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flow

vr.tr.flow-process · thing-flow-process

Let an agent describe a flow by medium, rate, regime and measurement method, and point to flow measurement standards.

Thing Registry Activities and processes ACT.PRC
Bundle → Layer → Finding → QuestionsClassifiersWhat it isWhy it existsDistinguishing featuresWhat robots and AI may and may not doMoral aspectsOwnersLinks to other meta-modelsIdentity and identifiersDirect propertiesRecognitionCapabilities and actionsHazards and failure modesStandards and interfacesContext of useSources

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled

4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions

Description What flows and how.

Medium

Liquid, gas, granular.

Medium

What is flowing.

  1. What medium is flowing? definition
  2. At what temperature and pressure? measurement

Regime

Laminar or turbulent.

Regime

Reynolds number and behaviour.

  1. Is the flow laminar or turbulent? boundary
  2. What is the Reynolds number? measurement
Quantities Measuring the flow.

Rate and velocity

Volumetric and mass rates.

Flow rate

Q = A x mean velocity; mass flow = density x Q for uniform density.

  1. What is the flow rate? measurement
  2. Is it volumetric or mass flow? boundary

Variation

Steady or changing.

Time variation

Changes over time.

  1. Is the flow steady? boundary
  2. How does it vary over time? measurement
Measurement How it is measured.

Instruments

Flow meters and gauges.

Instrument

Meter type and standard.

  1. Which instrument measured it? provenance
  2. Which standard applies? provenance

Uncertainty

Accuracy.

Uncertainty

Measurement uncertainty.

  1. What is the uncertainty? measurement
  2. When was the meter calibrated? provenance
Context Where the flow occurs.

Natural flows

Rivers, air, ocean.

Natural flow

Setting and data source.

  1. Which river or air mass is involved? definition
  2. Which monitoring network reports it? provenance

Engineered flows

Pipes and ducts.

System

Pipe or duct system.

  1. Which system carries the flow? definition
  2. What are its design limits? measurement

Classifiers Filled

Family
Thing Registry
Category
Activities and processes
Entry kind
noun.process
Plane
ACT
Domain
ACT.PRC
Facets: substance
activity
Facets: origin
conceptual
Facets: agency
inert
Facets: mobility
not-applicable
Facets: scale
not-applicable
Facets: affordances
observable
Other names and narrower kinds
slipstream, airstream, race, backwash, wash, turbulent flow, streamline flow, laminar flow, filling, flowage, inflow, influx

What it is Filled

Any uninterrupted stream or discharge, especially the continuous movement of a fluid such as water, air or gas, described by its rate, velocity and regime (laminar or turbulent).

Why it exists Filled

Let an agent describe a flow by medium, rate, regime and measurement method, and point to flow measurement standards.

Distinguishing features Filled

  • A continuous movement, not a single displacement.
  • Laminar flow is orderly; turbulent flow is chaotic.
  • Flow rate is volume or mass per unit time; velocity is distance per unit time.

What robots and AI may and may not do Filled

Must not

  • give engineering sign-off for hydraulic systems
  • advise entering fast-flowing water

Only with a human decision

  • design approval of pressure and flood-protection systems

May

  • describe and calculate flows
  • point to standards

Moral aspects Filled

  • water safety

Who is affected

  • people near water
  • engineers

Owners Filled

Steward

nobody; a physical phenomenon

Master systems

  • hydrological monitoring networks

Links to other meta-models Filled

parent

  • oewn-13540166-n - registry parent class

related

  • fluid dynamics - science of flow
  • flow meter - instrument
  • Reynolds number - regime indicator
  • current - a specific moving body of water or air

What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled

Identity and identifiers required Filled

  • Vercy registry: vr.tr.flow-process
  • Open English WordNet: oewn-13503533-n
  • unit: m3/s, L/min, kg/s volumetric and mass flow rate

Direct properties not applicable Not applicable

  • Reynolds number for pipe flow transition: about 2300-4000 - Re = rho v D / mu with mean velocity and inner diameter; laminar below about 2300, turbulent above about 4000; depends on inlet conditions; not universal for other geometries

Plane ACT: no invented physical properties.

Recognition optional Filled

  • Smooth layered motion in laminar flow
  • Eddies and mixing in turbulent flow
  • Visible in moving water, smoke or streams; often invisible for gases.

Capabilities and actions required Filled

  • describe a flow by its rate and regime
  • convert flow-rate units
  • estimate the regime from the Reynolds number
  • name measurement methods and standards

Hazards and failure modes required Filled

  • Floods and strong currents
  • Erosion
  • High-pressure jets and pipe failures

Standards and interfaces required Filled

  • ISO 5167 flow measurement by differential pressure devices in full circular conduits (ISO)
  • ISO 4064 meters for cold potable water and hot water (ISO)

Context of use required Filled

  • Moving matter and energy, in nature and in engineered systems such as pipes, rivers and ventilation.
  • laminar flow
  • turbulent flow
  • steady and unsteady flow
  • open-channel flow
  • pipe flow
  • airflow and slipstream
  • inflow and outflow across a boundary
  • filling and backwash

Sources Filled

  1. 14.7 Viscosity and Turbulence - laminar and turbulent flow
  2. How Streamflow is Measured - flow measurement
  3. ISO 5167-1:2022 - flow measurement by pressure differential devices
  4. ISO 4064-1:2024 - water meters

Open questions

  • The registry merges many specific flow terms; which deserve separate entries?

Machine files

Card as JSON Specification Card backlog vercy.card/1

Provenance

thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed

Built from: models/things/publications/thing-flow-process/spec.json