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Laminar flow occurs at lower velocities, below a threshold at which the flow becomes turbulent. The threshold velocity is determined by a dimensionless parameter characterizing the flow called the Reynolds number, which also depends on the viscosity and density of the fluid and dimensions of the channel. Turbulent flow is a less orderly flow ...
Laminar flow tends to dominate in the fast-moving center of the pipe while slower-moving turbulent flow dominates near the wall. As the Reynolds number increases, the continuous turbulent-flow moves closer to the inlet and the intermittency in between increases, until the flow becomes fully turbulent at Re D > 2900. [15]
With respect to laminar and turbulent flow regimes: laminar flow occurs at low Reynolds numbers, where viscous forces are dominant, and is characterized by smooth, constant fluid motion; turbulent flow occurs at high Reynolds numbers and is dominated by inertial forces, which tend to produce chaotic eddies, vortices and other flow instabilities.
For instance, laminar flow over a sphere is steady in the frame of reference that is stationary with respect to the sphere. In a frame of reference that is stationary with respect to a background flow, the flow is unsteady. Turbulent flows are unsteady by definition. A turbulent flow can, however, be statistically stationary.
In the case of laminar flow, for a circular cross section: =, =, where Re is the Reynolds number, ρ is the fluid density, and v is the mean flow velocity, which is half the maximal flow velocity in the case of laminar flow. It proves more useful to define the Reynolds number in terms of the mean flow velocity because this quantity remains well ...
In engineering, the Moody chart or Moody diagram (also Stanton diagram) is a graph in non-dimensional form that relates the Darcy–Weisbach friction factor f D, Reynolds number Re, and surface roughness for fully developed flow in a circular pipe. It can be used to predict pressure drop or flow rate down such a pipe.
[1]: 336 A value between one and 10 is characteristic of slug flow or laminar flow. [2] A larger Nusselt number corresponds to more active convection, with turbulent flow typically in the 100–1000 range. [2] A similar non-dimensional property is the Biot number, which concerns thermal conductivity for a solid body rather than a fluid.
The plume from an ordinary candle transitions from laminar to turbulent flow in this Schlieren photograph. In fluid dynamics, the process of a laminar flow becoming turbulent is known as laminar–turbulent transition. The main parameter characterizing transition is the Reynolds number.