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GATE SOLVED PAPER

Chemical Engineering
Fluid Mechanics and Mechanical Operations

Copyright © By NODIA & COMPANY

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 GATE SOLVED PAPER - CH
Fluid Mechanics and Mechanical Operations

Year 2011 One Mark

Q. 1 Consider the following two cases of movement of particles. In case I, the particle
moves along the positive Y -direction and in case II, the particle moves along
the negative Y -direction. Which one of the following options corresponds to the
correct directions of buoyancy acting on the particles?

Y
N
PA
M
O
C
(A) Positive Y -direction for both the case
(B) Negative Y -direction for case I, positive Y -direction for case II

&
(C) Negative Y -direction for both the cases

IA
(D) Positive Y -direction for case I, negative Y -direction for case II

D
O
Q. 2 Match the pumps in Group I with the corresponding fluids in Group II.

N
Group I Group II
P. Gear pump I. Highly viscous liquid

©
Q. Peristaltic pump II. Aqueous sterile liquid

III. Slurry
(A) P-III, Q-I
(B) P-II, Q-I
(C) P-III, Q-II
(D) P-I, Q-II

Q. 3 In an orifice meter, if the pressure drop across the orifice is over estimated by 5%,
then the percentage error in the measured flow rate is
(A) +2.47 (B) 5
(C) –2.47 (D) –5
GATE SOLVED PAPER - CH FluidMechanicsandMechanicalOperations

Year 2011 Two Marks

Q. 4 Two liquids (P and Q ) having same viscosity are flowing through a double pipe
heat exchanger as shown in the schematic below.

Densities of P and Q are 1000 kg/m3 and 800 kg/m3 respectively. The average

Y
velocities of the liquids P and Q are 1 m/s and 2.5 m/s respectively. The inner
diameters of the pipes are 0.31 m and 0.1 m . Both pipes are 5 mm thick. The
ratio of the Reynolds numbers Re p to ReQ is
N
A
(A) 2.5 (B) 1.55
(C) 1 (D) 4
P
Q. 5
M
The particle size distributions of the feed and collected solids (sampled for same

O
duration) for a gas cyclone are given below.
Size range
^µm h size range ^g hC
Weight of feed in the Weight of collected solids
in the size range ^g h
1-5
&
2.0 0.1

IA
5-10 3.0 0.7
10-15 5.0 3.6
15-20
D 6.0 5.5
20-25
O 3.0 2.9
25-30
N 1.0 1.0

©
What is the collection efficiency (in percentage) of the gas cyclone?
(A) 31 (B) 60
(C) 65 (D) 69

Q. 6 A liquid is flowing through the following piping network. The lengths of pipe
sections P , Q , R and S shown in the schematic are equal. the diameters of the
sections P and R are equal and the diameter of the section Q is twice that of S
. The flow is steady and laminar. Neglecting curvature and entrance effects, the
ratio of the volumetric flow rate in the pipe section Q to that in S is

(A) 16 (B) 8
(C) 2 (D) 1
GATE SOLVED PAPER - CH FluidMechanicsandMechanicalOperations

Common Data For Questions 7 and 8 :

For a liquid flowing through a packed bed, the pressure drop per unit length of the bed
∆p
is
L
150 µ f v 0 ^1 − εh 1.75 ρ f v 20 ^1 − εh
2
∆p
= +
^φ S d p h2
.
L ε3 φ S d p ε3
where, v 0 is the superficial liquid velocity, ε is the bed porosity, d p is average particle size,
φ S is particle sphericity, ρ f is liquid density and µ f is liquid viscosity.
Given, d p = 1 # 10−3 m , φ S = 0.8 , ρ f = 1000 kg/m3 , µ f = 1 # 10−3 kg/m -s
Particle density ρ p = 2500 kg/m3 and acceleration due to gravity g = 9.8 m/s2 .
Q. 7 When v 0 is 0.005 m/s and ε = 0.5 , which one of the following is the correct value
for the ratio of the viscous loss to the kinetic energy loss?
(A) 0.09 (B) 1.07

Y
(C) 10.71 (D) 93

Q. 8
N
On further increasing v 0 , incipient fluidisation is achieved. Assuming that the

A
porosity of the bed remains unaltered, the pressure drop per unit length (in

P
Pa/m) under incipient fluidisation condition is

M
(A) 3675 (B) 7350
(C) 14700 (D) 73501

O
Year 2010
C One Mark

Q. 9
&
The critical speed (revolution per unit time) of a ball moll of radius R, which uses

IA
balls of radius r is
g
(A) 1
2π

D
Rr

O
g
(B) 1
2π R
(C) 1 N g

©
2π r
g
(D) 1
2π R-r

Q. 10 The stream function in a xy -plane is given below ψ = 12 x2 y3 . The velocity vector

for this stream function is
(A) xy3 it - 32 x2 y2 tj

(B) 32 x2 y2 it - xy3 tj

(C) 32 x2 y2 it + xy3 tj

(D) xy3 it + 32 x2 y2 tj

Q. 11 The height of a fluidized bed at incipient fluidization is 0.075 m and the

corresponding voidage is 0.38. If the voidage of the bed increases to 0.5, then the
height of the bed would be
(A) 0.058 m (B) 0.061 m
(C) 0.075 m (D) 0.093 m
GATE SOLVED PAPER - CH FluidMechanicsandMechanicalOperations

Q. 12 A storage vessel exposed to atmosphere (absolute pressure = 10.3 m of water)

has a diameter of 3 m and is initially filled with water to a height of 2 m . The
pump draws water from the vessel and is located at an elevation of 5 m above
the bottom of the vessel. The frictional head loss in the suction pipe is 2 m of
water. If the vapour pressure of the liquid at the temperature of operation is 3 m
of water, then the available NPSH is

