Ohnesorge number

{{Short description|Number that relates the viscous forces to inertial and surface tension forces}}

The Ohnesorge number (Oh) is a dimensionless number that relates the viscous forces to inertial and surface tension forces. The number was defined by Wolfgang von Ohnesorge in his 1936 doctoral thesis.{{cite journal | first1 = Gareth H. | last1 = McKinley | last2 = Renardy | first2 = Michael | year = 2011 | title = Wolfgang von Ohnesorge | journal = Physics of Fluids | volume = 23 | issue = 12 | pages = 127101–127101–6 | doi = 10.1063/1.3663616 |bibcode = 2011PhFl...23l7101M | hdl = 10919/24403 | s2cid = 50633355 | hdl-access = free }}{{cite journal | first1 = Marc-Antoine | last1 = Fardin | last2 = Hautefeuille | first2 = Mathieu | last3 = Sharma | first3 = Vivek | year = 2022 | title = Spreading, pinching, and coalescence: the Ohnesorge units | journal = Soft Matter | volume = 18 | issue = 17 | pages = 3291–3303 | doi= 10.1039/d2sm00069e | pmid = 35416235 | arxiv = 2112.06713 | bibcode = 2022SMat...18.3291F | s2cid = 245123849 | url = https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03795917/document }}

It is defined as:

: \mathrm{Oh} = \frac{ \mu}{ \sqrt{\rho \, \sigma \, L }} = \frac{\sqrt{\mathrm{We}}}{\mathrm{Re}} \sim \frac{\mbox{viscous forces}}{\sqrt{{\mbox{inertia}} \cdot {\mbox{surface tension}}}}

Where

  • μ is the dynamic viscosity of the liquid
  • ρ is the density of the liquid
  • σ is the surface tension
  • L is the characteristic length scale (typically drop diameter)
  • Re is the Reynolds number
  • We is the Weber number

Applications

The Ohnesorge number for a 3 mm diameter rain drop is typically ~0.002. Larger Ohnesorge numbers indicate a greater influence of the viscosity.

This is often used to relate to free surface fluid dynamics such as dispersion of liquids in gases and in spray technology.{{Cite book | author = Lefebvre, Arthur Henry | title = Atomization and Sprays | publisher = Hemisphere Publishing Corp. | location = New York and Washington, D.C. | year = 1989 | isbn = 978-0-89116-603-0 | oclc = 18560155 }}{{cite journal | last = Ohnesorge | first = W | title = Die Bildung von Tropfen an Düsen und die Auflösung flüssiger Strahlen | journal = Zeitschrift für Angewandte Mathematik und Mechanik | volume = 16 | issue = 6 | pages = 355–358 | date = 1936 | doi = 10.1002/zamm.19360160611 | bibcode = 1936ZaMM...16..355O }} English translation: {{cite journal | last = Ohnesorge | first = Wolfgang von | title = The formation of drops by nozzles and the breakup of liquid jets | date = 2019 | doi = 10.26153/tsw/3391 | journal = Texas Scholar Works | s2cid = 214403876 }}

In inkjet printing, liquids whose Ohnesorge number are in the range 0.1 < Oh < 1.0 are jettable (1{{cite journal|last1=Derby|first1=Brian|title=Inkjet Printing of Functional and Structural Materials: Fluid Property Requirements, Feature Stability, and Resolution|journal=Annual Review of Materials Research|volume=40|issue=1|year=2010|pages=395–414|issn=1531-7331|doi=10.1146/annurev-matsci-070909-104502|bibcode=2010AnRMS..40..395D|s2cid=138001742 |url=https://pure.manchester.ac.uk/ws/files/174918681/DERBYwithfigures_2017_02_22_19_00_59_UTC_.pdf }}

See also

  • Laplace number - There is an inverse relationship, \mathrm{Oh} = 1/\sqrt{\mathrm{La}}, between the Laplace number and the Ohnesorge number. It is more historically correct to use the Ohnesorge number, but often mathematically neater to use the Laplace number.

References