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Pharmaceutical Engineering-I
FLUID FLOW
&
MASS TRANSFER
Zaki Farhad Habib, MSc
Definition of Fluid - a substance that has no fixed shape and yields easily to external
pressure; Any substance that does not offer permanent resistance to distortion. Thus,
liquids, gases, and vapours will be included.
Definition of Flow - the action of moving along in a steady, continuous stream.
A flow can be Laminar, Turbulent or
Transitional in nature. This becomes a very
important classification of flows and is
brought out vividly by the experiment
conducted by Osborne Reynolds in 1883. He
injected a dye into a flowing fluid (water) of
varying velocity and observed its path as it
was carried by the fluid. When the speeds
were small the flow seemed to follow a
straight line path (with a slight blurring due to
dye diffusion). As the flow speed was
increased the dye fluctuates and one observes
intermittent bursts. As the flow speed is
further increased the dye is blurred and
seems to fill the entire pipe.
ud
Re =
Significance of Re:
The significance of Reynolds
Number is that it can be used to
predict the character/pattern of
flow in a particular set of
circumstances. In general:
Re < 2000 = Laminar flow
2000 < Re < 4000 = Unstable flow*
Re > 4000 = Turbulent flow
*The flow at this range of Re values
depends on the form of the flow
channel. If there is no disturbance
of any sort the flow pattern may
persist being laminar even at values
exceeding 2000. On the other hand,
if the pipe surface is rough or if
there are bends or other pipe
fitting, flow maybe turbulent at
values less than 4000, possibly
lower even than 2000!
When a fluid flows along a tube, not all parts are moving at the same velocity, so
that, for example, a portion near the wall will not travel at the same velocity as fluid
near the center. The outer layer is held back by drag against the wall, while
frictional forces also exist between the various layers (viscosity of the fluid). Thus,
the fluid in the center can move at a the highest velocity, with the frictional forces
causing a continual decrease in the velocity towards the wall, until, ultimately, it
becomes zero at the wall itself. Since Re is proportional to u (velocity), the value of
Re also decreases and hence as the diagram above demonstrates as we approach
near the wall the flow changes from turbulent to transitional to streamline to
ultimately stationary.
Boundary Layer
A layer of more or less stationary fluid (such
as water or air) immediately surrounding an
immersed object in relative motion with the
fluid.
MASS TRANSFER
diffusion coefficient (of one substance with respect to another), the faster they diffuse into each
other. E.g. Carbon dioxide in air has a diffusion coefficient of 16 mm2/s, and in water its diffusion
coefficient is 0.0016 mm2/s
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