Y
N
(A) 2.3 m (B)
5.3 m
PA
M
(C) 6.3 m (D)
8.3 m

O
Q. 13 In Hagen-Poiseuille flow through a cylindrical tube, the radial profile of shear

C
stress is
(A) constant (B) cubic

&
(C) parabolic (D) linear

Year 2010
IA Two Marks

Q. 14
D
A hydrometer with stem cross-sectional area of 2.82 # 10-5 m2 is immersed in a

O
very large vessel containing water as shown in the figure. The immersed volume

N
is 15 # 10-6 m3 and the length of the stem about water surface is Lw . If the entire
volume of water is replaced by a liquid with specific gravity 1.5 and if the length

©
of the stem above the liquid surface is Lv then the difference, Ll - Lw is

(A) - 177 mm (B) 177 mm

(C) - 266 mm (D)
266 mm

Q. 15 The diameter of a drop of liquid fuel changes with time due to combustion
according to the relationship, D = D 0 b1 − tb l while burning, the drop falls at
t

its terminal velocity under Stokes flow regime. The distance it will travel before
complete combustion is given by
D 2 ∆ρtb g D 02 ∆ρtb g
(A) 0 (B)
18µ 36µ
D 02 ∆ρtb g D 02 ∆ρtb g
(C) (D)
54µ 108µ
GATE SOLVED PAPER - CH FluidMechanicsandMechanicalOperations

Year 2009 One Mark

Q. 16 Under fully turbulent flow conditions, the frictional pressure drop across a packed
bed varies with the superficial velocity ^v h of the fluid as
(A) v-1 (B) v
3/2
(C) v (D) v2

Q. 17 For a mixing tank operating in the laminar regime, the power number varies with
the Reynolds number ^Reh as
(A) Re-1/2
(B) Re1/2
(C) Re
(D) Re-1

Y
N
A
Year 2009 Two Marks

Q. 18
P
Two identical reservoirs, open at the top are drained through pipes attached to

M
the bottom of the tanks as shown below. The two drain pipes are of the same
length but of different diameters ^D1 > D2h.

O
C
&
IA
D
O
N
©
Assuming the flow to be steady and laminar in both drain pipes, if the volumetric
flow rate in the larger pipe is 16 times of that in the smaller pipe, the ratio D1 /D2
is
(A) 2 (B) 4
(C) 8 (D) 16

Q. 19 The terminal settling velocity of a 6 mm diameter glass sphere (density

= 2500 kg/m3 ) in a viscous Newtonian liquid (density = 1500 kg/m3 ) is 100 µm/s
. If the particle Reynolds number is small and the value of acceleration due to
gravity is 9.81 m/s2 , then the viscosity of the liquid (in Pa-s) is
(A) 100
(B) 196.2
(C) 245.3
(D) 490.5
GATE SOLVED PAPER - CH FluidMechanicsandMechanicalOperations

Statement For Linked Answer Q 20 and 21 :

A free jet of water is emerging from a nozzle (diameter 75 mm ) attached to a pipe
(diameter 225 mm ) as shown below

Y
N
PA
The velocity of water at point A is 18 m/s . Neglect friction in the pipe and nozzle. Use
= 9.81 m/s2 and density of water = 1000 kg/m3 .
Q. 20
M
The velocity of water at the tip of the nozzle (in m/s) is
(A) 13.4
O (B) 18.0
(C) 23.2
C (D) 27.1

&
Q. 21 The gauge pressure (in kPa) at point B is
(A) 80.0 (B) 100.0

IA
(C) 239.3 (D) 367.6

D
O
Year 2008 One Mark

Q. 22
N
Three containers are filled with water up to the same height as shown. The
pressures at the bottom of the containers are denoted as p1 , p2 and p 3 . Which

©
one of the following relationships is true?

(A) p 3 > p1 > p2

(B) p2 > p1 > p 3
(C) p1 > p2 = p 3
(D) p1 = p2 = p 3

Q. 23 Losses for flow through valves and fittings are expressed in terms of
(A) drag coefficient
(B) equivalent length of a straight pipe
(C) shape factor
(D) roughness factor
GATE SOLVED PAPER - CH FluidMechanicsandMechanicalOperations

Q. 24 Given a pipe of diameter D , the entrance length necessary; to achieve fully

developed laminar flow is proportional to (N Re is Reynolds number).
D
(A) DN Re (B)
N Re
2
(C) DN Re D
(D) 2
N Re

Q. 25 For laminar flow conditions, the relationship between the pressure drop ^∆pc h
across an incompressible filter cake and the specific surface area ^So h of the
particles being filtered is given by which one of the following?
(A) ∆pc is proportional to So (B) ∆pc is proportional to 1/So
2
(C) ∆pc is proportional to S o (D) ∆pc is proportional to 1/S o2

Q. 26 The power required for size reduction in crushing is

1

Y
(A) proportional to
surface energy of the material

N
(B) proportional to 1

A
surface energy of the material

P
(C) proportional to surface energy of the material

M
(D) independent of the surface energy of the material

O
C
Year 2008 Two Marks

Q. 27 A pump draws oil (specific gravity 0.8) from a storage tank and discharges it into

&
an overhead tank. The mechanical energy delivered by the pump to the fluid is

IA
50 J/kg . The velocities at the suction and the discharge points of the pump are
1 m/s and 7 m/s , respectively. Neglecting friction losses and assuming kinetic

