SCHOOL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

Course Code : BCE01T3302     Course Name: Fluid mechanics

Assignment on Bunkingham’s Pi
theorem
PRESENTED BY:
Vishwa Anand [21SOCE1010010]
PRESENTED TO:
Dr. Deepak Soni
 CONTENTS
Buckingham pi theorem
Steps of Buckingham pi theorem
Rules of Buckingham pi theorem
Example of Buckingham pi theorem
 Buckingham pi theorem
Buckingham Pi-theorem states that, “If there
are n variables (dependent and independent
variables) in a dimensionally homogenous
equation and if these variable contain m
fundamental dimensionless terms are called
Π terms.”
 Steps
Step 1:
Mathematically, if any variable X1 depends on independent variables
X2,X3,X4,.......,Xn’. Then, the functional relationship between dependent and
independent variable is expressed as
X1 = f (X2,X3.X4,.........,Xn)
Equation can be written as,
f1 (X1,X2,X3,X4,..........Xn) ∫ = 0
It is dimensionally homogenous equation and contains n variables.
Step 2:
The equation can be written in terms of number of dimensionless Π term
which is equal to (n-m).
f (Π1, Π2,......Πn ' m) = 0
Step 3:
Each Π-term contains m + 1 variables, where m is the number of
fundamental dimensions and it is also called as repeating variable.
Step 4:
If X2,X3,X4 are repeating variables, then each Π term is written as:
Π1 = Xa1 . Xb1 . Xc1. X
Π2 = X2a2 . X3b2 . X4c2. X5
Πn-m = X1a n-m X2b n-m X3c n-m . X n-m
Step 5:
Where equation is solved by principle of dimensional homogeneity and
the value of a, b, c are obtained.
Step 7:
The value of Π1, Π2, Π3.........etc. are substitute in Equation (5.4.3)
Step 8:
The required expression can obtained by expressing any one of the Π
terms as a function of others.
Π1 = Φ [ Π2, Π3,........Πn-m ]
 Rules
Let us assume that there are n = 3 dimensional quantities to consider - mass, length and
time. The problem involves m = 6 variables, denoted A . . . F. In general we can derive
m - n dimensionless groups, often denoted TT1, TT2..., using the following procedure
Write down the dimensions for all variables A . . . F
Select n of the variables - say A, B, C. These are called the repeating variables, and will
appear in all the TT terms. Note that there are certain restrictions on our choice :
None of the repeating variables can be dimensionless
No two repeating variables can have the same overall dimension. For instance, D, the
pipe diameter, and r, the roughness height, both have dimension of L, and so cannot
both be used as repeating variables.
Equating coefficients gives 3 equations for 4 unknowns, so we can express all the
coefficients in terms of just one.
Repeat this procedure with the repeating variables and the next variable, so use A,
B, C, E. Continue until no variables are left.
Having worked out all the dimensionless groups, the relationship between the
variables can be expressed as a relationship between the various groups. Typically
we can write this as one group (for example TT1 as a function of the others
TT1 = f(TT2,TT3,...)
 Example
This is probably best illustrated by a worked example. The head loss in a horizontal
pipe in turbulent flow is related to the pressure drop Dp, and is a measure of the
resistance to flow in the pipe. It depends on the diameter of the pipe D, the viscosity
m and density r, the length of the pipe l, the velocity of the flow v and the surface
roughness j. We start by listing the dimensions of these parameters
D [L]
v [LT-1]
r [ML-3]
Dp [ML-1T-2]
m [ML-1T-1]
l [L]
j []
We will choose D, v and r as repeating variables. Our first dimensionless group
involves Dp, in the form
abc d a - 1b -3c -1 -2 d
D v r Dp , so [ ] = [L] [LT ] [M L ][M L T ]
This gives the relations
0 =c+d
0 = -b - 2d
0 = a + b - 3c - d
equating coefficients of M, T and L respectively. Writing them all in terms of d,
c = -d
b = -2d
0 = a - 2d + 3d - d ==> a = 0
Resubstituting
( )d
v-2dr-dDpd = Dp- is dimensionless, so TT1 = Dp
rv2 rv2
We can repeat the process with m to get the second dimensionless group :
We can repeat the process with m to get the second dimensionless group :
Davbrcmd, so [] = [L]a[LT-1]b[M L- 3]c[M L -1T-1]d
Equating coefficients
0 =c+d
0 = -b - d
0 = a + b - 3c - d
Solving again in terms of d gives c = -d, b = -d and a = -d, thus
In fact, we recognise this group as the Reynolds number, written upside down, so
TT2 = rDv-m
The next dimensionless group will involve l with dimension L. However one of the
repeating variables is the diameter D, and so the ratio of the two is already
dimensionless. So the next dimensionless group is
TT3 = l-D
Finally, j is already dimensionless anyway, being the ratio of the height of the
roughness to the pipe diameter D. From this analysis we have successfully
determined that the turbulent flow in a roughened pipe depends on a head loss
parameter
TT1 = Dp2rv
together with the Reynolds number, the ratio of the pipe length to diameter, and the
surface roughness coefficient. We can write this relation as a relation between the
groups
TT1 = f(TT2,TT3,TT4)
or in full
Dp2 = f(rDv-,-l,j)
rv m D This is as far as we can go using dimensional analysis. Experiment
however shows that the pressure drop depends linearly on the length of the pipe, so we
can make this relation explicit :
Dp- -l
rv2 = D f1(Re,j)
We can rearange this a little further, rewriting it as:
Dp- v2 l-rg = 2g D f2(Re,j)
which is of course the Darcy equation for head loss in a pipe.