Critical Reynolds Number Estimates by Thermo-Dynamic (Stochastic) Methods

Abstract

Methods based on fundamental thermodynamic principles and the notion of statistical probability have been used to estimate the point of instability and the lower critical Reynolds number for a round pipe and an infinite channel. It is also shown that order of magnitude estimates of the ratio of the average shear stresses for each regime allow one to draw definite conclusions about the lower and the upper critical Reynolds number in a variety of geometries.