INTERNATIONAL UNIVER SITY – VIETNAM NATIONAL

UNIVERSITY, HCMC
Department of Civil Engineering

HYDRAULICS LABORATORY
Report experiment 2: REYNOLDS NUMBER AND TRANSITIONAL
FLOW

Laboratory instructor: Pham Ngoc

 Group: 1
 Shift: Tuesday afternoon
 Group members: TRẦN KHÁNH DUY – EVEVIU17011

NGUYỄN PHAN MAI TRÂM – EVEVIU17009

NGUYỄN LAI THANH TRÚC –EVEVIU17004

LÊ HOÀNG TƯỜNG VI – EVEIU17014

Score: _________

I. INTRODUCTION
The apparatus used here to demonstrate “critical” velocity is based on that used by Professor
Reynolds who demonstrated the nature of the two modes of motion flowing in a tube, example
laminar and turbulent. The unit is designed to be mounted on P6100 hydraulic Bench and the
quantity of water flowing through it can be measured and timed using the Hydraulic Bench
Volumetric Tank and a suitable stopwatch. A bell mounted glass tube 790 mm long overall by
16mm bore is mounted vertically and concentrically in a much larger diameter tube fitted with
baffles. A uniform supply of water can then be made to flow along the 0.05 mm bore tube. The
unit is fitted with a constant head tank and the flow rate which can be varied by adjustment to the
head tank height, can be measured using the volumetric tank. A dye injector is situated at the
entrance to the 16 mm bore tube and thus it is possible to detect whether the flow is streamline or
turbulent.

This experiment replicates the work done by Osborne Reynolds to characterize laminar,
transitional and turbulent flow in terms of the “Reynolds Number” (ρvd/μ). The Reynolds
apparatus allows the experimenter to visualize the flow and determine whether it is laminar,
transitional, or turbulent. An overflow tank maintains a constant pressure head on the flow tube
while flow rate is controlled via the globe valve at the outlet. Dye is injected into the bell mouth
at the flow tube in order to visualize the flow. Flow rates (and therefore average flow velocity, v)
may be determined by determined by collecting the liquid in a beaker at the outlet, and recording
the time it takes to fill a given volume. Moreover, the apparatus should be leveled prior to
beginning the experiment.

II. OBJECTIVE
The purpose of the Osborne Reynolds Experiment is to illustrate laminar, transitional and
turbulent pipe flows and to determine the condition under which these type of flow occurs. The
examples of flow that we should get from the experiment are:

Laminar flow is the type of flow in which the particles move in a straight line in the form of a
thin parallel sheets is known as the Laminar flow. Laminar flow denotes a steady condition
where all stream lines follow parallel paths. Under this condition, the dye will remain easily
identifiable as a solid core. Turbulent flow is the type of flow in which the particles move in a
zigzag pattern is known as the turbulent flow. Turbulent flow denotes as unsteady condition
where stream lines interact causing shear plan collapse and mixing occurs. As the flow rate is
increased, the transition from laminar to turbulent flow is a gradual process. This zone of change
is defined as transitional flow. This will appear as a wandering dye stream prior to dispersion as
turbulence occurs. Transitional flow is when the flow changes from laminar to turbulent or vice
verse a disturbance is created, it is called as the transitional flow.

III. THEORY
Consider the case of a fluid moving along a fixed surface such as the wall of a pipe. At some
distance y from the surface the fluid has a velocity u relative to the surface. The relative
movement causes a shear stress which tends to slow down the motion so that the velocity close
to the wall is reduced below u. It can be shown that the shear stress produces a velocity gradient
du/dy which is proportional to the applied stress. The constant of proportionality is the
coefficient of viscosity and the equation is usually written:

du
  (1)
dy

Equation (1) is derived in most textbooks and represents a model of a situation in which layers of
fluid move smoothly over one another. This is termed 'viscous' or 'laminar' flow. For such
conditions experiments show that Equation (1) is valid and that is a constant for a given fluid at a
given temperature.

It may be noted that the shear stress and the velocity gradient have a fixed relationship, which is
determined only by the viscosity of the fluid. However, experiments also show that this only
applies at low viscosities. If the velocity increases above a certain value, small disturbances
produce eddies in the flow causing mixing between the high energy and low energy layers of
fluid. This is called turbulent flow and under these conditions it is found that the relationship
between shear stress and velocity gradient varies depending on many factors in addition to the
viscosity of the fluid. The nature of the flow is entirely different since the interchange of energy
between the layers now depends on the strength of the eddies (and thus on the inertia of the fluid)
rather than simply on the viscosity. Equation (1) still applies but the coefficient no longer
represents the viscosity of the fluid. It is now called the 'Eddy Viscosity' and is no longer
constant for a given fluid and temperature. Its value depends on the upstream conditions in the
flow and is much greater than the coefficient of viscosity for the fluid. It may be noted that this
implies an increase in shear stress for a given velocity and so the losses in the flow are much
greater than for laminar conditions.

