Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Reynolds' number

Definition: Symbol Re. A dimensionless number used in fluid dynamics to determine the type of flow through a pipe, to design prototypes from small-scale models, etc. It is defined as the ratio of the inertial and viscous forces.

    Re = ρDu

where D is a characteristic length (for example, a pipe diameter) , u is the characteristic velocity and μ is the viscosity. The Reynolds' number can be used to discriminate between laminar and turbulent flow, with Re <>3000.

Common Misspellings: Reynold's number

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