D
energy correction factor to be unity, the pressure developed by the pump (in
kN/m2 ) is
(A) 19.2
O (B) 20.8
(C) 40
N (D) 80

Q. 28
©
Match the following Group I with Group II and select the correct answer using
the codes given below the lists.
Group I Group II
P. Euler number 1. Viscous force/Inertial force
Q. Froude number 2. Pressure force/Inertial force
R. Weber number 3. Inertial force/Gravitational force
4. Inertial force/Surface tension force
(A) P-1, Q-2, R-3 (B) P-2, Q-3, R-4
(C) P-3, Q-2, R-1 (D) P-4, Q-3, R-2

Q. 29 A steady flow field of an incompressible fluid is given by Vv = ^Ax + By h it − Ay tj

, where A = 1 s−1 , B = 1 s−1 , and x , y are in metre. The magnitude of the
acceleration (in m/s2 ) of a fluid particle at (1, 2) is
(A) 1 (B)
2
(C) 5 (D)
10
GATE SOLVED PAPER - CH FluidMechanicsandMechanicalOperations

Q. 30 Two identically sized spherical particles A and B having densities ρ A and ρ B

, respectively; are settling in a fluid of density ρ . Assuming free settling under
turbulent flow conditions, the ratio of the terminal settling velocities of particle
A to that of particle B is given by
^r A - rh ^r B - rh
^r B - rh ^r A - rh
(A) (B)

^r A - rh ^r B - rh
^r B - rh ^r A - rh
(C) (D)

Q. 31 Consider the scale-up of a cylindrical baffled vessel configured to have the

Y
standard geometry (i.e., height = diameter). In order to maintain an equal rate
of mass transfer under turbulent conditions for a Newtonian fluid, the ratio of the

N
agitator speeds should be (Given N1 , D1 are agitator speed and vessel diameter

A
before scale-up; N2 , D2 agitator speed and vessel diameter after scale-up)
(A) N1 = D1 (B)
P
N1 = D 2
N2 D2 N 2 D1

M
O
2 2
(C) N1 = c D1 m (D)
N 2 c D1 m
3 N1 = D 2 3
N2 D2

C


Statement For Linked Answer &
Q 32 and 33 :

IA
A siphon tube having a diameter of 2 cm draws water from a large open reservoir and

D
discharges into the open atmosphere as shown in the figure. Assume incompressible fluid
and neglect frictional losses. ^g = 9.8 m/s2h

O
N
©

Q. 32 MThe velocity (in m/s) at the discharge point is

(A) 9.9 (B) 11.7
(C) 98 (D) 136.9

Q. 33 The volumetric flow rate (in L/s) of water at the discharge is

(A) 3.11 (B) 3.67
(C) 30.77 (D) 42.99
GATE SOLVED PAPER - CH FluidMechanicsandMechanicalOperations

Year 2007 One Mark

Q. 34 Consider a soap film bubble of diameter D . If the external pressure is p 0 and the
surface tension of the soap film is σ , the expression for the pressure inside the
bubble is
(A) p 0 (B) p 0 + 2σ
D
(C) p 0 + 4σ (D) p 0 + 8σ
D D

Q. 35 In Tyler series, the ratio of the aperture size of a screen to that of the next smaller
screen is
(A) 1 (B) 2
2
(C) 1.5 (D) 2

Y
Q. 36 Size reduction of coarse hard solids using a crusher is accomplished by

N
(A) attrition (B) compression

A
(C) cutting (D) impact

Q. 37
P
In constant pressure filtration, the rate of filtration follows the relation

M
(V = filtrate volume, t = time, k and C = constants).

(A) dV = kV + C (B)
O
dV = 1

C
dt dt kV + C

(C) dV = kV (D)
dV = kV 2

&
dt dt

IA
Q. 38 sticky materials are transported by
(A) apron conveyor (B) screw conveyor
(C) belt conveyor
D (D) hydraulic conveyor

O
N
Year 2007 Two Marks

©
Q. 39 A pipeline system carries crude oil of density 800 kg/m3 . The volumetric flow rate
at point 1 is 0.28 m3 /s . The cross sectional areas of the branches 1, 2 and 3 are
0.012, 0.008 and 0.004 m2 respectively. All the three branches are in a horizontal
plane and the friction is negligible. If the pressures at the points 1 and 3 are
270 kPa and 240 kPa respectively, then the pressure at point 2 is

(A) 202 kPa (B) 240 kPa

(C) 284 kPa (D) 355 kPa
GATE SOLVED PAPER - CH FluidMechanicsandMechanicalOperations

Q. 40 The figure shows the idealized view of a return elbow or U bend, which is
connected to two pipes by flexible hoses that transmit no force. Water with
density 1000 kg/m3 flows at velocity of 10 m/s through the pipe, which has a
uniform ID of 0.1 m . The gauge pressure at points 1 and 2 are 304 kPa and
253 kPa respectively. The horizontal force F required to keep the elbow in position
is

Y
N
A
(A) 1574 N (B) 1970 N

P
(C) 5942 N (D)
7533 N

M
Q. 41 The figure shows a series-parallel configuration of three identical centrifugal

O
pumps. The head increase ∆H across a single such pump varies with flow
rate Q according to ∆H = a − bQ2 . The expression for the total head increase

C
∆H = H2 − H1 in terms of a and b and the total flow rate Q1 for this configuration

