Explain Poiseuille's Law - Learn Quickly

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around Poiseuille's Law, specifically seeking clarification on its derivation and application in fluid dynamics. Participants express confusion regarding the law and its underlying principles, including the conditions under which it applies.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification
  • Technical explanation
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants request a clear explanation of Poiseuille's Law, indicating they have difficulty understanding it despite reading about it.
  • One participant notes that Poiseuille's Law describes the resistance to flow of a fluid in a circular duct under specific flow conditions.
  • A detailed approach to understanding Poiseuille's equation is proposed, including steps such as understanding the terms in the equation, the concept of streamline flow, and the definition of viscosity.
  • Participants are encouraged to specify which steps in the derivation they find challenging to facilitate targeted assistance.
  • Integration of equations related to fluid flow and boundary conditions is mentioned as part of deriving Poiseuille's formula.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the need for clarification regarding Poiseuille's Law, but there is no consensus on the specific aspects that are most confusing or the best approach to understanding it.

Contextual Notes

The discussion does not resolve the confusion surrounding Poiseuille's Law, and participants have not reached a consensus on the most effective way to explain or derive it.

SarcasticBunny
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hey guys, can someone explain me Poiseuillie's law, because, I'm reading and reading and reading and don't understand ;(
 
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SarcasticBunny said:
hey guys, can someone explain me Poiseuillie's law, because, I'm reading and reading and reading and don't understand ;(

Hi SarcasticBunny. Welcome to Physics Forums!.

Please be more specific. There are numerous aspects to deriving Poiseuille's law, and it is derived in a couple of different ways. Please give us more details.

Chet
 
SarcasticBunny said:
hey guys, can someone explain me Poiseuillie's law, because, I'm reading and reading and reading and don't understand ;(

Poiseuille's Law gives the resistance to flow of a fluid in a circular duct under certain flow conditions:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagen–Poiseuille_equation
 
Here's one way of setting about understanding Poiseuille's equation. You might like to say which step or steps are giving you trouble.
1. Understand what all the terms in the equation mean.
2. Understand what is meant by streamline flow, and that Poiseuille's equation applies only for streamline flow.
3. Understand the definition of viscosity [itex]\eta[/itex]. This is crucial.
4. Understand how to apply this definition across a cylindrical shell of fluid in the pipe.
5. Integrate the resulting equation with the boundary condition v = 0 when r = a (= tube radius) to give [itex]v = \frac{p}{4 \eta L} (a^2 - r^2)[/itex].
6. Integrate up the volume of fluid flowing per unit time through each cylindrical shell, to give the volume flowing per second through the whole pipe, that is to get Poiseuille's formula.
 
Thank you:)
Philip Wood said:
Here's one way of setting about understanding Poiseuille's equation. You might like to say which step or steps are giving you trouble.
1. Understand what all the terms in the equation mean.
2. Understand what is meant by streamline flow, and that Poiseuille's equation applies only for streamline flow.
3. Understand the definition of viscosity [itex]\eta[/itex]. This is crucial.
4. Understand how to apply this definition across a cylindrical shell of fluid in the pipe.
5. Integrate the resulting equation with the boundary condition v = 0 when r = a (= tube radius) to give [itex]v = \frac{p}{4 \eta L} (a^2 - r^2)[/itex].
6. Integrate up the volume of fluid flowing per unit time through each cylindrical shell, to give the volume flowing per second through the whole pipe, that is to get Poiseuille's formula.
 

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