The University of the West Indies

Faculty of Engineering
Department of Chemical and Process Engineering
Course: CHNG 1006 Transport Phenomena I
Year: 2015
Name of Experiment: Fluid Friction Apparatus
Date Conducted: 10/03/15
Date Submitted: 24/03/15
Name of Student: Chandni Seelochan
ID#: 814001154
Lab Group: Group 6
Abstract
The main objective of this experiment was to investigate the fluid friction apparatus provided
and calculate the coefficients of resistance for the 3 types of pipe fittings. These include a 90
pipe angle, a 90 pipe bend and a 45 pipe angle.
The experiment was carried out by adjusting the flow of the water by opening the tap of section
five of the apparatus. The time required to fill a noted amount of water was recorded. This
assisted in finding the volumetric flowrate and with further information on the diameter of the
pipes, the flow velocity was determined. With this quantity, the Reynolds number was found and
this led to the calculation of the pipe friction factor using the Blasius equation. The head loss due
to the pipes was then found using the Darcy-Weisbach equation and then additional pressure
losses owing to the pipe elbows using the equation provided. The head loss due to the 45
elevation was also recorded during the lab using a manometer. These values were negative since
a pressure drop was expected. The coefficient of resistance for each component was then
calculated. Due to restrictions in the lab and inadequate information provided, assumptions were
made in carrying out the calculations.
Results
Table 1: Results Obtained Upon Performing the Experiment

Experiment Time (s) Volume (mL) h1 (mm) h2 (mm) Head loss (mm)
1 18.28 1500 17.5 16.5 -1.0
2 23.37 2350 17.0 15.8 -1.2
3 22.25 1800 17.4 16.3 -1.1
4 16.41 2100 17.7 14.6 -3.1
5 9.00 1950 20.8 13.6 -7.2
6 5.46 2150 24.8 12.5 -12.3
7 7.00 1850 32.8 10.5 -22.3
8 4.53 2080 36.5 9.2 -27.3
9 4.35 2130 38.5 9.0 -29.5
10 2.62 1600 47.3 5.5 -41.8

Table 2: Coefficient of Resistance from Literature and Number of Pipe Fittings

Coefficient of Resistance, Quantity, n

90 pipe angle 1.13 2
90 pipe bend 1.13 2
45 pipe angle 0.24 2

Table 3: Parameters Obtained from Manual

Internal Diameter, d (mm) 17

Internal Diameter, d (m) 0.017
Cross sectional Area, A (m2) 2.27 x 10-4
Kinematic Viscosity (m2/s) 9.57 x 10-6
Wall Roughness, k (mm) 0.001
Gravity (m/s2) 9.81

Table 4: Lengths given for Pipe and Pipe Fittings

Length(m)
Pipe Angle 90 0.203
Pipe Bend 90 0.322
Pipe Angle 45 0.247
Total Pipe 0.772
Sample Calculations
Experiment 1 Data
Assuming constant turbulent flow,
Volume
Volume Flowrate, Q = Time
3
0.0015m
= 18.28 s
= 8.21 x 10-5 m3/s
4Q
Flow speed, v = d 2

0.017


= (3.14)
( 4 )(8.21)(105 )

= 0.362 m/s
vd
Re =
( 0.362 )(0.017)
= 0.957 x 106
= 6422
0.3164
= 4
0.3164
= 4 6422
= 0.0353
Head loss due to entire pipe length, hv
l v 2
hv = d 2 g

(0.0353)(1)(0.362)2
= (0.017)(2)(9.81)
= 0.0138m
Head loss due to 45 elevation was recorded in the experiment, hvelevation = 0.001m
Additional head loss due to 90 pipe angle, hvz90
 From literature, the coefficient of resistance is 1.13 for knee pieces of 90 bend.
(Provided from manual) Since the radius of the 90 pipe angle is smaller than the pipe
diameter, it was assumed that this resistance of coefficient was also 1.13.
2
v
hvz90 =
2g
0.3622
= (1.13)
2(9.81)
= 7.53 x 10-3 m
Total head loss (pipe, 45 elevation and 90 pipe angle), htotal90
htotal90 = hv + 2 hvz90
= 0.0107 + 0.001 + [(7.53 x 10-3) (2)]
= 0.03m
N.B: The head loss for the fitting is doubled since two pieces are present

Additional head loss due to 90 bend fitting, hvzbend

v2
hvzbend =
2g
2
0.362
= (1.13) 2(9.81)

= 7.53 x 10-3 m
Total head loss (pipe, 45 elevation and 90 pipe bend), htotalbend
htotalbend = hv + 2 hvzbend
= 0.0107 + 0.001 + [(7.53 x 10-3) (2)]
= 0.0299m
Additional head loss due to 45 pipe angle
v2
hvzbend =
2g
0.3622
= (0.24)
2( 9.81)
= 1.60 x 10-3 m
Total head loss (pipe, 45 elevation and 45 pipe angle), htotal45
htotal45 = hv + hvelevation + 2 hvz45
= 0.0107 + 0.001 + [(1.60 x 10-3) (2)]
= 0.0026m
The coefficient of resistance for 90 pipe angle, 90
2 htotal 90 g l
90 = 2

v d
 ( 2 ) ( 0.0267 ) ( 9.81) (0.0353)(0.203)
= 2

0.362 (0.017)
= 3.44
The coefficient of resistance for 90 pipe bend, bend
2 htotalbend g l
bend =
v2 d
( 2 ) ( 0.0267 ) ( 9.81) (0.0353)(0.322)
=
0.3622 ( 0.017)

