Standard Experiment No.

213
OSBORNE REYNOLDS EXPERIMENTS:
LAMINAR AND TURBULENT FLOWCOLLAPSIBILITY
OF MINE TAILING

A Laboratory Report
Presented to Engr. Miller Cutora
Department of Civil Engineering
Gokongwei College of Engineering
De La Salle University

In Partial Fulfillment of
The Requirements for the Subject
Hydraulics Laboratory
(LBYCV2D)

Submitted by:
MELCHORARDAN, Boy George Palapar IVIna Therese Ronquillo
1234567811811250
LBYCV2D – EX9EJ2
January August 706, 19562020

CRITERIA RATING
1) Problem Statement. (10%)

2) Theory and Application. (10%)

3) Data Computation and Analysis. (40%)

4) Quality of Written Report. (40%)

TOTAL:
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I. OBJECTIVES

The following are the main objectives of this experiment:

The following are the main objectives of this experiment:
• To describe the differences between laminar, transitional and turbulent flow through visual
inspection
• To calculate the Reynolds number for a certain fluid flow, and to use this value to classify
its type of flow
• To determine some factors that could affect the type of fluid flow

II. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

Osborne Reynolds Apparatus

Formatted: Centered

Figure 1. Osborne Reynolds with his apparatus

In the nineteenth century, mathematicians and scientists were already trying to come up
with equations and experiments that can help describe fluid flow. The Poiseuille flow in a circular
pipe and rotating Couette flow between concentric circular cylinders were some of the theoretical
solutions discovered back then. However, these models were only applicable for fluids in slow
motion. Osborne Reynolds then came up with an experiment. With the aid of the Osborne Reynolds
Apparatus, fluid flowing in a pipe was injected with dye and he was able to demonstrate that as the
velocity of fluid flow within a pipe increases, the appearance changes from straight then wavy to
diffused (Friedlander & Yudovich, 1999). These three types of flow are called laminar, transitional
and turbulent.
Reynolds’ Number and Kinematic Viscosity
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Numerically, Reynolds was also able to classify these three types of flow, using the Formatted: Font: Not Bold

variables of pipe diameter, flow velocity and kinematic viscosity (see Eq.1) (Menon, 2015). And
kinematic viscosity is equal to the density divided by the absolute viscosity (see Eq. 2). The formula
for Reynolds’ number shows the relation of inertial and viscous forces on the type of fluid flow
(Rehm, Consultant, Haghshenas, Paknejad, & Schubert, 2008). For a low value of Reynolds’
number, the viscous forces were able to damp out disturbances in the flow, thus, producing stable
flow or laminar flow. However, in fluid flows with large values of Reynolds’ number, the
disturbances that increase over time cause the fluid to flow in random motion, and turbulent flow
is observed. Between these two stages, as the flow shifts from laminar to turbulent flow, is the
transitional stage or transitional type of flow.
𝑣𝐷
𝑅= (Equation 1)
v

where:
𝑅 = Reynolds′ number
𝐷 = pipe diameter
𝑣 = average fluid velocity
v = kinematic viscosity
𝜇
v=ρ (Equation 2)

where:
v = kinematic viscosity
𝜇 = absolute or dynamic viscosity
𝜌 = fluid density
Dynamic Viscosity and Fluid Density
Dynamic viscosity and fluid density are both dependent on the temperature of the fluid.
For most fluids, density is inversely proportional to temperature. As the temperature increases, the
density of the fluid decreases (SKYbrary Wiki, 2018). On the other hand, dynamic viscosity has a
directly proportional relationship with temperature. As the temperature increases, the viscosity also
increases (Fungilab, 2020). For this experiment, the following equations will be used to compute
the fluid density (see Eq. 3), and for the dynamic viscosity (see Eq. 4) (Cutora, 2020).
𝑔
𝜌𝑤 (𝑐𝑐) = 1.00034038 − (7.77 × 10−6 )𝑇℃ − (4.95 × 10−6 )𝑇℃ 2 (Equation 3)

where:
𝑔
𝜌𝑤 = fluid density in
𝑐𝑐
𝑇℃ = fluid emperature in degrees Celsius
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247.8𝐾
𝜇(𝑃𝑎∙𝑠) = 10𝑇𝐾−140𝐾 (2.414 × 10−5 𝑃𝑎 ∙ 𝑠) (Equation 4)
where:
𝜇 = dynamic viscosity in 𝑃𝑎 ∙ 𝑠
𝑇𝐾 = fluid emperature in 𝐾𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑖𝑛
Application
In this experiment, the Osborne Reynolds Apparatus is used.

