Department of Civil

Engineering

International University (IU)

CE206IU
FLUID MECHANICS
LABORATORY
REYNOLDS NUMBER AND
TRANSITIONAL FLOW
Group 1:
Hong Vn t
L Tun Huy
Trn Vn ng Khoa

Department of Civil Engineering

Room 506, International University Viet Nam National University HCMC
Quarter 6, Linh Trung Ward, Thu Duc District, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.

Phone: 848-37244270. Ext 3425 Fax: 848-37244271

www.hcmiu.edu.vn

FM02: REYNOLDS NUMBER AND

TRANSITIONAL FLOW
1 Objective
The objective of is experiment is to show laminar condition and turbulent conditions.

1. Theory
Consider the case of a fluid moving along a fixed surface such as the wall of a pipe.
At some distance y from the surface the fluid has a velocity u relative to the surface.

The relative movement causes a shear stress

which tends to slow down the
motion so that the velocity close to the wall is reduced below u. It can be shown
that the shear stress produces a velocity gradient du/dy which is proportional to the
applied stress. The constant of proportionality is the coefficient of viscosity and the
equation is usually written:

du
dy
(1)

Equation (1) is derived in most textbooks and represents a model of a situation in

which layers of fluid move smoothly over one another. This is termed 'viscous' or
'laminar' flow. For such conditions experiments show that Equation (1) is valid and

that

is a constant for a given fluid at a given temperature.

It may be noted that the shear stress and the velocity gradient have a fixed
relationship, which is determined only by the viscosity of the fluid. However,
experiments also show that this only applies at low viscosities. If the velocity
increases above a certain value, small disturbances produce eddies in the flow
causing mixing between the high energy and low energy layers of fluid. This is
called turbulent flow and under these conditions it is found that the relationship
between shear stress and velocity gradient varies depending on many factors in
addition to the viscosity of the fluid. The nature of the flow is entirely different since
the interchange of energy between the layers now depends on the strength of the
eddies (and thus on the inertia of the fluid) rather than simply on the viscosity.


Equation (1) still applies but the coefficient
no longer represents the viscosity of
the fluid. It is now called the 'Eddy Viscosity' and is no longer constant for a given
fluid and temperature. Its value depends on the upstream conditions in the flow and
is much greater than the coefficient of viscosity for the fluid. It may be noted that
this implies an increase in shear stress for a given velocity and so the losses in the
flow are much greater than for laminar conditions.
What, then, determines whether the flow will be laminar or turbulent in a given
situation? We have seen that laminar flow is the result of viscous forces and that
turbulent flow is in some way related to inertia forces. This was realized by Reynolds
who postulated that the nature of flow depended on the ratio of inertia to viscous
forces. This led to the derivation of a non-dimensional variable, now called Reynolds
number - Re - which expresses this ratio.
On physical grounds we may say that the inertia forces are proportional to mass
multiplied by velocity change divided by time. Since mass divided by time is the

mass flow rate and this is equal to density

multiplied by velocity u we may write:

multiplied by cross sectional area

d 2u.u
Inertia forces

(2)

Where d is the diameter of the pipe.

Similarly the viscous forces are given by shear stress multiplied by area so, using
Equation (1), we may write:

Viscous forces

u 2
d
d

(3)

Dividing the inertia forces by the viscous forces we obtain Reynolds number as:

Re

d 2u 2 du

ud

(4)

/
The term
is called the kinematic viscosity, v, and it is often convenient to write
Equation (4) as:

Re

ud

(5)