&
is given by

IA
D
O
N
©
(A) 2a - 5 bQ 12 (B)
4
2a - bQ 12

(C) 2a - 2bQ 12 (D)

a - bQ 12

Q. 42 The pressure differential across a venturimeter, inclined at 45º to the vertical (as
shown in the figure) is measured with the help of a manometer to estimate the
flow rate of a fluid flowing through it. If the density of the flowing fluid is ρ and
the density of the manometer fluid is ρ m , the velocity of the fluid at the throat
can be obtained from the expression
GATE SOLVED PAPER - CH FluidMechanicsandMechanicalOperations

2 2 h ^r m − rh v 22 − v 12 = hr m + H sin 45º
(A) v 2 − v 1 = + H sin 45º (B)
2g r 2g r
2 2
hr v 22 − v 12 = h ^r m − rh
(C) v 2 − v 1 = m (D)
2g r 2g r

Q. 43 In the Stokes regime, the terminal velocity of particles for centrifugal sedimentaion
is given by
ut = ω2 r ^ρ p − ρh d p2 /18 µ
where, ω : angular velocity; r : distance of the particle from the axis of rotation;
ρ p : density of the particle; ρ : density of the fluid;
d p : diameter of the particle and µ : viscosity of the fluid.
In a bowl centrifugal classifier operating at 60 rpm with water ^µ = 0.001 kg/m−sh
, the time taken for a particle (d p = 0.0001 m , specific gravity = 2.5 ) in second to
traverse a distance of 0.05 m from the liquid surface is
Y
N
PA
M
O
C
&
IA
(A) 4.8 (B) 5.8

D
(C) 6.8 (D) 7.8

O
N


Statement For Linked Answer Q 44 and 45 :

©
Q. 44 A fluidized bed ( 0.5 m dia, 0.5 m high) of spherical particles (diameter = 2000 µm
, specific gravity = 2.5 ) uses water as the medium. The porosity of the bed is 0.4.
The Ergun equation for the system is
∆p/L = 4 # 105 vmf + 1 # 107 v mf
2

(SI unit, vmf in m/s)

∆p/L (SI unit) at minimum fluidization condition is ^g = 9.8 m/s2h.
(A) 900
(B) 8820
(C) 12400
(D) 17640

Q. 45 The minimum fluidization velocity (mm/s) is

(A) 12.8
(B) 15.8
(C) 24.8
(D) 28.8
GATE SOLVED PAPER - CH FluidMechanicsandMechanicalOperations

Q. 46 A tube of diameter D and length L is initially filled with a liquid of density ρ and
viscosity µ . It is then pushed out by the application of a constant force F to the
plunger as shown in the figure. Assuming laminar flow and pseudo steady state,
the time required to expel one-half of the liquid out of the tube is

3 πµL2 3 πµD2
(A) (B)
F F

Y
6πµL2 6 πµDL
(C) (D)
F F

N
Year 2006

PA One Mark

M
Q. 47 Match the following for a centrifugal pump with impeller speed n .

O
Group I Group II

C
P. Capacity 1. Proportional to n
Q. Head 2. Proportional to n2
3.
&Proportional to n3

IA
(A) P-2, Q-1 (B) P-1, Q-3
(C) P-2, Q-3 (D) P-1, Q-2

Q. 48
D
The magnitude of the force (in newton) required to hold a body of volume

O
0.05 m3 and mass 40 kg in water (density 1000 kg/m3 ) at a depth of 0.1 m is

N
^g = 9.81 m/s2h.
(A) 0 (B) 98.1

©
(C) 490.5 (D) 882.9

Year 2006 Two Marks

Q. 49 A liquid is pumped at the flow rate Q though a pipe of length L. The pressure
drop of the fluid across the pipe is ∆p . Now a leak develops at the mid-point of
the length of the pipe and the fluid leaks at the rate of Q/2. Assuming that the
friction factor in the pipe remains unchanged, the new pressure drop across the
pipe for the same inlet flow rate ^Q h will be
(A) ^1/2h ∆p
(B) ^5/8h ∆p
(C) ^3/4h ∆p
(D) ∆p

Q. 50 In a laminar flow through a pipe of radius R, the fraction of the total fluid
flowing through a circular cross-section of radius R/2 centred at the pipe axis is
(A) 3/8 (B) 7/16
(C) 1/2 (D) 3/4
GATE SOLVED PAPER - CH FluidMechanicsandMechanicalOperations

Q. 51 A bed fluidized by water is used for cleaning sand contaminated with salt. The
particles of sand and salt have the same shape and size but different densities (
ρ sand = 2500 kg/m3 and ρ salt = 2000 kg/m3 ). If the initial volume fraction of the
salt in the mixture is 0.3 and if the initial value of the minimum fluidization
velocity ^vmf h is 0.9 m/s , find the final value of the v mf (in m/s) when the sand
is washed free of the salt. Assume that the bed characteristics (bed porosity and
solid surface area per volume) do not change during the operation and that the
pressure drop per unit length is directly proportional to the fluid velocity.
(A) 0.70 (B) 0.90
(C) 1.00 (D) 1.46

Q. 52 Two spherical particles have the same outer diameter but are made of different
materials. The first one (with material density ρ 1 ) is solid, whereas the second
(with material density ρ 2 ) is a hollow sphere with the inner shell diameter equal

Y
to half the outer diameter. If both the spheres have the same terminal velocity in
any fluid, then the ratio of their material densities, r 2 /r 1 is
(A) 1 (B) 8/7
N
(C) 2 (D) 8

PA
M
Q. 53 A filtration is conducted at constant pressure to recover solids from dilute slurry.
To reduce the time of filtration, the solids concentration in the feed slurry is

O
increased by evaporating half the solvent. If the resistance of the filter medium is

