Level 3 Diploma/Extended Diploma in Advanced
Manufacturing Engineering (Development Knowledge)
Unit 311 Handout 6
Unit 311: Mechanical principles of engineering systems
Handout 6: Fluid flow over 2D objects
Characteristics of flow
Laminar flow occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers, with no disruption between the layers.
Turbulence is irregular fluctuations or mixing during the movement of fluid.
A vortex (plural vortices) is a region in a fluid in which the flow revolves around an axis. Once
formed, vortices can move, stretch, twist, and interact in complex ways.
The separation point is the position at which the boundary layer leaves the surface of a solid
body.
Example of flow around a 2D object
Separation point
Direction
of fluid
flow
Vortices
2D shape
Region of
laminar flow
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Separation point
Region of
turbulence
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