Note that the previous equations can also be derived by dimensional analysis but in
either case it should be remembered that Re represents the ratio of inertia to
viscous forces.
The important discovery made by Reynolds was that for normal flow in a pipe, the
transition between laminar and turbulent flow always occurs at approximately the
same value of Re, irrespective of the fluid and the size of the pipe. This, therefore,
enables prediction of flow conditions in pipes of any size carrying the fluid. It must
be appreciated, however, that there is never a precise point at which transition
between laminar and turbulent flow occurs.
Consider the case of increasing velocity in a pipe. Initially the viscous forces
dominate and the flow is laminar. As velocity increases occasional eddies form but
these are quite quickly damped out by viscous effects. Further increase in velocity is
accompanied by an increase in the number of eddies until a point is reached where
the complete flow is subject to turbulent mixing and can be considered fully
turbulent. Transition from fully laminar to fully turbulent flow may occur
interspersed with periods of quite steady laminar flow. The final transition to fully
turbulent flow tends to be more well-defined since above a certain level of
turbulence becomes self-generating and a few disturbances will set the whole flow
into turbulent motion.
Now consider the case of reducing velocity. In this case the turbulent motions tend
to continue until the velocity is below that at which turbulent flow originally started.
Eventually, however, a point is reached when the viscous forces damp out the
eddies and the flow reverts quite quickly to laminar. This behavior can be
demonstrated by flow visualization and also by measuring head losses along pipes.
As an example, Figure 1 shows the variation in head loss with velocity for a smooth
pipe. On increasing the velocity, transition occurs between points A and B, and for
decreasing flow it occurs between points C and D. There is a 'reluctance' of the flow
to change from one condition to the other and this causes the hysteresis show in
Figure 1. Generally point 0 is the most well-defined and it is normally accepted that
this transition from turbulent back to laminar flow occurs at a Reynolds number
between 2000 and 2300. The Reynolds numbers at points A, Band C depend on the
entry conditions and roughness of the pipe. Typically, point may represent a
Reynolds number between 2000 and 2500 but if the entry is carefully controlled and
the pipe very smooth, laminar flow may continue up to much higher values. The
range over which laminar flow occurs may be extended by eliminating sources of
turbulence but the reverse in not true: irrespective of the level of turbulence at
entry, the flow always returns to laminar below a Reynolds number of about 2000.
Thus it may be said that below this value turbulent flow cannot exist, but above it
the flow may be either laminar or turbulent depending on the entry conditions.

Figure 1. Variation of head loss with velocity for flow along a pipe
This behavior is demonstrated and observed using the Reynolds Number and
Turbulent Flow apparatus. In considering the results it must be remembered that the
transition points are not always clearly defined and that values of Reynolds number
must be expected to vary somewhat from one test to another.

2. Experimental Apparatus
The experimental apparatus consists of the following parts:

Figure 2. Reynolds number and transitional flow

Figure 3. Schematic diagram of Reynolds number and transitional flow

demonstration apparatus with optional temperature control module

3. Procedure
The following procedure can be repeated to collect the necessary data to calculate
the Reynolds number for a particular set of conditions. More specifically, the
Reynolds number can be calculated from the following data: (1) velocity of flow, (2)
kinematic viscosity of water and (3) pipe diameter. Here is the basic procedure:
1. Set up the apparatus, turn on the water supply, and partially open the
discharge valve.
2. Let the water fill up in the constant head tank until the water level is just
above the overflow pipe, and is maintained by a small flow down through the
overflow pipe. This condition must be maintained for all tests. The water
supply will need to be adjusted accordingly. For all testing conditions, the
overflow should only be enough so that a constant head is maintained in the
tank.
3. Open the dye injector valve to release a fine filament of due into the tube. If
the dye flows too quickly, then reduce the water flow rate by adjust the
discharge valve and water supply to achieve a constant head condition. When
the dye filament of due flows down the entire length of tube without
disturbance, then laminar flow condition is achieved.
4. Record the temperature of the water using the thermometer. Then record the
flow rate by measure the time it takes for the apparatus to discharge 200ml
of water.
5. Increase the flow rate through the tube by adjusting the discharge valve until
the disturbance pattern follows the same pattern in Figure 4. Adjust the
water supply accordingly so that a constant head condition is maintained.
Then transition flow has been achieved. Record the temperature and flow
rate as in step (4).
6. Adjust the discharge valve to increase flow rate even further until the
disturbance pattern of the dye filament is similar to Figure 4. Small eddies
should be noted just above the point where the due filament completely
breaks down. After this condition is reached, the water flow has become fully
turbulent. Record the temperature and flow rate as in step (4).
7. Adjust the heating module to achieve a new water temperature configuration.
Now repeat step 3 6 to collect temperature and flow rate data for laminar,
transition and turbulent flow under the new heating module configuration.
Repeat this process to collect data for as many temperature configurations as
necessary.

Figure 4. Typical flow patterns at various flow conditions

Effect of Varying Viscosity
The viscosity of water varies with the temperature as shown in Figure 5. The
variations are quite large over the range 10 40 oC and this can be use to
demonstrate the effect of viscosity on the velocities at which transition occurs.

