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Chemical Engineering vocabulary · Fluid Flow, Pumps and Piping

Laminar flow

Meaning in chemical engineering, with examples

/ˈlæmɪnər ˌfloʊ/nounCommon term

In chemical engineering, laminar flow means: Smooth flow in which fluid moves in parallel layers with little mixing between them. In pipes it happens at low Reynolds numbers, typically below about 2,100.

In Turkish: laminer akış, katmanlı akış

How it is used

Common with viscous liquids, small channels and slow flows. Engineers note that laminar flow gives poor heat transfer and mixing, and use different pressure drop equations for laminar and turbulent flow.

Example sentences

  1. The polymer solution is in laminar flow, so the heat transfer in the cooler is poor.

  2. In laminar flow the pressure drop rises in direct proportion to velocity.

Common collocations

  • laminar flow regime
  • fully developed laminar flow
  • laminar and turbulent flow
  • transition region
  • Reynolds numberA dimensionless number (Re = ρvD/μ) that compares inertial forces with viscous forces and tells you whether flow is laminar or turbulent.
  • viscosityA fluid's resistance to flow: honey has a high value, water a low one. Measured in pascal-seconds or, more often in practice, centipoise (cP).
  • pressure dropThe loss of pressure as a fluid flows through a pipe, valve, filter, bed or piece of equipment, caused mainly by friction.
  • heat transfer coefficientA number that shows how easily heat passes from one fluid to another through a wall, measured in W/(m²·K). The higher it is, the smaller the exchanger can be.

More terms: Fluid Flow, Pumps and Piping

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