Appendix A

Units, Dimensions, and Dimensionless Numbers

Units (such as the meter or the foot) are names assigned to substantial physical variables which describe their magnitudes. Dimensions (such as length) are generalized units. Dimensionless groups (such as length/length) are used to describe natural physical variables. Both the number of units and dimensionless numbers represent the precise magnitudes of physical variables. The difference is that artificial standards (such as the meter, the foot, the second, the kilogram, or the pound) are needed for measuring substantial variables, whereas no artificial standards are required for measuring natural variables. This classification of physical variables as either substantial or natural is taken from Ipsen1, who examines the nature of units and dimensions in great detail. Units Two systems of units are used in this handbook. One is based on the U.S. system of weights and measures and generally reflects the conventions of the American fan industry. The other is the International System of Units (SI), which has been adopted by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Details are published by the National Bureau of Standards2 now NIST. Conversion factors and equivalents based on these N.B.S. data are given in Appendix C. The U.S. system of units used here can be further described as the twopound system with gravitational exceptions. In the two-pound system, both force and mass are measured in pounds. The alternatives of using either the poundal for force or the slug for mass have not been widely adopted in fanengineering practice.
1

D. C. Ipsen, Units, Dimensions, and Dimensionless Numbers, McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., New York, 1960. 2 ASTM Metric Practice Guide, National Bureau of Standards Handbook 102, The Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1967.

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The pound force is designated lb, and the pound mass is designated lbm. In any equations involving mass, a conversion factor gc is used to make the units consistent with the use of lbm. The numerical value of gc is equal to the value of the standard gravitational acceleration for the units used. Thus, Newton's second law of motion would be written: F= ma gc (A.1)

which, for the ft-lbm-s system, results in force F in lb if mass m is in lbm, acceleration a is in fps, and gc is 32.174 ft-lbm/lb-s2. Other commonly used values for gc include 386.09 in.-lbm/lb-s2 for the in.-lbm-s system, 980.67 cmg/gf-s2 for the cm-g-s system, and 1.0 m-kg/N-s2 for the m-kg-s, or International, system. In keeping with certain conventions, some equations are written in terms of weight divided by the acceleration of gravity rather than mass. This use of gravitational notation can be misleading unless the engineer recognizes that mass, and not the acceleration of gravity, is the significant variable. An example is Equation 18.2, where the energy stored in a rotating body is given with respect to its weight times its radius of gyration squared WK2. This is obviously misleading since, even in weightless space, the energy would be the same as on earth. Another interesting example is the Bernoulli equation, which is often written: p V2 + + Z = constant. w 2g (A.2)

The pressure head p w appears dependent upon gravity because specific weight w is used. The velocity head V 2 2 g also appears dependent upon g and the elevation head Z independent of g. However, these appearances are misleading, especially in space applications. Another form of the Bernoulli equation is more informative regarding the influence of gravity: p V 2 gZ + + = constant . 2 gc g c (A.3)

All the gc's could be omitted if mass density were in slugs/ft3, but in the two-pound system, it is in lbm/ft3. This expression properly links g to Z, indicating that g is important only if there is a difference in elevation Z and, conversely, that if g = 0, the elevation term gZ/gc is also zero.

