TRANSITION FROM TURBULENT TO LAMINAR PIPE FLOW.

Abstract

An experimental investigation of low speed pipe flow was conducted for an initially turbulent flow of air. At subcritical Reynolds numbers, as the fluid travelled downstream its velocity profile approached the parabolic distribution corresponding to laminar flow; the rate of transition towards laminar flow being more rapid at lower Reynolds numbers. Concurrent hot-wire-anemometer measurements showed a corresponding dependence on Reynolds number of the rate of decay of the longitudinal velocity fluctuations. These velocity fluctuations were also found to decay more rapidly near the wall and center of the pipe than at intermediate radii. The energy spectrum of the fluctuations was measured along the pipe centerline, and, in terms of the macroscale, these spectra were similar. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 1961
Accession Number
AD0677444

Entities

People

  • Merwin Sibulkin

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Anemometers
  • Flow
  • Fluid Flow
  • Hot Wire
  • Hot Wire Anemometers
  • Laminar Flow
  • Measurement
  • Pipe Flow
  • Reynolds Number
  • Spectra
  • Transitions
  • Turbulent Flow

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Atmospheric Science / Meteorology, specifically Wind Wave Turbulence.
  • Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics.