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The experiment was carried out to determine the type of flow regimes ,observe
the pattern of flow from laminar to turbulent also to determine the critical
Reynolds number from transition of laminar to turbulent.This experiment was
carried out by filling the equipment with water and adjusting the flow rate to the
lowest value ,measurinmg the volumetric flow rate using a stop watch and
increasing the rate of flow this was done repeatedly and recorded.from the
experiment carried out Reynolds number increases friction factor decrease and
vice versa depending on flow pattern.the relationship between f and Reynolds
number is not linear,friction factor is better expressed as a function of Reynolds
number instead of flow rate.critical reynold no obtained were not the same
because the mouth of the tap was opened too wide when moving from laminar
to turbulent making the flow to be in turbulent.the value of critical reynold no
for upper=<2326 and lower=2941. This experiment is useful in sewage
treatment,pipe industries ,refineries,recycle system etc
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The objective of this experiment is to understand the nature of flow through the
classic Reynolds Experiment. The Reynolds experiment is designed to illustrate
laminar, transitional (intermittently turbulent), and fully turbulent pipe flows,
and to determine the conditions under which these types of flow occur. A fluid
is a substance which deforms continuously due to increase in shear stress
Laminar flow
Laminar flow generally happens when dealing with small pipes and low flow
velocities. Laminar flow can be regarded as a series of liquid cylinders in the
pipe, where the innermost parts flow the fastest, and the cylinder touching the
pipe isn't moving at all.
The Darcy friction factor for laminar flow (Reynolds number less than 2300) is
given by the following formula:
where:
Turbulent flow
In turbulent flow vortices, eddies and wakes make the flow unpredictable.
Turbulent flow happens in general at high flow rates and with larger pipes.
Re =_vD
μ
density is _ , diameter of pipe is D , fluid velocity is
v and viscosity is μ .
• The flow is laminar for Re < 2000
• The flow is transitional between
2000 < Re < 4000
• The flow is turbulent for Re > 4000
Values depend on shape of pipe, roughness, shape ofpipe inlet. The limits are
also soft numbers.
The Darcy friction factor can also be expressed as
where:
CHAPTER TWO
2.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
2.1 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
(A) FROM LAMINAR TO TURBULENT FLOW
No of runs Vol of water Volumetric Linear velocityReynolds Friction
3
Flow rate Q (cm /s)
Q/A (cm/s) Number Factor
1 870.0 174.0 1.935 2326.25 0.01186
2 1310.0 262.0 2.914 3503.35 0.01058
3 1630.0 326.0 3.625 4358.15 0.00996
4 2270.0 454.0 5.049 6070.15 0.00910
5 2800.0 560.0 6.228 7487.60 0.00860
6 3450.0 690.0 7.673 9224.84 0.00813
7 4080.0 816.0 9.075 10910.39 0.00778
8 4110.0 822.0 9.141 10989.74 0.00776
9 4280.0 856.0 9.520 11445.40 0.00768
t is constant at 5 seconds
V=Q/A=174/89.92=1.935cm/s
The same formular is used throughout the runs for their respective volumetric flow rate to
calculate the linear velocity
To calculate the Reynolds number for the flow from laminar to turbulent
Nre=ρDv/ (μ)
Nre=(1*10.7*1.935)/(8.90*0.001)=2326.35
The same formular is used throughout the runs to calculate the Reynolds number using their
respective linear velocities.
Volumetric flow rate (q) for turbulent to laminar flow = volume of water/time
f=0.046NRe^-0.2 (5000<NRe<10^6)
f=0.0014+0.0125/NRe^0.32 (3000<NRe<3*10^6)
f=0.1186
1)critical Reynolds number calculated for both(for upper and lower critical Reynolds no)
were not the same because the flow of fluid was in turbulent region after the tap was opened
meaning the tap was opened too wide in laminar to turbulent and from turbulent to laminar
the flow was already too high
2) The friction factor is independent of pipe roughness in laminar flow because of the low
velocity with which the fluid is flowing. There is no latereal mixing the fluid just slide over
each layer.
3)as Reynolds number increases friction factor also decreases from turbulent to laminar and
as Reynolds number decreases friction factor increases from laminar to turbulent region as
seen from the table.this is true for the values of Re>2000(laminar) and Re>4000 for turbulent
flow
4)from the graph of friction factor against Reynolds number plotted a curve was obtained
meaning the relationship between friction factor and Reynolds number is not linear
5)as velocity increases Reynolds number also increases from laminar to turbulent region and
as velocity decreases Reynolds no decreases from turbulent to laminar region
7)friction factor is dependent on Reynolds number and pipe roughness for turbulent regime
CONCLUSION
A smoother pipe will have a lower friction factor than the ones obtained from the table.as
Reynolds number decreases friction factor increases the flow is from laminar to turbulent is
true and as friction factor is decreasing and Reynolds number is increasing the flow is from
laminar to turbulent is true meaning friction factor is better expressed as a function of
Reynolds number instead of flow rate cause if expressed as a function of Reynolds number
the design of a process can be determined and the flow regime can be determined easily.from
the experiment the flow was mostly in turbulent regime because the mouth of the tap was
opened widely and more fluid were able to gush out in lesser mins.the critical Reynolds
number obtained from both the lower and upper region were not the same because the tap
was opened in such a way that the flow was in turbulent region.Also friction factor depends
on roughness of pipe and Reynolds number for turbulent flow.fri ction factor depends on
Reynolds number alone for laminar flow
REFERENCES
Church hill S.W 1977 friction factor eqns span for all fluid ranges chem eng 91
Rott N (1990) history of Reynolds number.
Reynolds number engineering tool box.com
www.wikipedia.com.
Pope steven (1990)Reynolds number pg 557
www.google.com
^ "Turbulence theory gets a bit choppy". USA Today. September 10, 2006.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/columnist/vergano/2006-09-10-
turbulence_x.htm.