ME – 233: Fluid Mechanics – II

Dr. Emad Uddin

Dimensional analysis of pipe flow
 Major losses
 Assume that the pressure drop should
be proportional to the pipe length. This
way the l/D term can factored out.
 We defined friction factor as:
 Thus for horizontal pipe flow.
 And
 For laminar fully developed flow, f =
64/Re
 For turbulent flow, the functional
dependence of the friction factor on the
Reynolds number and the relative
roughness, is a rather complex one that
cannot, be obtained from a theory
Dimensional analysis of pipe flow
 Major losses
 Join energy equation with expression of pressure drop. We
get:

 This is the Darcy–Weisbach equation, it is valid for any

fully developed, steady, incompressible pipe flow,
horizontal or not.
 In general with Vin = Vout, the energy eq gives
Dimensional analysis of pipe flow
 Major Losses
 It is not easy to determine the functional dependence of the friction
factor on the Reynolds number and relative roughness.
 Much of this information is a result of experiments conducted by
Nikuradse in 1933 and amplified by many others since then.
 One difficulty lies in the determination of the roughness of the pipe.
 Nikuradse used artificially roughened pipes produced by gluing sand
grains of known size onto pipe walls to produce pipes with sand paper
type surfaces.
 The pressure drop needed to produce a desired flowrate was measured and
the data were converted into the friction factor for the corresponding
Reynolds number and relative roughness.
 The tests were repeated numerous times for a wide range of Re and Ԑ/D to
determine the f=Φ(Re, Ԑ/D ) dependence.
 In commercially available pipes it is possible to obtain a measure of
the effective relative roughness of typical pipes and thus to obtain the
friction factor.
Dimensional analysis of pipe flow
 Major losses
 Typical roughness values for various pipe surfaces are shown along with the functional
dependence of f on Re and called the Moody chart in honor of L. F. Moody, who, along
with C. F. Colebrook, correlated the original data of Nikuradse in terms of the relative
roughness of commercially available pipe materials.
Dimensional analysis of pipe flow
 Major losses
 The turbulent portion of the Moody chart is represented by the Colebrook
formula

 In fact, the Moody chart is a graphical representation of this equation,

which is an empirical fit of the pipe flow pressure drop data.
 A difficulty with its use is that for given conditions it is not possible to
solve for f without some sort of iterative scheme.
 It is possible to obtain an equation that adequately approximates the
Colebrook / Moody chart relationship but does not require an iterative
scheme.
Major Losses - Summary
 The head loss due to viscous effects in straight pipes, termed
the major loss and denoted hL major,
 The Typical roughness values for various pipe surfaces are
shown along with the functional dependence of f on Re and
called the Moody chart.
Example 8.5
 Air flows through a 4 mm diameter plastic tube with an
average velocity of V=50m/s.
 Determine the pressure drop in a 0.1m section of the tube if the
flow is laminar.
 Repeat the calculations if the flow is turbulent.
 Practice Problems
 8.42, 8.45, 8.50, 8.58, 8.60, 8.62 & 8.70.
Minor losses
 In addition to straight pipes most piping systems consist of
valves, bends, tees, etc which add to the overall head loss
of the system.
 Such losses are generally termed minor losses, denoted as
h L minor.
 How to determine the various minor losses that commonly
occur in pipe systems?
Minor losses example: Valve
 A valve provides a means to
regulate the flowrate by
changing the geometry of the
system.
 With the valve closed, the
resistance to the flow is
infinite—the fluid cannot flow.
 With the valve wide open the
extra resistance due to the
presence of the valve may or
may not be negligible.
Loss Coefficient
 An analytical method to predict the head loss for
components of piping system is not possible.
 The head loss information is given in dimensionless form
and based on experimental data.
 The most common method to determine head losses or
pressure drops is to specify the loss coefficient, kL
Loss Coefficient
 Its value depends on geometry of component.
 It may also depend on fluid properties.

 In many cases Re is large enough that flow through the

component is dominated by inertia effects, with low viscous
effects.
 Here pressure drops and head losses correlate directly with the
dynamic pressure.
 Thus, in many cases the loss coefficients for components are a
function of geometry only
Equivalent length
 Head loss through a component is given in terms of the
length of pipe that would produce the same head loss.

 The head loss of the pipe system is the same as that

produced in a straight pipe whose length is equal to the
pipes of the original system plus the sum of the additional
equivalent lengths of all of the components of the system.
Loss coefficient at flow entrance

Reentrant, KL = 0.8 Sharp-edged, KL = 0.5

Rounded, KL = 0.2 Well-rounded, KL = 0.04

Loss coefficient at flow exit

Reentrant, KL = 0.8 Sharp-edged, KL = 0.5

Rounded, KL = 0.2 Well-rounded, KL = 0.04

Loss coefficient in sudden expansion
 In this case the loss coefficient can be calculated from
analytical means.

 Apply continuity, momentum & energy equations in control

volume
Loss coefficient in sudden expansion
Loss coefficient in conical diffuser
 Diffuser is a device shaped to decelerate a fluid.
 Losses can be reduced if expansion is gradual.
 For small angles, the diffuser is long and most of the head loss
is due to the wall shear stress.
 For moderate or large angles, the flow separates from the walls
and the losses are due mainly to dissipation of the kinetic
energy of the jet leaving the smaller diameter pipe.
 Loss coefficient in conical diffuser
 Losses in
a diffuser
NOTE
 Typical
results
only.

 Flow through a diffuser is very complicated and may be strongly

dependent on the area ratio specific details of the geometry, and the
Reynolds number.
Losses in bends
 The losses are due to the separated region of flow near the
inside of the bend, and
 The swirling secondary flow that occurs from the
imbalance of centripetal forces as a result of the curvature
of the pipe centerline.
Losses in miter bends
 Miter bends are used where space is too limited for
smooth bends.
 The losses in miter bends can be reduced by using guide
vanes that direct the flow with less unwanted swirl and
disturbances.
Loss coefficient for pipe components
Loss coefficient for pipe components
Loss coefficient for pipe components
Example 8.6
 Air at STP is to flow
through test sections
(5) and (6) with a
velocity of 200 m/s.

 Flow is driven by a fan that increases the static pressure

by the amount p1 – p9. needed to overcome head losses
experienced by the fluid as it flows around the circuit.
 Find p1 – p9 and the power supplied to the fluid by the fan.
 Fan provides energy to
overcome the head loss.
 Energy eq b/w 1 and 9.

 z1 = z9, V1 = V9
 Power is
 Loss coefficients
 Section 6 to 4 (clockwise) is a diffuser with KL = 0.6
 Section 4 has KL = 4.0,
 Section 4-5 is nozzle, KL=0.2.
 At corners, KL = 0.2.
 Total head loss is.