What, then, determines whether the flow will be laminar or turbulent in a given situation? We
have seen that laminar flow is the result of viscous forces and that turbulent flow is in some way
related to inertia forces. This was realized by Reynolds who postulated that the nature of flow
depended on the ratio of inertia to viscous forces. This led to the derivation of a non-dimensional
variable, now called Reynolds number - Re - which expresses this ratio.

On physical grounds we may say that the inertia forces are proportional to mass multiplied by
velocity change divided by time. Since mass divided by time is the mass flow rate and this is
equal to density multiplied by cross sectional area multiplied by velocity u we may write:

Inertia forces  d 2u.u (2)

Where d is the diameter of the pipe.
Similarly, the viscous forces are given by shear stress multiplied by area so, using Equation (1),
we may write:

u 2
 d
Viscous forces d (3)

Dividing the inertia forces by the viscous forces we obtain Reynolds number as:

 d 2u 2  du
Re   (4)
ud 

The term is called the kinematic viscosity, v, and it is often convenient to write Equation (4) as:

ud
Re  (5)


Note that the previous equations can also be derived by dimensional analysis but in either case it
should be remembered that Re represents the ratio of inertia to viscous forces.

The important discovery made by Reynolds was that for normal flow in a pipe, the transition
between laminar and turbulent flow always occurs at approximately the same value of Re,
irrespective of the fluid and the size of the pipe. This, therefore, enables prediction of flow
conditions in pipes of any size carrying the fluid. It must be appreciated, however, that there is
never a precise point at which transition between laminar and turbulent flow occurs.

Consider the case of increasing velocity in a pipe. Initially the viscous forces dominate and the
flow is laminar. As velocity increases occasional eddies form but these are quite quickly damped
out by viscous effects. Further increase in velocity is accompanied by an increase in the number
of eddies until a point is reached where the complete flow is subject to turbulent mixing and can
be considered fully turbulent. Transition from fully laminar to fully turbulent flow may occur
interspersed with periods of quite steady laminar flow. The final transition to fully turbulent flow
tends to be more well-defined since above a certain level of turbulence becomes self-generating
and a few disturbances will set the whole flow into turbulent motion.

Now consider the case of reducing velocity. In this case the turbulent motions tend to continue
until the velocity is below that at which turbulent flow originally started. Eventually, however, a
point is reached when the viscous forces damp out the eddies and the flow reverts quite quickly
to laminar. This behavior can be demonstrated by flow visualization and also by measuring head
losses along pipes.

As an example, Figure 1 shows the variation in head loss with velocity for a smooth pipe. On
increasing the velocity, transition occurs between points A and B, and for decreasing flow it
occurs between points C and D. There is a 'reluctance' of the flow to change from one condition
to the other and this causes the hysteresis show in Figure 1. Generally, point 0 is the most well-
defined and it is normally accepted that this transition from turbulent back to laminar flow occurs
at a Reynolds number between 2000 and 2300. The Reynolds numbers at points A, Band C
depend on the entry conditions and roughness of the pipe. Typically, point may represent a
Reynolds number between 2000 and 2500 but if the entry is carefully controlled and the pipe
very smooth, laminar flow may continue up to higher values. The range over which laminar flow
occurs may be extended by eliminating sources of turbulence but the reverse in not true:
irrespective of the level of turbulence at entry, the flow always returns to laminar below a
Reynolds number of about 2000. Thus it may be said that below this value turbulent flow cannot
exist, but above it the flow may be either laminar or turbulent depending on the entry conditions.

Variation of head loss with velocity for flow along a pipe

This behavior is demonstrated and observed using the Reynolds Number and Turbulent Flow
apparatus. In considering the results must be remembered that the transition points are not
always clearly defined and that values of Reynolds number must be expected to vary somewhat
from one test to another.

 Laminar Flow

Laminar flow denoted a steady flow condition where all streamlines follow parallel paths, there

being no interaction (mixing) between shear planes. Under this condition the dye observed will

remain as a solid, straight and easily identifiable component of flow.

 Transitional Flow
Transitional flow is a mixture of laminar and turbulent flow with turbulence in the center of the

pipe, and laminar flow near the edges. Each of these flows behaves in different manners in terms

of their frictional energy loss while flowing, and have different equations that predict their
behavior.

