Number

Archimedes number
Atwood number
Bejan number(fluid mechanics)
Bingham number
Blake number
Bond number
Brinkman number
BrownellKatz number
Capillary number
Darcy friction factor
Deborah number

Symbol
Ar
A
Be
Bm
Bl or B
Bo
Br
NBK
Ca
Cf or fD
De

Eckert number

Ec

Eotvos number
Euler number (physics)

Eo
Eu

Excess temperature coefficient

Fanning friction factor
Fourier number
Froude number

r
f
Fo
Fr

Galilei number
Graetz number
Grashof number
KeuleganCarpenter number
Knudsen number
Laplace number

Ga
Gz
Gr
KC
Kn
La

LockhartMartinelli parameter

Manning roughness coefficient

Marangoni number

n
Mg

Morton number

Mo

Definition
gL3

` (` )
Ar =
2
2
A = 11
+2
L2
Be = P

y L
Bm = V
u
B = (1)D

aL2

U 2
Br = (Tw T0 )
NBK = ku
rw
Ca = V

Bo =

tc
tp
2
Ec = cpVT
2
Eo = g L
p
Eu = V
2
cp (T Te )
r = U 2 /2
e

De =

Fo = Lt2
Fr = vg`

Ga = gL2
Gz = DLH Re Pr
3
)L
GrL = g(Ts T
2
KC = VLT
Kn = L
La = L
2
q

m`
= mg g`
d LT
Mg = dT

Mo =

g4c
2c 3

Field of application
fluid
fluid
fluid
fluid
fluid

mechanics (motion of fluids due to density differences)

mechanics (onset of instabilities in fluid mixtures due to density differences)
mechanics (dimensionless pressure drop along a channel)
mechanics, rheology (ratio of yield stress to viscous stress)
mechanics (inertial over viscous forces in flow through porous media)

geology, fluid mechanics, porous media (buoyant versus capilary forces, similar to Eo)
heat transfer, fluid mechanics (Thermal conduction from a wall to a viscous fluid)
fluid mechanics (combination of capillary number and Bond number)
porous media (viscous forces versus surface tension)
fluid mechanics (fraction of pressure losses due to friction in a pipe; 4 Fanning)
rheology (viscoelastic fluids)
convective heat transfer (ratio of kinetic energy to enthalpy)
fluid mechanics (shape of Liquid bubbles or drops)
hydrodynamics (stream pressure versus inertia forces)
heat transfer, fluid dynamics (change in internal energy versus kinetic energy)
fluid mechanics (fraction of pressure losses due to friction in a pipe; 1/4 Darcy )
heat transfer, mass transfer (ratio of diffusive rate versus storage rate)
fluid mechanics (wave and surface behaviour; ratio of a bodys inertia to gravitational forces)
fluid mechanics (gravitational over viscous forces)
heat transfer, fluid mechanics (laminar flow through a conduit; also used in mass transfer)
heat transfer, natural convection (ratio of the buoyancy to viscous force)
fluid dynamics (ratio of drag force to inertia for a bluff object in oscillatory fluid flow)
gas dynamics (ratio of the molecular mean free path length to a physical length scale)
fluid dynamics ( ratio of surface tension to momentum-transport)
two-phase flow (flow of wet gases; liquid fraction)
open channel flow (flow driven by gravity)
fluid mechanics (Marangoni flow; thermal surface tension forces over viscous forces)
fluid dynamics (determination of bubble/drop shape)

continued . . .
1

Number

Symbol

Definition
Nu = hd
k

=
Oh = L

Field of application

Nusselt number
Ohnesorge number

Nu
Oh

Peclet number
Prandtl number
Rayleigh number
Relative permeability
Relative permittivity
Reynolds number
Richardson number
Roshko number
Schmidt number
Sherwood number
Sommerfeld number
Stanton number

Pe
Pr
Ra
r
r
Re
Ri
Ro
Sc
Sh
S
St

Pe = k p = Re Pr
c
Pr = = pk
g
Rax =
(Ts T )x3
r = 0
x
r = C
C0
vL
Re =
Ri = gh
= Fr12
u2
2
Ro = f L
= St Re

Sc = D
KL
Sh = D

2
S = rc N
P
St = cphV = ReNuPr

Stefan number
Stokes number
Strouhal number
Taylor number

Ste
Stk or Sk
St or Sr
Ta

Wallis parameter

Ste = pL
Stk = dUco
St = L
v
2 4
Ta = 4 2R
 1
2

j = R

Weber number
Weissenberg number

We
Wi

We
Re

duc

c T

v 2 l

We =
Wi =

heat transfer (forced convection; ratio of convective to conductive heat transfer)

fluid dynamics (atomization of liquids, Marangoni flow)
heat transfer (total momentum transfer to molecular heat transfer)
heat transfer (ratio of viscous diffusion rate over thermal diffusion rate)
heat transfer (buoyancy versus viscous forces in free convection)
magnetostatics (ratio of the permeability of a specific medium to free space)
electrostatics (ratio of capacitance of test capacitor with dielectric material versus vacuum)
fluid mechanics (ratio of fluid inertial and viscous forces)
fluid dynamics (effect of buoyancy on flow stability; ratio of potential over kinetic energy)
fluid dynamics (oscillating flow, vortex shedding)
mass transfer (viscous over molecular diffusion rate)
mass transfer (forced convection; ratio of convective to diffusive mass transport)
hydrodynamic lubrication (boundary lubrication)
heat transfer and fluid dynamics (forced convection)
phase change, thermodynamics (ratio of sensible heat to latent heat)
particle suspensions (ratio of characteristic time of particle to time of flow)
fluid dynamics (continuous and pulsating flow; nondimensional frequency)
fluid dynamics (inertial forces due to rotation of a fluid versus viscous forces)
multiphase flows (nondimensional superficial velocity)
multiphase flow (strongly curved surfaces; ratio of inertia to surface tension)
viscoelastic flows (shear rate times the relaxation time)