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In a standard gravitational field, the mass of a substance in lbm and its weight in lb are numerically equal. Similarly, various other quantities, such as density, gas constant, specific heat, and enthalpy, can be referred to either mass or weight and will have the same numerical value in either case in a standard gravitational field (for the two-pound system). Dimensions The system of dimensions used here is the force F, mass M, length L, time T, temperature 4, heat H system. Treating both temperature and heat as fundamental dimension reflects the choice of units in this text and is generally consistent with fan-engineering practice. The conversion factor J facilitates writing equations that involve both work and heat terms. The dimensions of the various quantities referred to in the text are listed in Appendix B. Dimensions are also listed for the various conversion-factor tables of Appendix C. Sometimes, two sets of dimensions are shown. This reflects either the equivalency of heat and work or the relationship of force and mass. For example, in Appendix C, power and heat-flow-rate units are listed in a single table and given the dimensions LF/T and H/T. Also, in Appendix C, absolute viscosity units are listed as both M/LT and FT/L2. Here, FT/L2 better reflects the physical meaning of viscosity as the ratio of stress F/L2 to velocity gradient L/T/L, but M/LT eliminates the need for a conversion factor in the Reynolds number formula. Dimensionless Numbers In many fan-engineering problems, it is convenient to use various dimensionless numbers based on the pertinent variables. Organizing experimental data by dimensional analysis often leads to both simpler representations of results and easier and more general interpretation. An example is the correlation of friction factor, relative roughness, and Reynolds number in fluid flow. One of the advantages of using dimensionless numbers is that the number of dimensionless ratios or groups necessary to express a relationship is always smaller than the number of dimensional variables involved. Dimensionless equations involving two or more dimensionless groups are also often used. Dimensional analysis provides a method of grouping the variables involved in a problem, provided that all the pertinent factors are known (or assumed). There are several mathematical methods of arriving at the desired dimensionless parameters, but the functional relationship between them must be determined experimentally. The following table lists several dimensionless groups often used in fan engineering. A much more comprehensive list has been tabulated by Boucher and Alves.1
1

D. E. Boucher and G. E. Alves, "Dimensionless Numbers," Chemical Engineering Progress, vol. 55, no. 9, 1959, pp. 55-64; vol. 59, no. 8, 1963, pp. 75-83.

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Table A.1 Dimensionless Numbers Name Archimedes number Bond number Cauchy number Cavitation number Darcy friction factor Drag coefficient Euler number Fanning friction factor Froude number Grashof number Knudsen number Mach number Merkel number Number of diameters No. of dia. per vel. hd. Number of velocity heads Nusselt number Pecklet number Prandtl number Ratio of specific heats Reynolds number Rossby number Roughness ratio Schmidt number Size ratio Sherwood number Sommerfeld number Speed ratio Stanton number Stokes number Strouhal number Weber number
1 2

Symbol Ar Bo Ca f fD Eu f Fr Gr Kn Ma Me N Nu Pe Pr

Group1 D 3 g 2 D 2 g gc V 2 gc e 2 p gc V 2

Ratio2 IG/V2 G/S I/C

22pg 22pg
2

V 2 D L

Dg V 2 V 2 p
c

71 6 71 6

P/I G/I I/P P/I I/G IB/V2 (I/C)1/2 I/P I/V I/E -

V 2 D 4 L

gL L 2 gt 2 m L V c K S V L L D
3

1 L D62V
cp k c p cv

2 pgc

2 pgc V 2 hD k DVc p k

Re Ro Sc Sh
So St Sl We

DV V 2D sin D D1 D2 k L

1N

gc p D C N1 N 2 h c p V

61 6

V/L I/S

D 2 f o foD V DV 2 gc

See pages A-5 and A-6 for nomenclature. Ratio of forces inherent in dimensionless group.

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APPENDIX A UNITS AND DIMENSIONS

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Table A.1 (cont.) Dimensionless Numbers Dimentionless Group Nomenclature clearance sonic velocity specific heat at constant pressure specific heat at constant volume diameter or dimension differential bulk modulus of elasticity frequency acceleration of gravity conversion factor coefficient of heat transfer overall coefficient of mass transfer thermal conductivity coefficient of mass transfer length or dimension liquid mass flow rate rotative speed pressure surface per unit volume temperature velocity total volume angle re earths rotation coefficient of thermal expansion difference pressure drop static pressure vapor pressure temperature drop across film particle density fluid density diffusivity absolute roughness mean free path absolute viscosity mass density of fluid surface tension angular velocity

C c cp cv D d e fo g gc h K k k L L N p S t V V D E ' 'p 'p 't 'U H Om P U V Z

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Table A.1 (cont.) Dimensionless Numbers Force-Ratio Nomenclature B C E G I L P S V Buoyancy force Compressibility force Coriolis force Gravitational force Inertia force Load force Pressure force Surface tension force Viscous force D3UgE't/gc D2H D3UV5Z#sinD/gc D3'Ug/gc D2UV2/gc D2U D2'p DV DPV/gc

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