REYNOLDS NUMBER

AE Lab 2
OSBORNE REYNOLDS( English physicist)- was
the first person to make an intensive study of
flow in pipes.
He found that at low speed the flow was
smooth but at a high speed the flow was
turbulent ( tubes of various sizes and
different liquids)
FORMULA
R.N. =ρVR/µ

Reynolds found experimentally a value which

is critical Reynolds number.
For values of R.N. less than the critical, the
flow was smooth or laminar; for values
greater than critical R.N., the flow was
turbulent.
Reynolds number can be applied in
determining whether all, or a portion, of the
boundary is laminar or turbulent.
APPLICATION IN AERONAUTICS