Figure 2. Osborne Reynolds Apparatus

where:
1 - Dye Control
2 - Dye Container
3 - Adjustment Screw
4 - Overflow Pipe
5 - Hypodermic Tube
6 - Bell Mouth Entry
7 - Glass Marble
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8 - Flexible Outlet Pipe

9 - Flow Control Valve
10 - Head Tank
11 - Inlet Pipe
12 - Flow Visualization

Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman

III. DATA PRESENTATION
Formatted Table

Table 1. Result of Calculations and Observations in Relation to Types of Fluid Flow Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
Trial Flowrate Velocity Reynolds Type of
Drawing Remarks Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
No. (m^3/s) (m/s) Number Flow
Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman

1 2.2880E-06 0.0302 332.1713 Laminar Straight Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
2 6.1488E-06 0.0812 914.9574 Laminar Straight Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
3 1.7369E-05 0.2293 2550.1521 Transitional Wavy
Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
4 1.6118E-05 0.2128 2398.4127 Transitional Wavy
Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
5 2.8076E-05 0.3707 4094.5283 Turbulent Diffused Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
6 4.3511E-06 0.0574 648.8974 Laminar Straight Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
7 3.9653E-05 0.5236 5769.8263 Turbulent Diffused
Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman

8 3.4627E-05 0.4572 5198.5040 Turbulent Diffused Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
9 1.2979E-05 0.1714 1888.5078 Laminar Straight Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
Formatted Table
10 8.7466E-06 0.1155 1298.6298 Laminar Straight Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
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IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
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Discussion and interpretation of results are technically sound and logically correct. Results Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
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must be verified with established values.It was observed in the experiment that as the velocity of
Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
fluid flow in the circular pipe increases, the Reynolds number also increases. Changes in the type Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
of fluid flow were also observed at certain intervals of values for the Reynolds number. For a value Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman

of less than 2,000, the fluid flows in a straight manner, and this type of flow is called laminar. As Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
the Reynolds number increases from 2,000, but still less than 4,000, the flow changes from straight
Formatted: Indent: First line: 1.27 cm
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to wavy, and this is called the transitional stage. At a Reynolds number of more than 4,000, the
fluid flows in a random or diffused manner, called turbulent flow.

V. CONCLUSIONS

The experiment verified the use of Reynolds number to classify the types of fluid flow. For
a value of less than 2,000, the fluid flow was laminar, and above 4,000, the fluid flow was turbulent.
In between these values, the fluid flow was in a transitional stage. Kinematic viscosity and
temperature constant in the experiment, so only the relationship between fluid velocity and type of
fluid flow was observed. As the fluid velocity increased, numerically, the Reynolds number also
increased, and visually, the type of fluid flow also changed.

VI. RECOMMENDATIONS

This experiment only demonstrated the relationship between fluid velocity and the type of
fluid flow. The researcher suggests to
also make use of an experiment that aims to investigate the relationship between absolute viscosity
and type of fluid flow. Knowing that with a higher value of absolute viscosity a fluid has higher
internal resistance, the experiment should numerically and visually verify whether how the change
in internal resistance could affect the type of fluid flow (Engineering ToolBox, 2003). The fluid
viscosity can be varied by changing the temperature or by changing the type of fluid use, while
keeping other factors such as velocity, pipe diameter and temperature constant.

VII. REFERENCE

Cutora, M. (2020). [LBYCV2D] STAREX 03 OSBORNE REYNOLDS (LAMINAR AND

Cutora, M. (2020). [LBYCV2D] STAREX 03 OSBORNE REYNOLDS (LAMINAR AND Formatted: Normal, Line spacing: 1.5 lines

TURBULENT FLOW) [PDF]. Manila.

Engineering ToolBox, (2003). Absolute, Dynamic and Kinematic Viscosity. [online] Available at:
https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/dynamic-absolute-kinematic-viscosity-d_412.html
[Accessed Day Mo. Year].
Friedlander, S. & Yudovich, V. (1999). Instabilities in Fluid. Notices of the American
Mathematical Society. 46.
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Fungilab. (2020, February 18). How does Temperature Change Viscosity in Liquids and Gases?
Retrieved August 07, 2020, from https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=10036
LBYCV2D STAREX 3 O. Reynolds Experiment [PDF]. (n.d.). Manila: De La Salle University,
Civil Engineering Department.
Menon, E. S. (2015). Fluid Flow in Pipes. In Transmission pipeline calculations and simulations
manual (pp. 149-234). Waltham, MA: Elsevier/Gulf Professional. doi:10.1016/B978-1-
85617-830-3.00005-5
Rehm, B., Consultant, D., Haghshenas, A., Paknejad, A. S., & Schubert, J. (2008). Situational
Problems in MPD. Managed Pressure Drilling, 39-80. doi:10.1016/b978-1-933762-24-
1.50008-5
SKYbrary Wiki. (2018, October 9). Density Altitude. Retrieved August 07, 2020, from
https://www.skybrary.aero/index.php/Density_Altitude

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