Figure 5. Kinematic viscosity of water at various temperatures

The diameter of the glass tube: d = 16.4 mm
Table 1. Collected Data Table
Temp
36

38

40

50

Condition

Time for 200 ml (s)

Laminar
Transition
Turbulent
Laminar
Transition
Turbulent
Laminar
Transition
Turbulent
Laminar
Transition
Turbulent

147
8
2
159
15
7
79
19
4
128
29
7

From the table above, the information of time for 200ml is used to calculate Q and u, by
using the formulas:

C
t

Q= , where C is the capacity of fluid was stored and t is the time taken to flow which was
also measured 3 times each to increase the accuracy of the results.
Calculate the velocity by:

Q
A

(m/s)

Where:
u:

Velocity (m/s)

Q:

Flow (m3/s)

d2
4

Area of glass tube (m2)

Re
Then by using the formula

Tem
p

36

38

40

50

ud
v

we can find the Reynolds number.

Table 2. Report Table

Condition

Time for
200 ml
(s)

Laminar

147

Transition

Turbulent

Laminar

159

Transition

15

Turbulent

Laminar

79

Transition

19

Turbulent

Laminar

128

Q
(m3/s)

u
(m/s)

1.4x10-6

6.44x10-

2.5x10-5

1.18x10-

1.0x10-4

4.73x10-

1.3x10-6

5.95x10-

1.3x10-5

6.31x10-

2.9x10-5

1.35x10-

2.5x10-6

1.20x10-

1.1x10-5

4.98x10-

5.0x10-5

2.37x101

0.6579

1.6x10-6

7.40x10-

0.5531

v x 10-6
(m2/s)

Re

0.7095

149

0.7095
0.7095
0.6828
0.6828
0.6828
0.6579
0.6579

273
6
109
42
143
151
6
324
9
299
124
2
590
0
219

Transition

29

Turbulent

6.9x10-6

3.26x10-

2.9x10-5

1.35x10-

0.5531

968

0.5531

401
0

From table 2, it can be observed that some Reynolds number value do not fall
in the appropriate range, which will be discussed in the conclusion part of this report

Below is a graph of kinematic viscosity on the x-axis and Reynolds number on

the y-axis for transition flow.

Kinematic viscosity vs. Reynolds number for transition flow

3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Reynolds number

Kinematic viscosity (m/s)

Graph 1

From graph 1, it can be observed that the value of Reynolds number

for transition flow gets larger as the kinematic viscosity gets larger. This
contradicts the inverse proportional relationship stated in the equation
Re

ud
v

. This contradiction is caused by experimental error, specifically

fluctuating flow rate for 4 data points of transition flow. From table 2, it can
be observed that the time it takes for the apparatus to discharge 200ml do
not stay constant but ranges from 8s to 29s. Consequently, flow rate

fluctuates as well, causing this apparent contradictory relationship depicted

in graph 1 between kinematic viscosity and Reynolds number.
Conclusion:
Overall, the experiment succeeds in showing and quantifying laminar,
transition and turbulent conditions by collecting the relevant data (flow rate, tube
diameter, and kinematic viscosity) to calculated Reynolds numbers.
The differences between the conditions are as follows:

Laminar flow: dye filament slightly twists but no disturbances

(Reynolds number less than 2000).
Transition: dye filament has intermittent pulses of turbulence (Reynold
number between 2300 and 4000).
Turbulent: dye rapidly mixes and becomes dispersed (Reynold number
greater than 4000).

However, the calculated Reynolds numbers do not all fall into the appropriate
range for the respective conditions.
The reasons for this are:
1. Water temperature is not constant:
In fact, the water temperature was changing throughout the
experiment. The recorded temperature used for calculation is only an
approximation of the average value. The heating module struggles to
keep the water flow at a constant temperature, especially at higher
temperature. As a result of changing water temperature, the kinematic
viscosity changes as well. Therefore the kinematic viscosity used in
calculating the Reynolds number has a relatively high margin of error,
therefore affecting the calculation result.
2. Tap water used in experiment is not pure:
The kinematic viscosity values used in calculation of Reynolds numbers
are for pure water. Nonetheless, tap water is used in this experiment.
Consequently, the margin of error of the kinematic viscosity is further
enlarged.
3. Only one data collection attempt per data point:
As a result of collecting data only once per data point instead of
collecting three and find the average value of them, the experiment
subjects itself to off-chance random error in measurement and
subsequently in calculation.

Therefore, in order to improve the experiment, one could (1) ensure the heating
module discharge water at constant temperature at each configuration, (2) use pure
water and (3) collect data three times for each data point and finding the average
value of them.