Expt. No.

Reynolds Number
Group No. 1 Name:
1 Experiment
OBJECTIVE:

APPARATUS/MATERIALS:
a) Reynolds number apparatus f) Thermometer
b) Stopwatch g) Water
c) Measuring Tape
d) Crepe paper
e) Pail

THEORY:

Reynolds number was named after Osborne Reynolds, 18421912,

a British mechanical engineer. He was educated at Cambridge and became
(1868) the first professor of engineering at the Univ. of Manchester, where
his courses attracted a number of outstanding students.

It is a dimensionless quantity associated with the smoothness of

flow of a fluid. It is an important quantity used in aerodynamics and
hydraulics. At low velocities fluid flow is smooth, or laminar, and the fluid
can be pictured as a series of parallel layers, or lamina, moving at different
velocities. The fluid friction between these layers gives rise to viscosity. As
the fluid flows more rapidly, it reaches a velocity, known as the critical
velocity, at which the motion changes from laminar to turbulent, with the
formation of eddy currents and vortices that disturb the flow.
inertia force Du
This can be defined as the ratio: friction force = .

Where:
D=diameter
u=velocity
= density
= viscosity

Date:
Submitted to:
Page 1 of 5
It can also be written in this manner:
Du
NRe = v where: v = kinematic viscosity

V=

Kinematic viscosity is the diffusion constant for momentum in a fluid.

It is how fast the momentum spreads out due to collisions between the
different molecules in a fluid.

PROCEDURE:

Prior to the experiment, we borrowed the needed materials and

apparatus from _________. In the preparation of the dye, we dissolved the
crepe paper in a pail with water and filtered the solids that remained in the
solution. After that, we started setting up the experiment. We opened the
faucet by partially opening the discharge valve at the base of the
apparatus. Then we opened and adjusted the dye injector valve to obtain a
fine filament of dye in the flow down the glass tube. After the dye was
dispersed in the tube, we reduced the water flow rate by closing the
discharge valve and adjusted the water supply to maintain the constant
head.

We recorded the temperature of the water using a thermometer and

find the corresponding viscosity from a table. Then, we measured the flow
rate by measuring the time of the travel of dye in a certain length of tube.
We slowly increased the flow rate by opening the discharge valve so the
disturbances of the dye filament will be noted. After that we increased the
discharge as required to maintain constant head conditions and such that
the dye filament becomes rapidly diffused. Small eddies were noted just
above the point where the dye filament completely breaks down and
regarded as the onset of fully turbulent flow.

After the necessary data were obtained we closed the dye injector
valve to finalize the experiment.

Date:
Submitted to:
Page 2 of 5
SETUP: (on a separate sheet)
DATA:
L (distance) = 0.15 m T = 27C = 80F
D = 0.0381 m (at 80F) = 0.862x10^-3 Pa
Trial Time (sec) Velocity (m/s) Reynolds
Number

1 20.25 0.0074074 327.40364

2 9.4 0.01596 705.4256

3 10 0.015 662.9930

4 3.4 0.04412 1950.0835

5 1.45 0.10345 4572.4420

6 1.2 0.125 5524.9420

7 1.5 0.1 4419.9536

COMPUTATION:
Trial 1:
3
Du 0.0381m(0.0074047 m/ s )(1000 kg/m )
NRe = = 0.000862 kg /ms = 327.40364

Trial 2:
3
Du 0.0381m(0.01596 m/ s )(1000 kg/m )
NRe = = 0.000862 kg / ms = 705.4256
Date: Submitted to: Page 3 of 5

Trial 3:
Du 0.0381m(0.015 m/ s)(1000 kg/m3)
NRe = = 0.000862 kg /ms = 662.9930

Trial 4:
3
Du 0.0381m(0.04412 m/ s)(1000 kg / m )
NRe = = 0.000862 kg/ ms = 1950.0835

Trial 5:
3
Du 0.0381m(0.10345 m/s)(1000 kg/m )
NRe = = 0.000862 kg /ms = 4572.4420

Trial 6:
3
Du 0.0381m(0.125 m/ s)(1000 kg/ m )
NRe = = 0.000862 kg /ms = 5524.9420

Trial 7:
Du 0.0381m(0.1 m/s)(1000 kg /m3)
NRe = = 0.000862 kg /ms = 4419.9536

OBSERVATION and DISCUSSION OF RESULTS:

During the experiment, I observed that in measuring the velocity of

the flow in the pipe we must first indicate the distance to be measured in
the tube by putting a mark to represent the distance as the basis for the
computation. I also noticed that the timer must be accurate in the reading
of the time travelled by the dye filament in order to avoid errors in the
results. We were first able to measure the laminar flow and then the
turbulent flow by increasing gradually the discharge valve on the
apparatus below. I observed that in measuring the turbulent flow of the dye
filament, the dye filament was immediately diffused on the tube as the
discharge was opened to maximum.
Date:
Submitted to:
Page 4 of 5

At first, It was difficult to measure the time of the turbulent flow since
it diffuses faster in the tube. But later on, after many trials, we were able to
record the different time of the turbulent flows depending on the flow rate
on the discharge valve.

Based on the data and results gathered, the trials 1, 2, 3 and 4 were
identified as laminar since their Reynolds number is below 2100. The
turbulent flow was observed in the trials 5, 6, and 7 having Reynolds
number ranging from 4572.4420 to 5524.9420. The 6 th trial have the
highest Reynolds number since it has also the fastest time recorded in the
experiment. On the other hand, the lowest Reynolds number was obtained
from trial 1 which is 327.40364 and has the slowest time recorded.

CONCLUSION:

After conducting the experiment, it can be concluded that the

velocity of a fluid greatly affects the value of its Reynolds number on the
basis of the time it travelled on a specified distance. The temperature is
also a factor in the measurement of the Reynolds number since it will be
the basis of the viscosity of the fluid. As the temperature increases, the
viscosity decreases and we can say that fluid flows faster under high
temperature.

The purpose of the Reynolds number is to get the relationship in fluid

flow between inertial forces (that is those that keep going by Newtons first
law an object in motion remains in motion) to the viscous forces (those
that causes the fluid to come to a stop because of the viscosity of the
fluid).

References:

http://www.aerodrag.com/Articles/ReynoldsNumber.htm
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/reynolds-number-d_237.html

Date:
Submitted to:
Page 5 of 5