C
negligible, the filtration time will be reduced by a factor of
(A) 1 (B) 2
(C) 4
& (D) 8

IA
D


Statement For Linked Answer Q 54 and 55 :

O
A continuous grinder obeying the Bond crushing law grinds a solid at the rate of 1000 kg/h
from the initial diameter of 10 mm to the final diameter of 1 mm .
Q. 54
N
If the market now demands particles of size 0.5 mm the output rate of the grinder

©
(in kg/h) for the same power input would be reduced to
(A) 227 (B) 474
(C) 623 (D) 856

Q. 55 In order to restore the output back to 1000 kg/h , an additional grinder was
installed. The two grinders can be operated either in series (configuration-1) or
parallel (configuration-2).
Compare the two configurations in terms of the additional power consumption
over the case above.
(A) Configuration-1 consumes less power than configuration-2
(B) Configuration-2 consumes less power than configuration-1
(C) Both configurations consume the same power
(D) Configuration-2 consumes less or more power than configuration-1
depending on how the feed is distributed between the two grinders in
configuration-2 (the parallel configuration).
GATE SOLVED PAPER - CH FluidMechanicsandMechanicalOperations

Q. 56 The liquid surface in a cylindrical bucket of radius R rotating about its axis
acquires a parabolic profile given by the equation y = a + br 2 , where y is height
of the liquid surface from the bottom of the bucket at a radial distance r from the
bucket axis. If the liquid has density ρ , then the mass of the liquid in the bucket is
(A) πρR2 c a + bR m (B) πρR2 ca + bR m
2 2

2 2

πρR2 ^a + bR2h
(C) πρR2 a (D)

Year 2005 One Mark

Q. 57 Match the following types of fluid (in Group I) with their respective constitutive

Y
relations (in Group II), where, τ is the stress and γo is the strain rate.
Group I Group II
N
P. Pseudoplastic
Q. Bingham plastic
1.
2.
τ = µγo
τ = τ 0 + Kγo
PA
3. n
M
O
τ = K γo ; n < 1

C
4. n
τ = K γo ; n > 1
(A) P-1, Q-4 (B) P-4, Q-1
(C) P-2, Q-3
& (D) P-3, Q-2

IA
Q. 58 The critical speed of the ball mill of radius R, which contains balls of radius r is

D
proportional to
(A) ^R - r h-0.5 (B) ^R - r h-1

O
(C) ^R - r h (D) ^R - r h2
Q. 59
N
If the frequency of the stirrer in a mixing tank is increased by a factor of 2 while

©
all other parameters are kept constant, by what factor is the power requirement
increased at high Reynolds number?
(A) 4 (B) 8
(C) 16 (D) 32

Year 2005 Two Marks

Q. 60 A dam of width 50 m is used to hold water in a reservoir. If the water height is

10 m from the bottom of the dam, what is the total force F acting on the dam
due to the water? Assume g = 10 m/s2 , and the fluid density is 1000 kg/m3 .
(A) F = 12.5 # 106 N (B)
F = 25 # 106 N
(C) F = 50 # 106 N (D) F = 5 # 106 N

Q. 61 The relation between the stress τ and the strain rate ^dux /dy h for the rapid flow
of a granular material is given by τ = B ^dux /dy h2 , where B is a constant. If M
, L and T are the mass, length and time dimension respectively, what is the
dimension of the constant B ?
(A) 6ML-1 T-1@ (B) 6ML-1 T-2@
(C) 6MT-1@ (D) 6ML-1@
GATE SOLVED PAPER - CH FluidMechanicsandMechanicalOperations

Statement For Linked Answer Q 62 and 63 :

Two tanks A and B of cross-sectional area 1 m2 each, contain a fluid of density 1000 kg/m3
and viscosity 1 kg/ms . The tanks are connected by a pipe of diameter 0.02 m and length
1 m , and a check valve at the bottom. Assume that the flow is laminar and there is no
friction in the check valve. In the initial state, the height of the fluid in the tank A is 6 m
and the height of the fluid in tank B is 2 m (as shown in the figure below). The check
valve is opened and the fluid flows from tank A to tank B till the levels in the two tanks
are equal in the final state. Assume g = 10 m/s2 in the calculations.

Y
N
A
Q. 62 What is the average fluid velocity in the pipe as soon as the valve is opened?

P
(A) 0.25 m/s (B) 0.5 m/s

M
(C) 1 m/s (D)
2 m/s

Q. 63
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What is the total energy loss between the initial and final states due to the fluid

C
flow?
(A) 2 # 10 4 J (B) 16 # 10 4 J
4
4 # 10 4 J
(C) 8 # 10 J (D)
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Q. 64 A centrifuge of diameter 0.2 m in a pilot plant rotates at a speed of 50 Hz in order

D
to achieve effective separation. If this centrifuge is scaled up to a diameter of 1 m

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in the chemical plant and the same separation factor is to be achieved, what is
the rotational speed of the scaled up centrifuge?

