Laminar ow

scientic terms, laminar ow is smooth while turbulent

ow is rough.

Fd 1 Relationship with the Reynolds

number
The type of ow occurring in a uid in a channel is
important in uid dynamics problems and subsequently
aects heat and mass transfer in uid systems. The
dimensionless Reynolds number is an important param-
eter in the equations that describe whether fully devel-
oped ow conditions lead to laminar or turbulent ow.
The Reynolds number is the ratio of the inertial force
to the shearing force of the uidhow fast the uid is
moving relative to how viscous the uid is, irrespective
of the scale of the uid system. Laminar ow generally
occurs when the uid is moving slowly or the uid is very
viscous. As the Reynolds number increases, such as by
Fg increasing the ow rate of the uid, the ow will transi-
tion from laminar to turbulent ow at a specic range of
Reynolds numbers, the laminar-turbulent transition range
depending on small disturbance levels in the uid or im-
perfections in the ow system. If the Reynolds number
is very small, much less than 1, then the uid will exhibit
A sphere in Stokes ow, at very low Reynolds number. An ob- Stokes or creeping ow, where the viscous forces of the
ject moving through a uid experiences a force in the direction uid dominate the inertial forces.
opposite to its motion.
The specic calculation of the Reynolds number, and the
values where laminar ow occurs, will depend on the ge-
In uid dynamics, laminar ow (or streamline ow) oc- ometry of the ow system and ow pattern. The common
curs when a uid ows in parallel layers, with no dis- example is ow through a pipe, where the Reynolds num-
ruption between the layers.[1] At low velocities, the uid ber is dened as:
tends to ow without lateral mixing, and adjacent layers
slide past one another like playing cards. There are no
cross-currents perpendicular to the direction of ow, nor vDH vDH QDH
eddies or swirls of uids.[2] In laminar ow, the motion Re = = =
A
of the particles of the uid is very orderly with particles
close to a solid surface moving in straight lines parallel where:
to that surface.[3] Laminar ow is a ow regime charac-
terized by high momentum diusion and low momentum
DH is the hydraulic diameter of the pipe; its charac-
convection.
teristic travelled length, L, (m).
When a uid is owing through a closed channel such as a
pipe or between two at plates, either of two types of ow Q is the volumetric ow rate (m3 /s).
may occur depending on the velocity and viscosity of the
A is the pipes cross-sectional area (m2 ).
uid: laminar ow or turbulent ow. Laminar ow tends
to occur at lower velocities, below a threshold at which it v is the mean velocity of the uid (SI units: m/s).
becomes turbulent. Turbulent ow is a less orderly ow
regime that is characterised by eddies or small packets is the dynamic viscosity of the uid (Pas = Ns/m2
[2]
of uid particles which result in lateral mixing. In non- = kg/(ms)).

1
2 5 REFERENCES

is the kinematic viscosity of the uid, = / the air, the boundary layer at rst ows smoothly over the
(m2 /s). streamlined shape of the airfoil. Here, the ow is laminar
and the boundary layer is a laminar layer. Prandtl applied
is the density of the uid (kg/m3 ). the concept of the laminar boundary layer to airfoils in
1904.[6][7]
For such systems, laminar ow occurs when the Reynolds
number is below a critical value of approximately 2,040,
though the transition range is typically between 1,800 and 3 Laminar ow barriers
2,100.[4]
For uid systems occurring on external surfaces, such as
ow past objects suspended in the uid, other denitions
for Reynolds numbers can be used to predict the type of
ow around the object. The particle Reynolds number
Re would be used for particle suspended in owing u-
ids, for example. As with ow in pipes, laminar ow typ-
ically occurs with lower Reynolds numbers, while turbu-
lent ow and related phenomena, such as vortex shedding,
occur with higher Reynolds numbers.

2 Examples

Experimental chamber for studying chemotaxis in response to

laminar ow.

Laminar airow is used to separate volumes of air, or

prevent airborne contaminants from entering an area.
Laminar ow hoods are used to exclude contaminants
In the case of a moving plate in a liquid, it is found that there is a
layer (lamina) that moves with the plate, and a layer next to any from sensitive processes in science, electronics and
stationary plate that is stationary. medicine. Air curtains are frequently used in commer-
cial settings to keep heated or refrigerated air from pass-
ing through doorways. A laminar ow reactor (LFR) is a
reactor that uses laminar ow to study chemical reactions
and process mechanisms.

4 See also
Chaos theory

The velocity prole associated with laminar ow resembles a Laminar ow reactor

deck of cards. This ow prole of a uid in a pipe shows that
the uid acts in layers that slide over one another.
5 References
A common application of laminar ow is in the smooth
ow of a viscous liquid through a tube or pipe. In that [1] Batchelor, G. (2000). Introduction to Fluid Mechanics.
case, the velocity of ow varies from zero at the walls to
a maximum along the cross-sectional centre of the vessel. [2] Geankoplis, Christie John (2003). Transport Processes
The ow prole of laminar ow in a tube can be calcu- and Separation Process Principles. Prentice Hall Profes-
lated by dividing the ow into thin cylindrical elements sional Technical Reference. ISBN 978-0-13-101367-4.
and applying the viscous force to them.[5] [3] Noakes, Cath; Sleigh, Andrew (January 2009). Real Flu-
Another example is the ow of air over an aircraft wing. ids. An Introduction to Fluid Mechanics. University of
Leeds. Retrieved 23 November 2010.
The boundary layer is a very thin sheet of air lying over
the surface of the wing (and all other surfaces of the air- [4] Avila, K.; Moxey, D.; de Lozar, A.; Avila, M.;
craft). Because air has viscosity, this layer of air tends to Barkley, D.; Hof, B. (July 2011). The On-
adhere to the wing. As the wing moves forward through set of Turbulence in Pipe Flow. Science. 333
 3

(6039): 192196. Bibcode:2011Sci...333..192A.

doi:10.1126/science.1203223.

[5] Nave, R. (2005). Laminar Flow. HyperPhysics. Geor-

gia State University. Retrieved 23 November 2010.

[6] Anderson, J. D. (1997). A History of Aerodynamics and

Its Impact on Flying Machines. Cambridge University
Press. ISBN 0-521-66955-3.

[7] Rogers, D. F. (1992). Laminar ow analysis. Cambridge

University Press. ISBN 0-521-41152-1.

6 External links
Laminar Flow on YouTube

Laminar ow in a pipe on YouTube

4 7 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

7 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

7.1 Text
Laminar ow Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laminar_flow?oldid=755222009 Contributors: Mav, Gareth Owen, Peterlin~enwiki,
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