laminar

(adjective)

Of fluid motion, smooth and regular, flowing as though in different layers.

Related Terms

Examples of laminar in the following topics:

  • Poiseuille's Equation and Viscosity

    • Poiseuille's equation can be used to determine the pressure drop of a constant viscosity fluid exhibiting laminar flow through a rigid pipe.
    • This is generally split into two categories, laminar and turbulent flow.
    • At the lower limit of this mixed turbulent–laminar flow Reynolds number region there is another critical threshold value, below which only laminar flow is possible.
    • In practice, Poiseuille's equation holds for most systems involving laminar flow of a fluid, except at regions where features disrupting laminar flow, such as at the ends of a pipe, are present.
    • Laminar fluid flow in a circular pipe at the same direction.

  • Turbulence Explained

    • It is possible to predict if flow will be laminar or turbulent.
    • At low velocity, flow in a very smooth tube or around a smooth, streamlined object will be laminar.
    • In fact, at intermediate velocities, flow may oscillate back and forth indefinitely between laminar and turbulent.
    • Flow is laminar in the large part of this blood vessel and turbulent in the part narrowed by plaque, where velocity is high.
    • In the transition region, the flow can oscillate chaotically between laminar and turbulent flow.

  • Motionof an Object in a Viscous Field

    • If N′R is less than about 1, flow around the object can be laminar, particularly if the object has a smooth shape.
    • Depending on the surface, there can be a turbulent wake behind the object with some laminar flow over its surface.
    • For an N′R between 10 and 10^6, the flow may be either laminar or turbulent and may oscillate between the two.
    • (See . ) Laminar flow occurs mostly when the objects in the fluid are small, such as raindrops, pollen, and blood cells in plasma.
    • Here the flow is laminar with N′R less than 1.

  • Flow Rate and Velocity

    • These factors affect fluid velocity depending on the nature of the fluid flow—particularly whether the flow is turbulent or laminar in nature.
    • In the case of Laminar flow, however, fluid flow is much simpler and flow velocity can be accurately calculated using Poiseuille's Law.