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(A) 15 Hz (B) 22.36 Hz

©
(C) 30 Hz (D)
44.72 Hz

Q. 65 What is the terminal velocity in m/s, calculated from Stokes law for a particle of
diameter 0.1 # 10-3 m , density 2800 kg/m3 settling in water of density 1000 kg/m3
and viscosity 10-3 kg/ms ? (Assume g = 10 m/s2 )
(A) 2 # 10-2 (B)
4 # 10-3
(C) 10-2 (D)
8 # 10-3

Year 2004 One Mark

Q. 66 The equivalent diameter for flow through a rectangular duct of width B and
height H is
(A) HB (B) HB
2 ^H + B h ^H + B h

(C) 2HB (D) 4HB

^H + B h ^H + B h
GATE SOLVED PAPER - CH FluidMechanicsandMechanicalOperations

Q. 67 What is the force required (in newton) to hold a spherical balloon stationary in
water at a depth of H from the air-water interface? The balloon is of radius 0.1 m
and is filled with air.
4 πg 0.1 πgh
(A) (B)
3 4
0.1 πgh 0.04 πgH
(C) (D)
8 3

Q. 68 Match the systems in Group I with equipment used to separate them in Group II.
Group I Group II
P. Gas - solid 1. Filter press

Y
Q. Liquid - liquid 2. Cyclone

N
3. Decanter

A
4. Thickener

P
(A) P-1, Q-2

M
(B) P-2, Q-3

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(C) P-3, Q-4

C
(D) P-4, Q-1

Q. 69 For a cyclone of diameter 0.2 m with a tangential velocity of 15 m/s at the wall,
the separation factor is
&
IA
(A) 2250 (B) 1125
(C) 460 (D) 230

Q. 70
D
For a particle settling in water at its terminal settling velocity, which of the

O
following is true?

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(A) Buoyancy = Weight + Drag
(B) Weight = Buoyancy + Drag

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(C) Drag = Buoyancy + Weight
(D) Drag = Weight

Q. 71 In constant pressure filtration,

(A) resistance decreases with time
(B) rate of filtration is constant
(C) rate of filtration increases with time
(D) rate of filtration decreases with time

Year 2004 Two Marks

Q. 72 Viscosity of water at 40cC lies in the range of

(A) 1 # 10-3 - 2 # 10-3 kg/m -s
(B) 0.5 # 10-3 - 1 # 10-3 kg/m -s
(C) 1–2 kg/m -s
(D) 0.5 - 1 kg/m -s
GATE SOLVED PAPER - CH FluidMechanicsandMechanicalOperations

Q. 73 For the manometer setup shown in the figure, the pressure difference pA - pB is
given by

Y
(A) ^r H - r airh gH (B) ^r H - r L h gH
(C) ^r H − r L h gH + ^r L − r airh g (L − H) (D)
^r H − r L h gL + ^r L − r airh gH
N
Q. 74
A
A conical tank with a bottom opening of cross-sectional area A is filled with

P
water and is mounted on supports as shown in the figure. What is the force F

M
with which plate X must be pushed up to prevent water from leaking? Assume

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that the density of air is negligible as compared to the density of water ρ L .

C
&
IA
D
O
N
©
(A) ρ L Vg (B) ρ L AHg
(C) ρ L Vg/2 (D)
ρ L Vg/3

Q. 75 Three piping networks as shown in the figure are placed horizontally. They are
made using identical pipe segments and are subjected to the same pressure drop
across them. Assuming no pressure losses at junctions, the flow rates across the
three networks are related as

(A) 1 : 3 : 2 (B)
1:2:3
(C) 1 : 2 : 2 (D)
1: 2 : 2
GATE SOLVED PAPER - CH FluidMechanicsandMechanicalOperations

Q. 76 To keep the power input constant for a stirred vessel operating under fully
developed turbulent flow conditions (constant power number), if the impeller
diameter is increased by 20% , the impeller speed should be decreased by a factor
of
(A) ^1.2h3/2 (B) ^1.2h3/5
(C) ^1.2h2/3 (D) ^1.2h5/3
Q. 77 A centrifugal filtration unit operating at a rotational speed of ω has inner surface
of the liquid (density ρ L ) located at a radial distance R from the axis of rotation.
The thickness of the liquid film is δ and no cake is formed. The initial pressure
drop during filtration is
(A) b 1 l ω2 R2 ρ L (B) b 12 l ω2 δ2 ρ L
Y
2
(C) b 1 l ω2 δρ L ^2R + δ h (D)
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b 12 l ω2 Rρ L ^R + 2δ h

A
2

P
Q. 78 v mf is the minimum fluidisation velocity for a bed of particles. An increase in the
superficial gas velocity from, 2v mf to 2.5v mf results in (all velocities are smaller

M
than the entrainment velocity of the particles) no change in

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(A) drag on particles (B) drag on column walls

C
(C) the bed height (D) the bed voidage

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Q. 79 The Kozney-Carman equation, rewritten in terms of non-dimensional numbers
∆p
gives e ρu2 o proportional to
^L/D p h
IA Re

D
^D p /L h
(A) (B)
Re
^L/D p h
O
R e2
^D p /L h
(C) (D)

N
2
Re
Q. 80 The cumulative mass fraction of particles smaller than size d j for a collection of
Ni particles of diameter di and mass mi ^i = 1, 2, 3, ..., 3h is given by
©/ j

=1
(A) i 3
Ni d i3
i=1
(B)
j
/N m di i
3
i

j
/ Ni d 3
i Ni mi d i3 /
i=1 i=1
j j
/N m d i i
2
i Ni mi di /
=1 i=1
(C) i 3 (D) 3
/ Ni mi d i2 Ni mi di /
i=1 i=1

Year 2003 One Mark

Q. 81 A lubricant 100 times more viscous than water would have a viscosity (in Pa-s)
(A) 0.01 (B) 0.1
(C) 1 (D) 10

Q. 82 The velocity profile for a Bingham plastic fluid flowing (under laminar conditions)
in a pipe is
(A) parabolic (B) flat
(C) flat near the wall and parabolic in the middle
(D) parabolic near the wall and flat in the middle
GATE SOLVED PAPER - CH FluidMechanicsandMechanicalOperations

