Laminar vs Turbulent Flow
Laminar Flow
In fluid dynamics, laminar flow is characterized by smooth or in regular paths of particles of the fluid, in contrast to turbulent flow, that is characterized by the irregular movement of particles of the fluid. The fluid flows in parallel layers (with minimal lateral mixing), with no disruption between the layers. Therefore the laminar flow is also referred to as streamline or viscous flow.
The term streamline flow is descriptive of the flow because, in laminar flow, layers of water flowing over one another at different speeds with virtually no mixing between layers, fluid particles move in definite and observable paths or streamlines.
When a fluid is flowing through a closed channel such as a pipe or between two flat plates, either of two types of flow (laminar flow or turbulent flow) may occur depending on the velocity, viscosity of the fluid and the size of the pipe (or on the Reynolds number). Laminar flow tends to occur at lower velocities and high viscosity.
Turbulent Flow
In fluid dynamics, turbulent flow is characterized by the irregular movement of particles (one can say chaotic) of the fluid. In contrast to laminar flow the fluid does not flow in parallel layers, the lateral mixing is very high, and there is a disruption between the layers. Turbulence is also characterized by recirculation, eddies, and apparent randomness. In turbulent flow the speed of the fluid at a point is continuously undergoing changes in both magnitude and direction.
Detailed knowledge of behaviour of turbulent flow regime is of importance in engineering, because most industrial flows, especially those in nuclear engineering are turbulent. Unfortunately, the highly intermittent and irregular character of turbulence complicates all analyses. In fact, turbulence is often said to be the “last unsolved problem in classical mathemetical physics.”
The main tool available for their analysis is CFD analysis. CFD is a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical analysis and algorithms to solve and analyze problems that involve turbulent fluid flows. It is widely accepted that the Navier–Stokes equations (or simplified Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations) are capable of exhibiting turbulent solutions, and these equations are the basis for essentially all CFD codes.
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