Turbulent flow critical Reynolds number

Viscosity. Generally, a higher heat-transfer coefficient will be obtained by allocating the more viscous material to the shell-side, providing the flow is turbulent. The critical Reynolds number for turbulent flow in the shell is in the region of 200. If turbulent flow cannot be achieved in the shell it is better to place the fluid in the tubes, as the tube-side heat-transfer coefficient can be predicted with more certainty. 

Laminar and Turbulent Flow, Reynolds Number These terms refer to two distinct types of flow. In laminar flow, there are smooth streamlines and the fuiid velocity components vary smoothly with position, and with time if the flow is unsteady. The flow described in reference to Fig. 6-1 is laminar. In turbulent flow, there are no smooth streamlines, and the velocity shows chaotic fluctuations in time and space. Velocities in turbulent flow may be reported as the sum of a time-averaged velocity and a velocity fluctuation from the average. For any given flow geometry, a dimensionless Reynolds number may be defined for a Newtonian fluid as Re = LU p/ I where L is a characteristic length. Below a critical value of Re the flow is laminar, while above the critical value a transition to turbulent flow occurs. The geometry-dependent critical Reynolds number is determined experimentally. 

Laminar and Turbulent Flow Below a critical Reynolds number of about 2,100, the flow is laminar over the range 2,100 < Re < 5,000 there is a transition to turbulent flow. For laminar flow, the Hagen-Poiseuille equation... 

The critical Reynolds number for transition from laminar to turbulent flow in noncirciilar channels varies with channel shape. In rectangular ducts, 1,900 < Re < 2,800 (Hanks and Ruo, Ind. Eng. Chem. Fundam., 5, 558-561 [1966]). In triangular ducts, 1,600 < Re < 1,800 (Cope and Hanks, Ind. Eng. Chem. Fundam., II, 106-117 [1972] Bandopadhayay and Hinwood, j. Fluid Mech., 59, 775-783 [1973]). 

Continuous Flat Surface Boundaiy layers on continuous surfaces drawn through a stagnant fluid are shown in Fig. 6-48. Figure 6-48 7 shows the continuous flat surface (Saldadis, AIChE J., 7, 26—28, 221-225, 467-472 [1961]). The critical Reynolds number for transition to turbulent flow may be greater than the 500,000 value for the finite flat-plate case discussed previously (Tsou, Sparrow, and Kurtz, J. FluidMech., 26,145—161 [1966]). For a laminar boundary layer, the thickness is given by... 

Turbulent flow occurs when the Reynolds number exceeds a critical value above which laminar flow is unstable the critical Reynolds number depends on the flow geometry. There is generally a transition regime between the critical Reynolds number and the Reynolds number at which the flow may be considered fully turbulent. The transition regime is very wide for some geometries. In turbulent flow, variables such as velocity and pressure fluctuate chaotically statistical methods are used to quantify turbulence. 

The existence of roughness leads also to decreasing the value of the critical Reynolds number, at which transition from laminar to turbulent flow occurs. The character of the dependence of the friction factor on the Reynolds number in laminar flow remains the same for both smooth and rough micro-channels, i.e., X = const/Re. 

Concerning the critical Reynolds number, several groups of experiments related to laminar-to-turbulent flow can be set apart (Tables 3.5 and 3.6) ... 

White (14) proposed a graphical method of determining the critical Reynolds number at which the fully turbulent flow... 

The rotation rate should ensure forced convection on the one hand, but laminar flow on the other, so that it remains well below the conditions of the critical Reynolds number, above which turbulent flow sets in ... 

Perhaps the simplest classification of flow regimes is on the basis of the superficial Reynolds number of each phase. Such a Reynolds number is expressed on the basis of the tube diameter (or an apparent hydraulic radius for noncircular channels), the gas or liquid superficial mass-velocity, and the gas or liquid viscosity. At least four types of flow are then possible, namely liquid in apparent viscous or turbulent flow combined with gas in apparent viscous or turbulent flow. The critical Reynolds number would seem to be a rather uncertain quantity with this definition. In usage, a value of 2000 has been suggested (L6) and widely adopted for this purpose. Other workers (N4, S5) have found that superficial liquid Reynolds numbers of 8000 are required to give turbulent behavior in horizontal or vertical bubble, plug, slug or froth flow. Therefore, although this classification based on superficial Reynolds number is widely used... 

If the particle Re is well above the creeping flow range, mean drag may be increased or decreased by freestream turbulence. The most significant effect is on the critical Reynolds number. As noted in Chapter 5, the sharp drop in Cd at high Re results from transition to turbulence in the boundary layer and consequent rearward shift in the final separation point. Turbulence reduces Re, presumably by precipitating this transition." ... 

Laminar flow, which is a directional flow, changes into turbulent flow when the critical Reynolds number (Re) exceeds 200. When there is a flow of solution around... 

Transitional Flow. Reynolds numbers and friction factors at which the flow changes from laminar to turbulent are indicated by the breaks in the plots of Figures 6.4(a) and (b). For Bingham models, data are shown directly on Figure 6.6. For power-law liquids an equation for the critical Reynolds number is due to Mishra and Triparthi [Trans. IChE 51, T141 (1973)],... 

Figure 6.6. Critical Reynolds number for transition from laminar to turbulent flow of Bingham fluids. The data also are represented by Eqs. (6.56) and (6.5T) (O) cement rock slurry (A) river mud slurries ( ) clay slurry (B) sewage sludge (A) Th02 slurries ( ) lime slurry. [Hanks and Prall, SPE Journal, 342-346 (Dec. 1967)].

There are several reports in the literature of the critical Reynolds number at which turbulent film flow commences. These values of NRe t are usually determined from the breaks which appear in the curves of film thickness, surface velocity of the film, heat or mass transfer coefficients in the film, etc., when plotted against NHe. Some of the numerical values proposed by various investigators are listed in Table I. 

Schoklitsch (S3), 1920 Flow studies in channel at small slopes (below 2°) with water Nrb = 22-45,000. Thicknesses, critical Reynolds number, onset of turbulence studied. 

At velocities greater than the critical, the fluid velocity profile in the conduit is uniform across the conduit diameter except for a thin layer of fluid at the conduit wall. This boundary layer continues to move in laminar flow. In connection with flow measurement, most flowmeters have constant coefficients under turbulent flow conditions. Some flowmeters have the advantage of constant coefficients over Reynolds Number ranges encompassing both turbulent and laminar flows. See also Fluid and Fluid Flow and Reynolds Number. 

Flat Plate, Zero Angle of Incidence For flow over a wide, thin flat plate at zero angle of incidence with a uniform free-stream velocity, as shown in Fig. 6-47, the critical Reynolds number at which the boundary layer becomes turbulent is normally taken to be... 

Linear stability theory results match quite well with controlled laboratory experiment for thermal and centrifugal instabilities. But, instabilities dictated by shear force do not match so well, e.g. linear stability theory applied to plane Poiseuille flow gives a critical Reynolds number of 5772, while experimentally such flows have been observed to become turbulent even at Re = 1000- as shown in Davies and White (1928). Couette and pipe flows are also found to be linearly stable for all Reynolds numbers, the former was found to suffer transition in a computational exercise at Re = 350 (Lundbladh Johansson, 1991) and the latter found to be unstable in experiments for Re > 1950. Interestingly, according to Trefethen et al. (1993) the other example for which linear analysis fails include to a lesser degree, Blasius boundary layer flow. This is the flow which many cite as the success story of linear stability theory. 

When flow rates are high, a litjuid will not flow in a laminar fashion, but will become turbulent. The litjuid will start to flow in a chaotic way, forming large and small swirls and eddies. The flow rate at which this happens depends on the geometry of the machine, on the flow rate applied, and on the overall viscosity of the mixture. The transition from laminar to turbulent flow is characterized by the Reynolds number the critical Reynolds number depends on the geometry and the product properties (see Equations (15.9)-(15.10)). 

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