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BME 270-0-01: Fluid Mechanics


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Prerequisites

BMD_ENG 250 or BMD_ENG 271; GEN_ENG 205-4; MATH 228-2

Description

The flow of fluids is important in many biomedical applications ranging from blood flow in the human body to drug delivery. BME 270 provides a general introduction to fluid mechanics, both statics and dynamics. The laboratory component of the class consists of take-home experiments using aquarium pumps.

Who Takes It?

BMD_ENG 270 is a required course for the BS in BME. Undergraduates take this course at the end of their second year or at the beginning of their third year. The course uses integral calculus and differential equations, so these courses are prerequisites. It also helps to have taken physics and thermodynamics prior to this course. An equivalent course, ME 241, may also be taken.

Mini-Syllabus

  • An introduction to the del operator and the mathematics of fluids
  • Basic fluid properties
  • Hydrostatics: Pascal’s law, buoyancy, calculation of forces on planar surfaces
  • Bernoulli’s principle
  • Fluid kinematics and the Reynold’s transport theorem
  • Conservation of mass and momentum in integral form
  • Conservation of energy in integral form. Pumps and turbines
  • Pipe flow in practice and the Moody diagram
  • The Navier-Stokes equation: Couette flow and Poiseuille flow
  • Dimensional similitude and modeling

Required Class Materials

Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics by Munson et al., any of the 4th, 5th, 6th, or 7th editions.

Teaching Methods

Currently being re-structured.

Evaluation Methods:

Grades will be based on problem sets, a midterm exam, a final exam, and laboratories.