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Dimensionless numbers (or characteristic numbers) have an important role in analyzing the behavior of fluids and their flow as well as in other transport phenomena. [1] They include the Reynolds and the Mach numbers, which describe as ratios the relative magnitude of fluid and physical system characteristics, such as density, viscosity, speed of sound, and flow speed.
The Reynolds and Womersley Numbers are also used to calculate the thicknesses of the boundary layers that can form from the fluid flow’s viscous effects. The Reynolds number is used to calculate the convective inertial boundary layer thickness that can form, and the Womersley number is used to calculate the transient inertial boundary thickness that can form.
The following formula describes the viscous stress tensor for the special case of Stokes flow. It is needed in the calculation of the force acting on the particle. In Cartesian coordinates the vector-gradient is identical to the Jacobian matrix. The matrix I represents the identity-matrix.
The Ohnesorge number (Oh) is a dimensionless number that relates the viscous forces to inertial and surface tension forces. The number was defined by Wolfgang von Ohnesorge in his 1936 doctoral thesis. [1] [2] It is defined as:
Usually the density decreases due to an increase in temperature and causes the fluid to rise. This motion is caused by the buoyancy force. The major force that resists the motion is the viscous force. The Grashof number is a way to quantify the opposing forces. [3] The Grashof number is:
Flux F through a surface, dS is the differential vector area element, n is the unit normal to the surface. Left: No flux passes in the surface, the maximum amount flows normal to the surface.
In these regions the inertia force becomes less important and the flow is determined by the balance of viscous stresses and the pressure gradient. This is called microcirculation. [4] Some typical values for the Womersley number in the cardiovascular system for a canine at a heart rate of 2 Hz are: [4] Ascending aorta – 13.2; Descending aorta ...
Here the fluid is subject to the Taylor-Proudman theorem which says that small motions will tend to produce purely two-dimensional perturbations to the overall rotational flow. However, in this case the effects of rotation and viscosity are usually characterized by the Ekman number and the Rossby number rather than by the Taylor number.