MECE 211-601 Engineering Measurements Lab

Spring 2017
Department of Mechanical engineering
Kate Gleason College of Engineering
Rochester institute of technology - Dubai

Lab 5- Experiment 5, Pipe friction loss in smooth bore pipe

Abstract

In this lab, we shall examine the head loss due to viscous flow of the fluid

through smooth bore pipe. Some of the governing components that will be

considered are Friction factor, Reynolds number and flow rate. The

relationship between head loss, friction and velocity of the flow will be

determined.

1
Introduction

2
In this experiment, we tried to determine the relationship between head loss
due to fluid friction and velocity for flow of water through smooth bore pipes
and to confirm the head loss, friction factor f the experimentally obtained
values of the coefficient of friction using eq. (1) will then be compared with
established results by plotting them on the Moody chart (figure 1) provided.
The bends and turns in the pipe will cause the velocity of the flowing fluid to
change which in turn affects the pressure hence giving rise to more head
loss. There are two types of flow that can exist in a pipe. These are:
Laminar flow at low velocities (where h U)
Turbulent flow at high velocities (where h Un)
Where h is the head loss due to friction and u is the velocity field. The
transition phase between laminar and turbulent flow has no definite
relationship between h and U.
h 2 gd
f= 2
(1)
lv

Figure 1 Moody Diagram

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The objectives of the experiment:

To find the relationship between head loss due to fluid friction

Find velocity of flow of water through smooth bore pipes
Find the value of friction coefficient

Experimental Procedure:

Prime the pipe network with water. Open and close the appropriate
valves to obtain flow of water through the required test pipe. Pipe
diameter = 17 mm, Pipe effective diameter = 13.6 mm (for
calculation), Pipe length = 91.5 cm
Take readings at several different flow rates, altering the flow using the
control valve on the apparatus.
Measure flow rates using the volumetric tank. For small flow rates use
the measuring cylinder. Measure head loss between the tapings using
the portable pressure meter or pressurized water manometer as
appropriate.

Formulas used in calculating:

Experimental Data:

Table 1 tabulated data

Volume Volu Tim Q Veloc Reyno h1 h2 h Measur Friction
(ml) me e actua ity lds (m (m (m) ed Factor
(m3) (s) l (m/s) Numb m) m) Friction (Moody
(m3/s er Factor Chart)
)
880 0.000 4.1 0.000 19804. 628 478 0.15
88 6 21 1.46 35 2.1E-02 0.023
810 0.000 4.3 0.000 17353. 566 450 0.11
81 7 19 1.28 01 6 2.1E-02 0.025

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 710 0.000 4.4 0.000 15004. 525 430 0.09
71 3 16 1.10 65 5 2.3E-02 0.027
500 0.000 3.8 0.000 12222. 468 400 0.06
5 3 13 0.90 00 8 2.5E-02 0.029
340 0.000 3.4 0.000 0.69 9362.0 420 365 0.05 3.4E-02
34 10 6 5 0.035

Apparatus used for the experiment

For this experiment, we used TQ H408 Fluid friction apparatus and TQ H408 piezometer.

Figure 2. TQ H408 Fluid friction Figure 3. TQ H408 piezometer

apparatus.

Results and graphs:

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 velocity vs head loss
0.16
0.14
f(x) = 0.12x - 0.04
0.12 R = 0.97
0.1

head loss m 0.08

0.06
0.04
0.02
0
0.60 0.70 0.80 0.90 1.00 1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50

velocity (m/s)

Figure 4 Velocity VS head losses

Errors and precautions:

Errors in the calculated friction factor and the friction factor value obtained
from moody chart is calculated using eq (2):

= ()
() (2)

errors

0.002371636
0.004222034
0.004740298
0.004446203
0.001153411

Figure 5 Table of errors

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 These errors occur due to many several factors like:

Human error in measuring Head Loss.

Inaccurate measurement of the length of the pipe.
Error in measuring the volume of water in the Graduated
cylinder.
Air bubbles in the piezometer tubes.

Discussion:

Using the Darcy and Weisbach Equation we calculated the frictional factor values
provided with the h values. Reynolds number is also calculated and using these
values, the values of calculated f is compared to the values in moody chart. we
see that there are some differences between the friction factor obtained from the
moody chart and the friction factor obtained from the frictional head loss equation
(1), values in table 1. This difference can be attributed to experimental errors,
including measuring the length of the pipe and measuring h (Head Loss) during
the experiment.