Appendix A

Units, Dimensions, and

Dimensionless Numbers

Units (such as the meter or the foot) are names assigned to substantial
physical variables which describe their magnitudes. Dimensions (such as
length) are generalized units. Dimensionless groups (such as length/length)
are used to describe natural physical variables. Both the number of units and
dimensionless numbers represent the precise magnitudes of physical vari-
ables. The difference is that artificial standards (such as the meter, the foot,
the second, the kilogram, or the pound) are needed for measuring substantial
variables, whereas no artificial standards are required for measuring natural
variables. This classification of physical variables as either substantial or
natural is taken from Ipsen1, who examines the nature of units and dimensions
in great detail.

Units
Two systems of units are used in this handbook. One is based on the U.S.
system of weights and measures and generally reflects the conventions of the
American fan industry. The other is the International System of Units (SI),
which has been adopted by the International Organization for Standardization
(ISO). Details are published by the National Bureau of Standards2 now NIST.
Conversion factors and equivalents based on these N.B.S. data are given in
Appendix C.
The U.S. system of units used here can be further described as the two-
pound system with gravitational exceptions. In the two-pound system, both
force and mass are measured in pounds. The alternatives of using either the
poundal for force or the slug for mass have not been widely adopted in fan-
engineering practice.
1
D. C. Ipsen, Units, Dimensions, and Dimensionless Numbers, McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc.,
New York, 1960.
2
ASTM Metric Practice Guide, National Bureau of Standards Handbook 102, The Superin-
tendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1967.

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A-2 FAN ENGINEERING

The pound force is designated lb, and the pound mass is designated lbm.
In any equations involving mass, a conversion factor gc is used to make the
units consistent with the use of lbm. The numerical value of gc is equal to the
value of the standard gravitational acceleration for the units used. Thus,
Newton's second law of motion would be written:

ma
F= (A.1)
gc

which, for the ft-lbm-s system, results in force F in lb if mass m is in lbm,

acceleration a is in fps, and gc is 32.174 ft-lbm/lb-s2. Other commonly used
values for gc include 386.09 in.-lbm/lb-s2 for the in.-lbm-s system, 980.67 cm-
g/gf-s2 for the cm-g-s system, and 1.0 m-kg/N-s2 for the m-kg-s, or Interna-
tional, system.
In keeping with certain conventions, some equations are written in terms
of weight divided by the acceleration of gravity rather than mass. This use of
gravitational notation can be misleading unless the engineer recognizes that
mass, and not the acceleration of gravity, is the significant variable. An
example is Equation 18.2, where the energy stored in a rotating body is given
with respect to its weight times its radius of gyration squared WK2. This is
obviously misleading since, even in weightless space, the energy would be the
same as on earth.
Another interesting example is the Bernoulli equation, which is often
written:

p V2
+ + Z = constant. (A.2)
w 2g

The pressure head p w appears dependent upon gravity because specific

weight w is used. The velocity head V 2 2 g also appears dependent upon g
and the elevation head Z independent of g. However, these appearances are
misleading, especially in space applications. Another form of the Bernoulli
equation is more informative regarding the influence of gravity:

p V 2 gZ
+ + = constant . (A.3)
ρ 2 gc g c

All the gc's could be omitted if mass density ρ were in slugs/ft3, but in the
two-pound system, it is in lbm/ft3. This expression properly links g to Z,
indicating that g is important only if there is a difference in elevation Z and,
conversely, that if g = 0, the elevation term gZ/gc is also zero.

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 APPENDIX A – UNITS AND DIMENSIONS A-3

In a standard gravitational field, the mass of a substance in lbm and its

weight in lb are numerically equal. Similarly, various other quantities, such
as density, gas constant, specific heat, and enthalpy, can be referred to either
mass or weight and will have the same numerical value in either case in a
standard gravitational field (for the two-pound system).

Dimensions
The system of dimensions used here is the force F, mass M, length L, time
T, temperature 4, heat H system. Treating both temperature and heat as
fundamental dimension reflects the choice of units in this text and is generally
consistent with fan-engineering practice. The conversion factor J facilitates
writing equations that involve both work and heat terms.
The dimensions of the various quantities referred to in the text are listed in
Appendix B. Dimensions are also listed for the various conversion-factor
tables of Appendix C. Sometimes, two sets of dimensions are shown. This
reflects either the equivalency of heat and work or the relationship of force
and mass. For example, in Appendix C, power and heat-flow-rate units are
listed in a single table and given the dimensions LF/T and H/T. Also, in
Appendix C, absolute viscosity units are listed as both M/LT and FT/L2.
Here, FT/L2 better reflects the physical meaning of viscosity as the ratio of
stress F/L2 to velocity gradient L/T/L, but M/LT eliminates the need for a
conversion factor in the Reynolds number formula.

