REYNOLD´S NUMBER

Klaudia Novosadová
IV.D
SEM 2
WHAT IS IT?
• Re
• dimensionless quantity
• an experimental number used in fluid flow to predict the flow velocity at which
turbulence will occur
• Plays a role in foreseeing the patterns in a fluid’s behaviour
• used to determine whether the fluid flow is laminar or turbulent
- Laminar flow, type of fluid (gas or liquid) flow in which the fluid travels smoothly or in
regular paths
- Turbulent flow, type of fluid (gas or liquid) flow in which the fluid undergoes irregular
fluctuations, or mixing
• Although Re comprises both static and kinetic properties of fluids, it is a flow
property since dynamic conditions are investigated
• the Reynolds number is the ratio of the inertial forces to the viscous forces
- this helps to categorize laminar flows from the turbulent ones
• Inertial forces (dominant in turbulent flows)
- resist a change in the velocity of an object and are the cause of the fluid
movement
• Viscous forces, defined as the resistance to flow, are dominant – the flow is
laminar
EXAMPLE
• A glass of water which stands on a static surface, regardless of any forces apart
from gravity, is at rest and flow properties are ignored. Thus, the result in equation
from the previous slide is zero. That results in independence from the Reynolds
number for a fluid at rest.
• On the other hand, whilst water is spilled by tilting a water-filled glass a Reynolds
number can be estimated to predict fluid flow.

Fluid flow occurs due to imbalanced forces

thus defining flow characteristics
that the Reynolds number can quantify.
LAMINAR TO TURBULENT TRANSITION
• The fluid flow can be specified under two different regimes: Laminar and
Turbulent.
• The transition among the regimes is an important issue that is driven by both fluid
and flow properties.
• The Reynolds number regarding the laminar-turbulent transition can be defined
reasonably for internal flow,while it is hard to specify a definition for external flow.
Flow type Reynolds Number Range

Laminar regime up to Re=2300

Transition regime (a mixture of both laminar

2300<Re<4000
and turbulent flows)

Turbulent regime Re>4000

BREAKING DOWN REYNOLD´S
NUMBER
• Reynold´s number

• Density of the fluid, SI units: kg/ m3

OR it can cancelled out

• velocity of the fluid with respet to the objet, m/s
u.L/v
- Where v is the kinematic
• viscosity of the fluid, m2
Characteristic linear dimension, length, m

• Dynamic viscosity of the fluid, Pa.s

IMPORTANCE OF LAMINAR &
TURBULENT FLOW
•  important in engineering because the type of flow impacts how mass and heat
are transferred
• LAMINAR-  occurs everyday inside of you (blood flowing throughout your body is
flowing laminarly)
- syrup, or honey, flowing out the nozzle (because the liquid is so thick, or viscous,
the Reynolds number indicates that the flow is very laminar)
• TURBULENT- desirable where a relatively cool fluid is mixed with a warmer fluid
to reduce the temperature of the warmer fluid. It is essential when designing
certain structures, such as a bridge support
- blood flow in arteries, oil transport in pipelines, lava flow, atmosphere and ocean
currents, the flow through pumps and turbines, and the flow in boat wakes and
around aircraft-wing tips.
• Generally in the body, blood flow is laminar
• However, under conditions of high flow, particularly in the ascending aorta,
laminar flow can be disrupted and become turbulent.
• When this occurs, blood does not flow linearly and smoothly in adjacent layers,
but instead the flow can be described as being chaotic.
EXAMPLES OF Re VALUES
• Blood flow in the brain Re ≈ 100
• Blood flow in the aorta Re ≈ 1000
• Swimming man Re ≈ 4 x 106
• Plane Re ≈ 1 × 107
• Whale Re ≈ 3 × 108
EXAMPLE
•  We want Reynolds number of 2200 for the water flowing through the pipe
• The pipe has a diameter of 2.75 cm (0.0275 m)
• The density of water is 1000 Kg/103
• The viscosity of water is 0.0013 Pa.s
• Calculate what velocity the water has to pass through the pipe to fit these
parameters?

V= 2200 x 0,0013 / 1000 x 0,0275

V= 2,86 / 27,5
V= 0,104 m⋅s−1
ANOTHER ONE 
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5t07S3C-B0
SOURCES
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5t07S3C-B0
• https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo63dvz71xI&fbclid=IwAR2fYawy-JBv_8-Z0Hur0ED
uGr2DK7BMPILwZPVSfbH0d_zAZf6UH7N1xII

•
https://www.simscale.com/docs/simwiki/numerics-background/what-is-the-reynol
ds-number/?fbclid=IwAR026NJKmES_-
iOjSti4BLa7NMY6vqHlfLeA-QUTl64pTLYa8ITzzaA2qUY