Fluid Flow

 This chapter is concerned with the characteristics of fluids that affect their flow properties, with
particular references to flow through pipes and channels, as will occur in process plant.
 Description of some experimental work refer to water, remember that the term can be applied to any
substance that does not offer permanent resistance to distortion, thus liquids, gases and vapors will
be included.

Mechanism of Fluid Flow:

 When a fluid flows through a pipe or channel, the character of the flow can vary according to the
conditions. The forms of flow can best by visualized by reference to a classical experiment on the
flow of water through a circular tube, first carried out by asborne Reynolds,
 In Reynold’s experiment a long, glass tybe was connected to a reservoir providing a constant head
of water, with a control at the outlet so that the rate of flow could be varied. In the inlet of the tube a
jet was inserted which allowed a coloured liquid to be injected into the centre of the tube.
 This arrangement is illustrated diagrammatically in fig (1). Reynold studied the effect of varying the
conditions on the character of flow and on the appearance of the thread of colored liquid. This can
be illustrated, for example, by varying the velocity of the water through the tube.
 When the velocity is low, the thread of colored liquids remains undistributed in the centre of the
water stream and moves steadily along the tube, without mixing. At moderate velocities, a point is
reached (the critical velocity) at which the threads begins to waver, although no moxing occurs. This
is the phase transitional flow. As the velocity is increased to high values eddies begin to occur in the
flow, so that the colored liquid mixes with the bulk of the water immediately after leaving the jet.
Since this is a state of complete turbulence, the condition is known as turbulent flow.
 As a result of this experiments, Reynold found that flow conditions are affected by four facors:
1. Diameter of the pipe
2. Velocity of the fluid
3. Density of fluid
4. Viscosity of fluid
 It was discovered, furthermore, that these were connected together in a particular way and could be
grouped into a particular expression, known as Reynold’s Number:
𝜌∗𝑉∗𝑑
𝑅𝑒 =
µ

Where:
Re = Reynold’s Number
ρ = Denisty of fluid
V = Velocity of fluid
d = Diameter of pipe
µ = Viscosity of fluid
It’s important to remember that thisnumber is a number and has no dimensions, provided consistent units of mass,
length and time are used.
Thus ρ= Kg/m3, U= m/s, d=m, U= Kg/ms
And hence

𝐾𝑔 𝑚 𝑚𝑠
𝑤= 3
∗ ∗𝑚∗
𝑚 𝑠 𝐾𝑔
It can be seen that all the units cancel out, i.e., Re is dimensionless.
Significance of Reynold’s Number
It will be shown that it can be very important in practice to know whether flow is streamline or turbulent, and the
special significance of Reynold Number is that it can be used to predict the character of flow in a particular set of
circumstances.
In general, if Reynold’s Number is less than 2000, the flow will be streamline and if the number exceeds
approximately 4000 the flow will be turbulent. Between these two valves, the type of flow will depend on the form of
the flow channel, if there is no disturbance of any sort the flow pattern may be unbroken and streamline flow may
persist at Reynold Number well in excess of 2000. On the other hand, if the pipe surface is rough or if there are bends
or other pipe fittings, flow may be turbulent at Reynold Number less than 4000, possibly lower than even 2000.
The important difference to remember between the two types of flow is that, in streamline flow there is no velocity
component at right angles to the direction of flow. Hence there is no movement of the fluid between the centre and
the walls, which accounts of the thread of coloured liquid remaining in the centre of the tube in the Reynolds
experiment. When the flow is turbulent, however there is a great deal of movement across the direction of flow,
eddies are set up, and mixing occurs.

Boundary Layers:
Examination of the velocity profiles illustrated in the prevoirs section will show that the velocity reaches very low
values near the walls, in the fact there will be a layer that is stationary
Consider, then, a fluid in turbulent flow. These conditions will apply through the bulk of the fluid, but approaching
the wall the fvelocity will decrease until ultimately, it becomes zero at the wall itself.
Reynold’s Number is propotional to the velocity so that there will be a similar decrease in the value of the local
Reynold’s Number. This means that there will be a change from turbulence, through a transitional region to a
sluggish streamline region and, finally to a stationary film on the wall. This is represented diagramtically in figure 2. In
practice, there will be a gradual transition from one region to another. These are referred to collectively as the
boundary layer. It must be emphasized that boundary layers can never be eliminated. Increasing the velocity of the
fluid over the surface will reduce the thickness of the layer, but it will never be removed entirely.