= 3.20
The coefficient of resistance for 45 pipe angle, 45
2 htotal 45 g l
45 = 2

v d
( 2 ) ( 0.0149 ) ( 9.81) (0.0353)(0.247)
= 2

0.362 ( 0.017)
= 1.57
Results / Calculations
Table 5: The Variables for each Experiment performed
Experim Time, t Volume, V Volumetric Flowrate, Q Flow Speed, v
ent (s) (m3) (m3/s) (m/s) Re d /k
170 0.03
1 18.28 0.00150 0.00008206 0.362 6422 00 53
170 0.03
2 23.37 0.00235 0.00010056 0.443 7870 00 36
170 0.03
3 22.25 0.00180 0.00008090 0.356 6331 00 55
1001 170 0.03
4 16.41 0.00210 0.00012797 0.564 5 00 16
1695 170 0.02
5 9.00 0.00195 0.00021667 0.955 7 00 77
3081 170 0.02
6 5.46 0.00215 0.00039377 1.735 7 00 39
2068 170 0.02
7 7.00 0.00185 0.00026429 1.164 3 00 64
3593 170 0.02
8 4.53 0.00208 0.00045916 2.023 5 00 30
3832 170 0.02
9 4.35 0.00213 0.00048966 2.157 1 00 26
4779 170 0.02
10 2.62 0.00160 0.00061069 2.690 3 00 14

Table 6: Head loss calculations for each experiment with respect to each fitting
Experim hvz45 htotal90 htotalben
ent hvpipe (m) hvz90 (m) hvzbend (m) (m) d htotal45
0.02 0.025 0.013
1 0.0107 0.0075 0.0075 0.0016 57 7 9
0.03 0.037 0.020
2 0.0153 0.0113 0.0113 0.0024 79 9 1
 0.02 0.025 0.013
3 0.0104 0.0073 0.0073 0.0016 51 1 5
0.05 0.059 0.031
4 0.0233 0.0183 0.0183 0.0039 99 9 0
0.16 0.163 0.080
5 0.0585 0.0525 0.0525 0.0111 34 4 8
0.51 0.513 0.240
6 0.1664 0.1733 0.1733 0.0368 30 0 0
0.23 0.239 0.116
7 0.0828 0.0781 0.0781 0.0166 90 0 0
0.68 0.689 0.317
8 0.2177 0.2357 0.2357 0.0501 90 0 8
0.77 0.779 0.357
9 0.2436 0.2680 0.2680 0.0569 96 6 4
1.19 1.192 0.535
10 0.3585 0.4169 0.4169 0.0885 23 3 6
Results / Calculations
Table 7: Coefficient of Resistance for each Fitting

Experiment 90 bend 45
1 3.44 3.20 1.57
2 3.38 3.15 1.52
3 3.45 3.20 1.58
4 3.32 3.10 1.46
5 3.19 2.99 1.34
6 3.06 2.89 1.22
7 3.14 2.96 1.29
8 3.03 2.87 1.19
9 3.02 2.86 1.18
10 2.98 2.83 1.14
Discussion
In this experiment, the fluid friction apparatus provided was investigated and the coefficient of
resistance determined. This was done by varying the fluid flow through a system with straight
pipes and two 90 pipe angles, two 90 knee pieces (bend) and two 45 pipe angles. The time to
fill a certain volume of fluid was recorded and so was the respective head loss. These values
were then used to determine the coefficient of resistance of the fittings. It should be noted that
the diameter throughout the system was taken as a constant value of 17mm.
In the manual, calculations were very vague. The head loss for the entire system was calculated
to using the hv formula, and the additional pressure losses due to the pipe fittings were the found
using the hvz formula. Head loss owing to the 45 elevation was recorded during the experiment.
Since there were two pipe fittings of each type, the h vz value was doubled and this value added to
the hv value and hvelevation was taken as the total head loss. This is called the equivalent length
method. This just means that the head losses for the pipe fittings were found such that it was a
straight piece of pipe.
In calculating the head loss in the system for the straight pipes, that is excluding the losses owing
to the pipe elbows, a total length was not provided, nor was the length of the straight pipes.
However, since this value was required to find the total head loss and hence the coefficient of
resistance, unit length was used. The aim was to get the sum of the lengths of the original pipes
and the equivalent lengths (head loss) of the fittings and with the head loss due to elevation, the
total head loss in the system can be found.
In calculation of the additional head losses due to the various pipe fittings, it was stated that the
literature specifies empirically obtained coefficients of resistance that can be used to calculate the
additional head loss. From the information given about pipe elbows, the manual provided
coefficients of resistance for pipe bends and pipe angles of 45 at 1.13 and 0.24 respectively for
smooth pipes. For pipe angles of 90, it was stated that the elbow radii is less than the pipe
diameter (R/d < 1) so the coefficients of resistance for knee pieces are approximately applicable.
So, a value of 1.13 was used for the coefficient of resistance for the 90 pipe angle as well.
Additionally, for the total coefficient of resistance, a length of 1m was used for the length
variable in the equation.
Some sources of errors in the experiment can be parallax error when reading head loss from
manometer, slow reaction time when using stopwatch and closing valve upon cue and major
errors when reading the manometer in such short time intervals.
References
Pentair. 2015. Head Loss in Piping Systems. http://www.hydromatic.com/ResidentialPage
_techinfopage_headloss.aspx (accessed 21st March, 2015)
The Engineering Toolbox. Total Pressure or Head Loss in Pipe or Duct Systems. http://www.
engineeringtoolbox.com/total-pressure-loss-ducts-pipes-d_625.html (accessed 21st March, 2015)