LAMINAR AND

TURBULENT FLOWS
Dr Christos N Markides
Department of Chemical Engineering
c.markides@imperial.ac.uk
020 759 41601
1

The Reynolds Experiment

Flow visualisation in a pipe (Osborne Reynolds, 1885):

Water flows out of the
Dye
tank through the glass
Tank
tube
Dye is injected in a thin
jet along the centreline
Valve
of the tube
The dye is carried along
Jet
Glass
the tube with the water
tube
The volumetric flow rate Q
is controlled by the valve at the exit from the pipe and is
measured by the time needed to fill a container of known size
The average speed in the pipe is given by:U=Q/A=4Q/ D2
For low speeds the dye trace is even
For high speeds the dye becomes mixed in with the water
2

The Reynolds Number

Dimensional analysis
The nature of the flow within the pipe depends on the
following primary experimental parameters:
The average velocity U, [U] = L/T
The pipe diameter D,
[D] = L
The fluid density ,
[] = M/L3
The fluid viscosity ,
[] = M/LT
Secondary parameters also affect the flow: pipe
roughness, equipment vibrations, details of pipe
entrance.
The flow regime observed is dimensionless so it
should depend on a dimensionless combination of
UD UD
the primary The
parameters:
Reynolds Number: Re

Laminar Flow
Low Reynolds number
At low speeds, the streakline is straight and smooth. The
dye remains in a long, thin filament along the centreline.
Laminar flow
The fluid flows smoothly (like thin fluid sheets, laminae,
sliding smoothly over each other)
In the Reynolds experiment, laminar flow is unidirectional
and steady
Other laminar flows may be three-dimensional and even
unsteady, but the streamlines, streaklines and pathlines are
all smooth curves
Critical Reynolds number
Laminar flow occurs if Re is smaller than a critical value,
Rec
Flow in pipes is generally laminar for Re < 2,0004

Turbulent Flow
High Reynolds number
At high speeds, the streakline is highly irregular and the
dye is quickly mixed with the water
Turbulent flow
The fluid motion is chaotic, appears to be random and
we see vortices that mix the fluid as it flows through the
pipe
Turbulent flow is always three-dimensional and unsteady
Streamlines, streaklines and pathlines are irregular
curves
Critical Reynolds number
Laminar flow is unstable beyond the critical Reynolds
number; it has an intrinsic tendency to become turbulent
Flow in pipes is generally turbulent for Re > 4,0005

Transitional and Intermittent Flows

Transition
For Re Re c 2000 , the flow is laminar
For Re Re c 2 4000 , the flow is turbulent
In between these values, the flow is said to be transitional

Turbulent bursts

Intermittency
5
In the transition range, 4
3
the flow will alternate
2
between laminar and
1
turbulent patches.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
If the flow is initially laminar,
turbulent bursts will appear
and propagate along the pile with the fluid.
If we measure the instantaneous velocity at a point in the
flow, we see alternating regions of smooth and noisy data.
6

Flow Past a Bluff Body

Low Reynolds number
For Re < 30 or so: the flow is laminar and steady, and joins
up smoothly behind the body
Moderate Reynolds number
For Re > 30 or so: the flow separates and a re-circulating
wake forms behind the body
For Re < 100 or so: the flow remains laminar and steady
For Re > 100 or so: the wake begins to oscillate. The flow is
unsteady but remains laminar
High Reynolds number
For Re > 1,000 or so: the wake is turbulent
For Re > 10,000 or so: the turbulent wake becomes smaller

Examples
In each flow case below, estimate Re and
identify the flow regime:
o
o
o
o
o

Estimate
Estimate
Estimate
Estimate
Estimate

Re
Re
Re
Re
Re

for
for
for
for
for

the atmosphere
a car
a falling rain drop
a goldfish
a football (in the video)