The squeezing out of toothpaste from the tube can be considered as a simple daily application
of fluid dynamics. The paste is a type of non-Newtonian fluid (it’s called Birmingham
Plastic) which has a high viscosity and doesn’t flow out on its own even if we bring the tube
upside down with its cap open. It means gravity is not sufficient to overcome the resistive
friction the paste experiences on the wall of the tube. Now keeping the cap open if we
squeeze the tube at any orientation we find the paste flows out. The additional external force
(or pressure which is nothing but force per unit area) builds an internal stress within the paste
that overcomes the threshold stress (minimum stress required to make the paste flow) and
allows the paste to flow. Here the applied force builds the pressure within the paste at the
point of application and directs it to the low pressure region which is outside the tube. In
simple words, applied force makes the paste to change its velocity from zero to some value
depending on the magnitude of the force. Bernoulli’s Principle can be used for the fluid
dynamics but derivation of friction factor is slightly difficult. However, various literatures are
available to find the friction factor based on laminar or turbulent flow and plug it in the flow
problem.
Three common examples of mass transfer can be considered as;
i) Evaporation of water from pond.
P= p g+ ρ1 g L1 + ρ2 g L2
IChE Assignment # 14
2. Solen and Harb problem 9.8 is not uploaded in the documents.
It varies based on HP, material used, brand or country. You can expect a range 250 – 1250
USD approximately.