Review on Dimensionless Number

Abstract

Dimensionless numbers are of key importance in parametric analysis of engineering problems. They’re also extremely useful in understanding the similarity among problems belonging to an equivalent broad class. However, in spite of its importance in phenomenological analysis, their physical interpretation is typically not given or is contradictory within the literature. Well-known dimensionless numbers, like Re and Ra, are frequently misinterpreted in textbooks widely employed by engineering students. The main goal of this paper is to present a physical interpretation of the Reynolds, Peclet, Rayleigh and Boussinesq numbers supported the ratio of advective and diffusive fluxes of warmth and momentum. With the assistance of scale analysis it's shown that when the dimensionless numbers are associated with the ratio of advective and diffusive fluxes, the physical meaning is straightforward.