 Turbulent Flow

Turbulent flow denotes an unsteady flow condition where streamlines interact causing shear

plane collapse and mixing of the fluid. In this condition the dye observed will become disperse in

the water and mix with the water. The observed dye will not be identifiable at this point.

IV. MATERIAL AND APPARATUS

 Reynolds number and transitional flow

Schematic diagram of Reynolds number and transitional flow demonstration apparatus with
optional temperature control module

V. CALCULATIONS
Create a blank table similar to Table 2 for your report, using collected data in Table 1 to fill in
the corresponding column in Table 2 and calculate the other columns by following the
instruction below.

Calculate the velocity by:

Q
u
A (m/s)

Where:

u: Velocity (m/s)

Q: Flow (m3/s)

d2
A
4 : Area of glass tube (m2)

Calculate Reynolds number from Equation:

ud
Re 
v

Where:

Re: Reynolds number

u: Velocity (m/s)

d: Diameter of glass tube (m)

v: Kinematic viscosity of water (m2/s)

Plot a graph of kinematic viscosity against Reynolds number for transitional flow. Comment on
the graph.

VI. DATA AND RESULTS

Measure and record the diameter of the glass tube: d =0.015m

Table 1. Collected Data Table

 Temp Condition Time for 200 ml (s)

Laminar 105

30 Transition 52

Turbulent 26

Laminar 82

40 Transition 31

Turbulent 21

Laminar 63

45 Transition 25

Turbulent 16

Laminar 48

50 Transition 20

Turbulent 12

Table 2: Report table

Time for
Q U v x 10-6
Temp Condition 200 ml Re
(m3/s) (m/s) (m2/s)
(s)

Laminar 105 1.9048x10-6 0.0108 0.8007 202.3229

30 Transition 52 3.8462x10-6 0.0218 0.8007 408.3927

Turbulent 26 7.6923x10-6 0.0435 0.8007 814.9119

Laminar 82 2.4390x10-6 0.0138 0.6579 314.6375

40 Transition 31 6.4516x10-6 0.0365 0.6579 832.1933

Turbulent 21 9.8538x10-6 0.0558 0.6579 1272.229

 Laminar 63 3.1746x10-6 0.0179 0.6017 446.2357

45 Transition 25 8.0000x10-6 0.0453 0.6017 1129.300

Turbulent 16 12.500x10-6 0.0707 0.6017 1762.506

Laminar 48 4.1667x10-6 0.0236 0.5531 640.0289

50 Transition 20 10.000x10-6 0.0566 0.5531 1534.985

Turbulent 12 16.667x10-6 0.0943 0.5531 2557.404

The graph of kinematic viscosity against Reynolds number for transitional:

700

600

500

400
Laminar Re
300

200

100

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

Laminar
 1800

1600

1400

1200

1000

800 Re
600

400

200

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

Transition

3000

2500

2000
Re
1500

1000

500

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

Turbulent

As we can see from the graph, the value of Re decrease when v is from 0.5531x10-6 to
0.8007x10-6 (m2/s) in three cases. So Re inversely proportional to viscosity.
 VII. CONCLUSION
The purpose for this experiment was to observe, understand more clearly various characteristics
of the flow in pipes, especially laminar flow, transition and turbulent and particularly to
understand the relationship between Reynolds number and Transition Flow under different
conditions for each kind of flow.

Overall, the experiment was a success in showing the difference among these flows that are:

- Laminar flow has slight twisting of dye filament but no disturbances.

- Transition flow has intermittent pulses of turbulence.
- Turbulent flow can be seen when dye rapidly mixes and becomes dispersed.

It is concluded that the characteristics of the flow in pipes depends on many factors such as:
viscosity, temperature, fluid flow rate, etc.

The laminar flow occurs when the fluid is flowing slowly and the turbulent flow occurs when it
is flowing fast. In transitional flow, the flow switches between laminar and turbulent in a
disorderly fashion.

As the water flow rate increase, the Reynolds number calculated also increase and the dye line
change from thin thread to swirling in shape Laminar flow occurs when the Reynolds number
calculated is below than 230 0; transitional flow occurs when Reynolds number calculated is
between 2300 and 4000 while turbulent flow occurs when Reynolds number calculated is above
4000. It is proved that the Reynolds equation is dimensionless, no units left after the calculation.

Under most practical conditions, the flow in a circular pipe is laminar for Re ≤ 2300, turbulent
for Re ≥ 4000 and transitional in between. That is, Re ≤ 2300 laminar flow, 2300 ≤ Re ≤ 4000
transitional flow, Re ≥ 4000 turbulent flow.

Figure: Real experiment of water flow