LAB ACTIVITY 5

REYNOLDS EXPERIMENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this experiment, students should be understand how to recognize

and characterize the internal flow conditions and determine the Reynolds number
practically.

1.1 INTRODUCTION

The flow of real fluids can occur under two very different regimes namely laminar
and turbulent flow. The laminar flow is characterize by smooth streamlines and
highly ordered motion, while turbulent is characterize by velocity fluctuations and
highly disordered motion. The transition from laminar to turbulent flow does not
occur suddenly; rather, it occurs over some region in which the flow fluctuates
between laminar and turbulent flows before it becomes fully turbulent.

This laminar or turbulent flow can be characterize by using Reynolds number.

Reynolds number (Re) is a dimensionless number that gives a measure of the
ratio of inertia forces to viscous forces. It is an important dimensionless quantity
in fluid mechanics used to help predict flow patterns in different fluid flow
condition. At low Reynolds numbers, flows tend to be dominated by laminar flow,
while at high Reynolds numbers turbulence results from differences in the fluid's
speed and direction, which may sometimes intersect or even move counter to the
overall direction of the flow (eddy currents).

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1.2 THEORY

The transition from laminar to turbulent flow depends on the geometry,

surface roughness, flow velocity, surface temperature, and type of fluid, among
other things. After exhaustive experiments in the 1880s, Osborne Reynolds
discovered that the flow regime depends mainly on the ratio of inertial forces to
viscous forces in the fluid. This ratio is called the Reynolds number (Re) and for
internal flow in a circular pipe it is expressed as,

Inertia Forces ρVD VD

Re   
Viscous Forces μ ν

Where, V = average flow velocity (m/s),

D = pipe diameter (m),
µ = kinematic viscosity of the fluid (N.s/m2)
ν = kinematic viscosity (m2/s),

Reynolds observed that the laminar flow which is characterized by

smooth streamlines occur at low velocities or at Re < 2100. While turbulent flow
which is characterized by velocity fluctuations and highly disordered motion
(called eddies) occur at high velocities or at Re > 4000. The flow between 2100
< Re < 4000 is called transitional flow.

1.3 ADDITIONAL THEORY

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 (10 marks)

1.4 OBJECTIVES

(5 marks)
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1.5 APPARATUS
 1806 Laminar Turbulent Apparatus with flow visualization acrylic pipe
(inner diameter 16 mm, length 700 mm)
 Measuring Cylinder
 Stopwatch

Figure 2 : 1806 Laminar Turbulent Apparatus

An 1806 Laminar Turbulent Flow apparatus as shown in Figure 2 consist

of a precision-bore glass pipe (test tube) held vertically in a large surrounds.
The surround is open at the front and the inside surface is light coloured. Water
enters a constraint head tank (reservoir) above the test tube and passes through
a diffuser and stilling bed. It then passes through a specially shaped bell-mouth
into the test tube.

A thermometer measures the temperature in the constant head reservoir. A

fixed overflow pipe in the reservoir connects to a suitable drain. At the bottom of
the test pipe is a valve which controls the flow rate through the pipe, without
disturbing the flow. The base of the apparatus has adjustable feet for levelling
prior to use (included is a levelling device).

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1.6 PROCEDURES

(15 marks)

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 1.7 RESULTS
Obtain the required data and complete Table 2.

Table 1: Dynamic and Kinematic Viscosity of Water

Water Temperature : ________ ºC Pipe cross sectional area, A =

Water Viscosity : __________ = _________

Table 2: Experimental and Calculated data

Water
Flow Time Flow rate Flow rate Velocity Reynolds
collected
Condition (s) (liter/s) (m3/s) (m/s) Number
(liter)
Laminar
Transition
Turbulent

APPROVED BY

(10 marks)
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1.8 OBSERVATIONS

(10 marks)

1.9 CALCULATION
Show the samples of calculation.

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 (15 marks)

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1.10 DISCUSSIONS

Attach the flow images and discuss the experimental findings.

(15 marks)

1.12 CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS

Deduce conclusions from the experiment. Please comment on your experimental
work in terms of achievement, problems faced throughout the experiment and
suggest recommendation for improvement.

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 (15 marks)

1.13 REFERENCES

(5 marks)

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