Computerized Model of Transition in Circular Pipe Flows: Part 1 — Experimental Definition of the Problem

Abstract

Abstract A conceptual model was constructed for the problem of determining in circular pipes the conditions under which the transition from laminar to turbulent flow occurs, so that it becomes possible to calculate the minimum critical Reynolds number. Up until now this problem has been investigated by stability theory with disturbances at the pipe inlet. However, the minimum critical Reynolds number has not yet been obtained theoretically. Hence, the author took up the problem directly from many previous experimental investigations and found that (i) plots of the transition length versus the Reynolds number show that the transition occurs in the entrance region under the condition of a natural disturbance, and (ii) plots of the critical Reynolds number versus the ratio of bellmouth diameter to the pipe diamter show that with larger shapes of bellmouths, laminar flow will persist to higher Reynolds numbers. The problem is thus defined clearly as: Under the condition of an ordinary disturbance, the transition from laminar to turbulent flow occurs in the entrance region of a straight circular pipe, then the Reynolds number takes a minimum value of about 2000.