Introduction

The study of the effects of forces and energy on liquids and gases is known as fluid
mechanics. Fluid mechanics has two branches namely statics and dynamics, fluid
static or hydrostatics is a comparatively elementary subject with a few classical
results of importance but little scope for further development. Fluid dynamics, in
contrast, is a highly developed branch of science that has been the subject of
continuous and expanding research activity (Landau et al., 1987).

Figure 1: Types of Fluid Flow Regime

In fluid dynamics, there are three types of fluid flow regime namely laminar,
transition and turbulent. Laminar flow a smooth, regular type of flow generally
happens when dealing with small pipes and low flow velocities while turbulent flow
is a flow in which rapid, irregular fluctuations arise, vortices, eddies and wakes
make the flow unpredictable. Turbulent flow happens in general at high flow rates
and with larger pipes. Transition 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 (Bachelor, 1967).
The flow regime of a fluid is determined by the value of the Reynolds number (Re).

inertial forces vL
= = Equation 1
vi scous forces

Reynolds number is dimensionless quantity that is used to help predict the flow
patterns of a certain fluid. As stated in equation 1, the Reynolds number is the ratio
between the inertial forces and the viscous forces and consequently quantifies the
relative importance of these two types of forces for given flow conditions
(Falcovich , 2011). The Reynolds number can be defined for several different
situations where a fluid is in relative motion to a surface. These definitions generally
include the fluid properties of density and viscosity, plus a velocity and a
characteristic length or characteristic dimension.

In this experiment, we are to determine the fluid flow regime of a certain fluid with
different valve openings (, , ) using the flow rate, temperature and cross
sectional area which are the raw data that can be obtained in the experiment.

References

Landau, L.D., and Lifshitz, E.M. (1987). Fluid Mechanics, 2nd Edition.
ButterworthHeinemann.

Batchelor, G. K. (1967). An Introduction to Fluid Dynamics. Cambridge University

Press.

Falkovich, G. (2011). Fluid Mechanics. Cambridge University Press.

Geankoplis, C. J. (2003). Principles of Transport Processes and Separation Processes.

Pearson Education Inc.