Q. 83 Energy requirement (per unit mass of material crushed/ground) is highest for

(A) jaw crusher
(B) rod mill
(C) ball mill
(D) fluid energy mill

Year 2003 Two Marks

Q. 84 A pipe has a porous section of length L as shown in the figure. Velocity at the
start of this section is v 0 . If fluid leaks into the pipe through the porous section
at a volumetric rate per unit area q ^x/L h2 , what will be the axial velocity in the
pipe at any x ? Assume incompressible one dimensional flow, i.e., no gradients in
the radial direction

Y
N
PA
M
O
C
3
(A) vx = v 0 + q x2
LD

&
3
(B) vx = v 0 + 1 q x 2
3 L

IA
3
(C) vx = v 0 + 2q x
LD

D
(D) vx = v 0 + 4 q x2
3

O
3 LD

N
©
Q. 85 A centrifugal pump is used to pump water through a horizontal distance of 150 m
and then raised to an overhead tank 10 m above. The pipe is smooth with an ID
of 50 mm . What head (of water) must the pump generate at its exit ^E h to deliver
water at a flow rate of 0.001 m3 /s ? The Fanning friction factor f is 0.0062.

(A) 10 m
(B) 11 m
(C) 12 m
(D) 20 m
GATE SOLVED PAPER - CH FluidMechanicsandMechanicalOperations

Q. 86 The pressure differential across a vertical venturimeter (shown in figure) is

measured with the help of a mercuty manometer to estimate flow rate of water
flowing through it. The expression for the velocity of water at the throat is

Y
N
v 22 − v 12 = h ^r m − r w h
A
2 2
r
(A) v 2 − v 1 = h m (B)

P
2g rw 2g rw
^r m − r w h v 22 − v 12 = h ^r m − r w h
M
2
(C) v 2 = H + h (D)
2g rw 2g rm

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Statement For Linked Answer C
Q 87 and 88 :

&
A bed of spherical particles (specific gravity 2.5) of uniform size 1500 µm is 0.5 in diameter

IA
and 0.5 m high. ln the packed bed state, the porosity may be taken as 0.4. Ergun’s
equation for the above particle-fluid system (in SI units) is given below

D
∆p/L = 375 # 103 vOM + 10.94 # 106 V OM 2
(SI units)
Q. 87
O
If water is to be used as the fluidizing medium, the minimum fluidization velocity,

N
vOM is
(A) 12 mm/s (B) 16 mm/s

Q. 88
©
(C) 24 mm/s (D) 28 mm/s

In actual operation, the above bed has a height = 1 m . What is the porosity of
the fluidized bed?
(A) 0.2 (B) 0.5
(C) 0.7 (D) 0.8

Q. 89 The basic filtration equation is given as

b
dt = µ αCV + R ,
ml
dV A∆p A
where V is volume of the filtrate, A is the filtration area; α is specific cake
resistance, µ is viscosity of the filtrate, and C is the concentration of solids in the
feed slurry. In a 20 min constant rate filtration, 5 m3 of filtrate was obtained. If
this is followed by a constant pressure filtration, how much more time in minutes
will it take for another 5 m3 of filtrate to be produced? Neglect filter medium
resistance, Rm ; assume incompressible cake.
(A) 10 (B) 20
(C) 25 (D) 30
GATE SOLVED PAPER - CH FluidMechanicsandMechanicalOperations

Year 2002 One Mark

Q. 90 With increasing flow rate, the hydraulic efficiency of a centrifugal pump

(A) monotonically decreases (B) decreases and then increases
(C) remains constant (D) increases and then decreases

Q. 91 For flow past a flat plate, if x is the distance along the plate in the direction of
flow, the boundary layer thickness is proportional to
(A) x (B) 1
x
(C) x (D) 1
x
Q. 92 For turbulent flow of an incompressible fluid through a pipe, the flow rate Q is
proportional to ^∆p hn , where ∆p is the pressure drop. The value of exponent n is
(A) 1 (B) 0

Y
(C) < 1 (D) > 1

Q. 93
N
If d p is the equivalent diameter of a non-spherical particle, Vp its volume and S p

(A) φ s =
6Vp
dp Sp
(B)
PA
its surface area, then its sphericity φ s is defined by
φs = p
V
dp Sp
6 dp Sp
M d S

O
(C) φ s = (D) φs = p p
Vp Vp

Q. 94
C
Arrange the following size reduction equipment in the decreasing order of the

&
average particle size produced by each of them.
(A) jaw crusher, ball mills, fluid energy mills

IA
(B) ball mills, jaw crusher, fluid energy mills

D
(C) fluid energy mills, jaw crusher, ball mills

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(D) fluid energy mills, ball mills, jaw crusher

N
Year 2002 Two Marks

Q. 95
©
The drag coefficient for a bacterium moving in water at 1 mm/s will be of the
following order of magnitude (assume size of the bacterium to be 1 micron and
kinematic viscosity of water to be 10-6 m2 /s )
(A) 24000 (B) 24
(C) 0.24 (D) 0.44

Q. 96 A gas (density = 1.5 kg/m3 , viscosity = 2 # 10−5 kg/m -s) flowing through a
packed bed (particle size = 0.5 cm , porosity = 0.5 ) at a superficial velocity of
2 m/s causes a pressure drop of 8400 Pa/m . The pressure drop for another gas
with density of 1.5 kg/m3 and viscosity of 3 # 10-5 kg/ms , flowing at 3 m/s will
be
(A) 8400 Pa/m (B) 18900 Pa/m
(C) 12600 Pa/m (D) 16800 Pa/m

