Fluid Flow Research Paper

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Laminar Flow and Turbulent Flow Chan Jin Wee Introduction Fluid dynamics is significant in engineering fields such as aerospace, marine, industry and many other disciplines. Different types of fluids are used in various process. Basically, when the fluid passes through any pipe or tube, it is either passing in a laminar flow or either in a turbulent flow. In the most common situation, the fluid passes in pipes in both these orders. In this article we will discuss the laminar and turbulent flow and its application. Laminar Flow Laminar Flow is when a streamline moves in straight path without intersecting the path of each other. It always moves parallel to each other. The laminar flow always occurs when the fluid flow with low velocity and…show more content…
The fluid flow in which the adjacent layers of the fluid cross each other and do not move parallel to each other. The turbulent flow usually occurs in the pipes with rough surfaces. The turbulent flow occurs when the velocity of the fluid is high and it flows through larger diameter pipes. This flow is useful in some application, yet mostly is considered inefficient. The velocity changes at every instant in the turbulent flow while it has the maximum rate at the end, the rate is slower in the central region because of many irregularities. The velocity of fluid flow varies rapidly with time. The examples of turbulent flow are oil transportation inside pipelines, atmosphere as well as sea currents, the particular movement by means of pumping systems as well as turbines and…show more content…
Laminar flow will reduce the cavitation in the pipes. Cavitation is the mechanical stress created by bubbles in fluid at the inner surface of pipe. Cavitation will cause erosion, that occurs in a rapid moving fluid and irregular fluid flow takes place. To avoid cavitation, laminar flow is used in the pipes. Besides, laminar flow is used in Liquid-Liquid Extraction (LLE) Industries. LLE is a process of separation liquid solution containing more than one liquid component. Most of industries use coalescer in oil refining to remove water and hydrocarbon liquid from natural gas. Turbulent flow is applied on golf ball. The golf ball is designed that the dimples on the surface that create turbulence in layer of air around ball. Turbulence sucks air to ball and separation is delayed. This results in a smaller vortex and less drag. Turbulent flow can be desired on parts of the gas turbine blade internal cooling, surface of an aircraft wing or in industrial applications such as heat exchangers and the mixing of fluids. Furthermore, turbulent flow is used in waste water treatment industry. Direct Contact Membrane is a tool used in distillation process. The liquid phase solution flow into the membrane in a low viscosity using a turbulent flow. The flow was preferred to be in turbulent rather than laminar due to the head loss effect along the

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