DEPARMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Mass transfer

ASSIGNMENT NO. 1
Dimensionless number and their correlations

SUBMITTED TO:
Engr Hafiz Miqdad

SUBMITTED BY:
Name: Abdur Rehman

Reg No. 2018-UET-NFC-FD-CHEM-84

NFC INSTITUE OF ENGINEERING AND FERTILIZER

RESEARCH FAISALABAD, PAKISTAN
Dimensionless numbers:

 It represents the ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces

 A number representing a property of a physical system, but not measured on a scale of
physical units (as of time, mass, or distance). Drag coefficients and stress, for
example, are measured as dimensionless number.
 Dimensionless numbers reduce the number of variables that describe a system, thereby
reducing the amount of experimental data required to make correlations of physical
phenomena to scalable systems. The most common dimensionless group in fluid dynamics is
the Reynolds number (Re), named after Osborne Reynolds who published a series of papers
describing flow in pipes (Reynolds, 1883). It represents the ratio of inertial forces to viscous
forces, where ρ is the fluid density, u is average fluid velocity, Dh is cross-sectional length of
the system, and μ is the dynamic fluid viscosity.

Reynold’s Number (Re)

It gives a measure of the ratio of inertial and viscous forces in fluid flow. It is often used to
determine if the flow is either laminar or turbulent:

• In laminar flow, viscous forces dominate. The flow paths are smooth, streamline and
constant.

• In turbulent flow, inertial forces dominate. The flow regime is unstable, generating eddies
and vortices. The Kind of flow depends on value of Re

• If Re < 2000 the flow is Laminar

• If Re > 4000 the flow is turbulent • If 2000 < Re < 4000 it is called transition flow.

Prandtl Number (Pr)

• The Prandtl number, Pr, is the ratio of kinematic viscosity to the thermal diffusivity.

• It is used in many calculations involving heat transfer in flowing fluids.

• it gives a measure of the relative thickness of the thermal and momentum boundary layers.

Where,

Cp = Fluid specific heat capacity

μ = Dynamic viscosity

k = Thermal conductivity

Nusselt Number (Nu)

• The Nusselt Number, Nu, is the ratio of convective to conductive heat transfer in a fluid
over a given length, l:

• For heat transfer in pipes, the characteristic length is the pipe diameter.

• At a Nusselt number of around one means that convection and conduction are about equal.

Where,

h = Heat transfer coefficient

l = Characteristic length

k = Thermal conductivity

Sherwood Number (Sh)

The Sherwood Number, Sh, is a measure of the ratio of convective and diffusive mass
transfer in a fluid. It is analogous to the Nusselt Number in heat transfer:

Where,

hD = Mass transfer coefficient

l = Characteristic length

k = Molecular diffusivity

Froude Number (Fr)

• The Froude Number, Fr, is a measure of the ratio of the inertial and gravitational forces. • It
is often used to analyze fluid flow problems where there is a free surface. For example, in
agitated vessels, Fr governs the formation of free surface vortices.

Where,

v = Velocity

l = Characteristic length

Schmidt Number (Sc)

• Schmidt Number, Sc, is the ratio of kinematic viscosity to the diffusivity. It can be
expressed as:

• It characterizes mass transfer in a flowing fluid

Where,

D = Diffusivity

μ = Dynamic viscosity

p = Fluid density

Biot Number (Bi)

• It the ratio of the heat transfer resistances inside of and at the surface of a body.

• The Biot number (Bi) is used in heat transfer calculations.

Where,

h = Heat transfer coefficient

l = Characteristic length

kb = Thermal conductivity of the body

Fourier Number (Fo)

• Ratio of rate of heat conduction to the rate of heat storage. • Used along with Biot number
to solve transient state heat transfer problems. • For mass transfer by diffusion, Fourier
number for MT is used.

Where,

α = Thermal Diffusivity

t = Characteristic time

L = Length through which conduction occurs

D = Diffusivity

Lewis Number (Le)

• Ratio of thermal diffusivity to mass diffusivity.

• Fluid flow with simultaneous Heat & mass transfer by convection.

• It is also ratio of Schmidt number to Prandtl number.

Mach Number (Ma)

• The Mach Number, Ma, is the ratio of the fluid velocity to the velocity of sound in that
medium.

• In Chemical Engineering, the Mach Number is commonly used in calculations involving

high velocity gas flow.

Correlation for dimensionless number:

Since Re and Sc are both dimensionless numbers, the Sherwood number is
also dimensionless. These correlations are the mass transfer analogies to heat transfer
correlations of the Nusselt number in terms of the Reynolds number and Prandtl number.
The Sherwood number (Sh) (also called the mass transfer Nusselt number) is a dimensionless
number used in mass-transfer operation. It represents the ratio of the convective mass transfer
to the rate of diffusive mass transport, and is named in honor of 
where

 L is a characteristic length (m)

 D is mass diffusivity (m2.s−1)
 h is the convective mass transfer film coefficient (m.s−1)
Using dimensional analysis, it can also be further defined as a function of
the Reynolds and Schmidt numbers:
For example, for a single sphere it can be expressed as:
Where  is the Sherwood number due only to natural convection and not forced
convection.
A more specific correlation is the Froessling equation:
This form is applicable to molecular diffusion from a single spherical particle. It is
particularly valuable in situations where the Reynolds number and Schmidt number are
readily available. Since Re and Sc are both dimensionless numbers, the Sherwood number is
also dimensionless.
These correlations are the mass transfer analogies to heat transfer correlations of the Nusselt
number in terms of the Reynolds number and Prandtl number. For a correlation for a given
geometry (e.g. spheres, plates, cylinders, etc.), a heat transfer correlation (often more readily
available from literature and experimental work, and easier to determine) for the Nusselt
number (Nu) in terms of the Reynolds number (Re) and the Prandtl number (Pr) can be used
as a mass transfer correlation by replacing the Prandtl number with the analogous
dimensionless number for mass transfer, the Schmidt number, and replacing the Nusselt
number