NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUID FLOW AND

HEAT TRANSFER

MIA 502E

SPRING 2018

Homework 1

due to March, the 14th (latest)

 Question1 (25p)
Predator-prey model. Let x(t) and y(t) denote the population of rabbits and foxes,
respectively, at time t. The predator-prey model asserts that x(t) and y(t) satisfy

dx
 Ax  Bxy
dt
dy
 Cxy  Dy
dt

A typical computer simulation might use the coefficients

A = 2, B = 0.02, C = 0.0002, D = 0.8

Use the fourth order Runge-Kutta4 method to solve the differential equation over the
interval [0, 5] using M = 500 steps and h = 0.01 if

a) x(0) = 1000 rabbits and y(0) = 100 foxes

b) x(0) = 3000 rabbits and y(0) = 100 foxes
c) x(0) = 5000 rabbits and y(0) = 100 foxes
d) x(0) = 7000 rabbits and y(0) = 100 foxes

Plot x(t), y(t) and the phase-portrait, i.e., x(t) versus y(t).

Question2 (25p)
Imagine a steel sphere of diameter d is dropped in air with density ρf =1.29 kg/m3 and kinematic
viscosity coefficient v =1.49x10e-5 m2/s. The density of the steel sphere is ρ = 8000 kg/m3 and
the gravitational acceleration is g = 9.81 m/s2.
Employ the fourth order Runge-Kutta method to determine the motion and speed of the steel
sphere. Run the code for 10 seconds. Plot the time history of the displacement and the velocity
for steel spheres of different diameters; d = 0.07, 0.02, 0.01 and 0.001 m. Use time-step sizes
h=0.1 and 0.05. For each case plot x(t) and v(t) on the same graphics and find CD values vs. Re.

Question3 (25p)
Natural convection on a vertical surface. (Non-linear coupled boundary value problem): A
vertical plate is heated to a temperature Tw which is greater than that Ta of the ambient air
which surrounds it. As fluid particles are heated their density will decrease and they will rise due
to buoyancy. If we neglect viscous dissipation in the fluid, the Grashof number, Gr is the main
parameter controlling the nature of the motion. For Gr>>1, the fluid motion will be mainly
confined to a thin boundary layer close to the plate.

g  Tw  Ta  d 3
Gr 
2
Using similarity transformations, boundary layer equations can be transformed into a following
coupled boundary value problem:
 f     3f  f   2  f     0
2

     3 Pr f     0

Boundary conditions are

f  0   0 f   0   0 f       0
  0   1       0
a) obtain numerical solutions of this problem for Prandtl numbers Pr = 0.1, 0.73, 10, 100
and 1000.
b) Nusselt number is associated with    0  . Obtain    0  from the numerical solution.

Question4 (25p)
Solve the non-dimensional boundary value problem using a finite difference method (Thomas
Algorithm relations) that describes the temperature distribution in a circular rod with internal
heat source S

d 2T 1 dT
 S  0,
dr 2 r dr
dT
over the range 0 r  1, with the boundary conditions T ( r = 1 ) =1,  0.
dr r 0
Plot the temperature as a function of the radius (r) for S= 0.1, 1 and 10.