlined position

Large drag when moving in

unstreamlined position
Laminar flow Fluid moving toward object is ordered
into layers
o Molecules stay close to
swimmers surface
Turbulent flow Fluid moving toward object is erratic
o Molecules do not stay close to
swimmers body

Describe Bernoullis Principle

o Faster moving fluids exert less pressure than do slower moving fluids
o Velocity is inversely proportional to the pressure
Fast relative velocity= less pressure
Slow relative velocity= more pressure
Describe the Magnus Effect
o Lift force caused by a spin
Describes the curved path that is observed by spinning
projectiles
Explained by Bernoullis principle and the pressure differences
caused by relative differences in flow velocities
Be familiar how the Magnus Effect affects the spin on a ball (top and backspin)
o Top Spin
Greater pressure on top of the ball (because of the slower wind
speed) will push it downward
Bottom of ball:
o Air flow moving past bottom of ball is faster (same
direction)
Top of ball:
o Air flow is slower (opposite direction of top spin)
o Back Spin
Lower pressure on bottom of the ball (because of higher speed)
will push it upward

Bottom of ball
o Air flow moving past bottom of ball is slower
(opposite direction)
Top of ball
o Air flow is faster (same direction to back spin)
o

EMG
- be familiar with the main concepts discussed in class.
EMG amplitude normalization
MVC normalization is a commonly used amplitude analysis technique on EMG
signals. The method utilizes a maximum root mean square (RMS) value from a

recording to normalize subsequent EMG data series. It can be used to easily

establish a common ground when comparing data between subjects.
MVC normalization can be used in order to eliminate this variance and allow for data
comparison between subjects to take place.