Dimensionless Numbers
In many fan-engineering problems, it is convenient to use various dimen-
sionless numbers based on the pertinent variables. Organizing experimental
data by dimensional analysis often leads to both simpler representations of
results and easier and more general interpretation. An example is the correla-
tion of friction factor, relative roughness, and Reynolds number in fluid flow.
One of the advantages of using dimensionless numbers is that the number of
dimensionless ratios or groups necessary to express a relationship is always
smaller than the number of dimensional variables involved. Dimensionless
equations involving two or more dimensionless groups are also often used.
Dimensional analysis provides a method of grouping the variables involved in
a problem, provided that all the pertinent factors are known (or assumed).
There are several mathematical methods of arriving at the desired dimension-
less parameters, but the functional relationship between them must be deter-
mined experimentally. The following table lists several dimensionless groups
often used in fan engineering. A much more comprehensive list has been
tabulated by Boucher and Alves.1
1
D. E. Boucher and G. E. Alves, "Dimensionless Numbers," Chemical Engineering Progress,
vol. 55, no. 9, 1959, pp. 55-64; vol. 59, no. 8, 1963, pp. 75-83.

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A-4 FAN ENGINEERING

Table A.1 Dimensionless Numbers

Name Symbol Group1 Ratio2

Archimedes number Ar D 3 ∆ρgρ µ 2 IG/V2
Bond number Bo D 2 ∆ρg gcσ G/S
Cauchy number Ca ρV 2 gc e I/C
Cavitation number - 2 ∆p ′gc ρV 2
Darcy friction factor f 22∆pg c 71 6
ρV 2 D L P/I
Drag coefficient fD D∆ρg ρV 2 G/I
Euler number Eu ρV 2 p I/P
Fanning friction factor f′ 22∆pg c 71
ρV 2 D 4 L 6 P/I
2
Froude number Fr V gL I/G
Grashof number Gr L ρ 2 gβ∆t µ 2
3
IB/V2
Knudsen number Kn λm L -
Mach number Ma V c (I/C)1/2
Merkel number Me K ′S ′V ′ L ′ -
Number of diameters - L D -
No. of dia. per vel. hd. N 1 L D62ρV 2
2∆pgc 7 I/P
Number of velocity heads - 2 ∆pgc ρV 2 -
Nusselt number Nu hD k -
Pecklet number Pe DVρc p k -
Prandtl number Pr cp µ k -
Ratio of specific heats γ c p cv -
Reynolds number Re DVρ µ I/V
Rossby number Ro V 2ωD sin α I/E
Roughness ratio - ε D -
Schmidt number Sc µ ρ∂ -
Size ratio - D1 D2 -
Sherwood number Sh k ′L ∂ -
Sommerfeld number So 1µN 61 6
gc p D C
2
V/L
Speed ratio - N1 N 2 -
Stanton number St h c p ρV -
Stokes number - µ ρD 2 f o -
Strouhal number Sl foD V -
Weber number We DV 2 ρ gcσ I/S
1
See pages A-5 and A-6 for nomenclature.
2
Ratio of forces inherent in dimensionless group.

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 APPENDIX A – UNITS AND DIMENSIONS A-5

Table A.1 (cont.) Dimensionless Numbers

Dimentionless Group Nomenclature

C clearance
c sonic velocity
cp specific heat at constant pressure
cv specific heat at constant volume
D diameter or dimension
d differential
e bulk modulus of elasticity
fo frequency
g acceleration of gravity
gc conversion factor
h coefficient of heat transfer
K„ overall coefficient of mass transfer
k thermal conductivity
k„ coefficient of mass transfer
L length or dimension
L„ liquid mass flow rate
N rotative speed
p pressure
S„ surface per unit volume
t temperature
V velocity
V„ total volume
D angle re earth’s rotation
E coefficient of thermal expansion
' difference
'p pressure drop
'p„ static pressure – vapor pressure
't temperature drop across film
'U particle density – fluid density
˜ diffusivity
H absolute roughness
Om mean free path
P absolute viscosity
U mass density of fluid
V surface tension
Z angular velocity

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A-6 FAN ENGINEERING

Table A.1 (cont.) Dimensionless Numbers

Force-Ratio Nomenclature

B Buoyancy force D3UgE't/gc

C Compressibility force D2H
E Coriolis force D3UV5Z#sinD/gc
G Gravitational force D3'Ug/gc
I Inertia force D2UV2/gc
L Load force D2U
P Pressure force D2'p
S Surface tension force DV
V Viscous force DPV/gc

© 1999 Howden Buffalo, Inc.