Assume that blood is an ideal fluid and the diameter of the aorta is 2.55 cm. Take the density to be 1050 kg/m3 and the viscosity to be 2.084 x 10-3 (N/m2).s. Turbulence can occur at lower average flow rates, because blood is not an ideal fluid. Furthermore, since blood flow pulses, turbulence may occur during only the high-velocity part of each heartbeat.
Calculate the critical flow rate at which turbulence is a certainty in the aorta, assuming a Reynolds number of 3000 is guaranteed to correspond to a turbulent flow.