Q. 97 What is the critical rotational speed in rev/s. for a ball mill of 1.2 m diameter
charged with 70 mm diameter balls?
(A) 0.5 (B) 1.0
(C) 2.76 (D) 0.66
GATE SOLVED PAPER - CH FluidMechanicsandMechanicalOperations

Q. 98 A sand mixture was screened through a standard 10-mesh screen. The mass
fraction of the oversize material in feed, overflow and underflow were found to be
0.38, 0.79 and 0.22 respectively. The screen effectiveness based on the oversize is
(A) 0.50 (B) 0.58
(C) 0.68 (D) 0.62

Year 2001 One Mark

Q. 99 The power number for a stirred tank becomes constant at high Reynolds number.
In this limit, the variation of power input with impeller rotational speed ^N h is
proportional to

Y
(A) N 0 (B) N1

N
(C) N 2 (D) N3

Q. 100 The operation of a rotameter is based on

(A) variable flow area
PA
(B) rotation of a turbine

M
(C) pressure drop across a nozzle (D) pressure at a stagnation point

Q. 101
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Applying a pressure drop across a capillary results in a volumetric flow rate Q

C
under laminar flow conditions. The flow rate for the same pressure drop, in a
capillary of the same length but half the radius is

&
Q Q
(A) (B)
2 4

IA
Q Q
(C) (D)
8 16

D
O
Year 2001 Two Marks

N
Q. 102 A Bingham fluid of viscosity µ = 10 Pa-s and yield stress τ 0 = 10 kPa is sheared
between flat parallel plates separated by a distance 10-3 m . The top plate is

©
moving with a velocity of 1 m/s . The shear stress on the plate is
(A) 10 kPa (B) 20 kPa
(C) 30 kPa (D) 40 kPa

Q. 103 The energy required per unit mass to grind limestone particles of very large size
to 100 µm is 12.7 kWh/ton. An estimate (using Bond’s law) of the energy to grind
the particles from a very large size to 50 µm is
(A) 6.25 kW-h/ton (B) 9.0 kW-h/ton
(C) 18 kW-h/ton (D) 25.4 kW-h/ton

Year 2000 One Mark

Q. 104 For a sphere falling in the constant drag coefficient regime, its terminal velocity
depends on its diameter d as
(A) d (B) d
2
(C) d (D) 1/d

Q. 105 In a fully turbulent flow ^Re > 105h in a pipe of diameter d for a constant pressure
gradient, the dependence of volumetric flow rate of an incompressible fluid is
(A) d (B) d2
(C) d 2.5 (D) d4
GATE SOLVED PAPER - CH FluidMechanicsandMechanicalOperations

Q. 106 In the laminar boundary layer flow over a flat plate, the ratio ^δ/x h varies as
(A) Re (B) Re
(C) 1 (D) 1
Re Re
(Where, δ is the boundary layer thickness and x is the distance from the leading
edge in the direction of flow).
Q. 107 For laminar flow of a shear thinning liquid in a pipe, if the volumetric flow rate
is doubled, the pressure gradient will increase by a factor of
(A) 2 (B) <2
(C) > 2 (D) 1/2

Year 2000 Two Marks

Y
Q. 108 The sphericity of a solid particle of cubical shape is
a6k
π 1/3

N
(A) π (B)

(C) a 6 k (D)
π 1/2 π
3
PA
M
Q. 109 A 30% (by volume) suspension of spherical sand particles in a viscous oil has a

O
hindered settling velocity of 4.44 µm/s . If the Richardson-Zaki hindered settling
index is 4.5, then the terminal velocity of a sand grain is
(A) 0.9 µm/s (B)
C 1 µm/s

&
(C) 22.1 µm/s (D) 0.02 µm/s

IA
Q. 110 A 1 m high bed made up of 2 mm particles is to be fluidised by an oil (density
900 kg/m3 ; viscosity 0.01 Pa-s) If at the point of incipient fluidisation, the bed

D
voidage is 39% and the pressure drop across the bed is 10 kPa, then the density
of particles is

O
(A) 2571 kg/m3 (B) 3514 kg/m3

N
(C) 4000 kg/m3 (D) 4350 kg/m3

Q. 111
©
A free jet of water of cross-sectional area 0.01 m2 and a velocity of 20 m/s strikes
a plate and then flows in the plane parallel to the plate as shown in the figure
below. The horizontal component of the force of the support is

(A) 200 N (B) 400 N

(C) 2000 N (D) 4000 N

**********
GATE SOLVED PAPER - CH FluidMechanicsandMechanicalOperations

ANSWER KEY
Fluid Mechanics and Mechanical Operations
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
(C) (D) (A) (C) (C) (A) (C) (B) (D) (B)
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
(D) (A) (D) (B) (C) (D) (D) (B) (B) (D)
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
(D) (D) (B) (A) (C) (C) (B) (B) (C) (A)
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

Y
(D) (A) (A) (D) (B) (C) (B) (B) (C) (B)

N
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

A
(A) (D) (D) (B) (B) (A) (D) (B) (B) (B)

P
51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

M
(C) (B) (C) (C) (A) (C) (D) (A) (B) (D)

O
61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70

C
(B) (B) (D) (B) (C) (C) (A) (B) (D) (B)
71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80
(D) (C) (A) (B) (C)
& (D) (C) (C) (A) (B)

IA
81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90
(B) (D) (D) (D) (B) (B) (B) (C) (B) (A)
91 92 93
D 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
(A) (C) (A)
O (A) (B) (B) (A) (B) (D) (A)
101 102
N
103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110

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(D) (B) (C) (C) (C) (D) (A) (B) (B) (A)
111
(D)