Introduction to Fluid Mechanics

Prof. Miguel Canals

Chapter 8
Internal Incompressible Viscous Flow
Viscous Flow in Pipes
Sections 8.3-8.8
 Viscous pipe flow: applications
• Fluid flow in pipes is
important for:
• Animals and Plants
circulation systems.
• In our homes.
• City water.
• Irrigation system.
• Sewer water system
 Viscous pipe flow: simplifying assumptions
1. The pipe is assumed to be
completely full of the flowing fluid.
• If not, flow is channel flow and
not pipe flow due to presence of
free surface, which allows surface
waves and complicates the
dynamics
2. Flows are usually assumed to be
fully developed.
3. A flow may be laminar, transitional
or turbulent:
• Laminar: Re < 2100
• Transitional: 2100 < Re < 4000
• Turbulent: Re > 4000
General characteristics of viscous pipe flow

From http://www-mdp.eng.cam.ac.uk
Fully developed pipe flow: laminar flow
 Fully developed pipe flow: laminar flow
• The Hagen-Poiseuille equation for laminar flow can be obtained from direct
analysis of the Navier Stokes equation.
• It indicates that pressure drop is independent of surface roughness.

p L 64 L
64
1 V2 VD D Re D
2
•This same result can be obtained from dimensional analysis.
•Pressure drop is usually written as:
L 1
p f V2
D 2
•Where f is a dimensionless quantity called the Darcy friction factor. For fully
developed laminar flow:
64
f laminar
Re
 Fully developed pipe flow: turbulent flow
• Due to difficulty in understanding
turbulence, most information about
turbulent pipe flow is based on
experiments
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NplrDarMDF8
www.cmmt.csiro.au
•Roughness effects now play an
important role

•Flow separation occurs, leading to

energy dissipation and the resulting
head loss

•Importance of roughness measured

in terms of an equivalent roughness ε
Dimensional analysis of turbulent pipe flow
f ( P, L, D,V , , , ) 0
• 7 variables, 3 fundamental dimensions
• 7-3 = 4 dimensionless groups:

P L
f Re, ,
U2 D D
• The parameter ε/D is called the relative roughness
Values if equivalent roughness (from textbook)
Pipe Equivalent roughness, ε
Feet Millimetres
Rivited steel 0.003 – 0.03 0.9 - 9.0
Concrete 0.001 – 0.01 0.3 – 3.0
Wood stave 0.0006 – 0.18 – 0.9
0.003
Cast iron 0.00085 0.26
Galvanised iron 0.0005 0.15
Commercial steel 0.00015 0.045
or wrought iron

Drawn tubing 0.000005 0.0015

Plastic, glass 0.0 (smooth) 0.0 (smooth)
 The Darcy–Weisbach equation
• The Darcy-Weisbach equation is a phenomenological equation which
describes the head loss due to friction along a pipe, given the cross-
sectional average velocity of the flow in the pipe:

L V2
Hl f
D 2g
• It can be obtained from dimensional analysis (previous slide).
• Describes head loss due to friction in both laminar and turbulent flow
•This can be used in the energy (per unit weight) equation:

2 2
pin Vin pout Vout
zin zout Hl
2g 2g
 Head losses
• Head losses are divided into major and
minor losses

Hl H lmajor H lminor
 Major losses
• Major losses are energy losses
due to friction in the boundary L V2
layer H l major f f , Re
D 2g D
•The friction factor depends on
Reynolds number and equivalent
roughness

•The Darcy friction factor, f, is

usually selected from the Moody
diagram

•Moody diagram: a family of

curves that relate the friction
factor to the Reynolds number and
Moody diagram
the relative roughness of a pipe.
Moody diagram
 Minor Losses
• Are mainly due to geometric properties
of pipes
• Flow separation and associated viscous
effects will tend to decrease the flow
energy and hence the losses
• The phenomenon is fairly complicated.
• All the physics we do not understand are
bundled into the loss coefficient KL

Valves Bends T joints Expansions Contractions

V2
hlminor KL KL f (geometry, Re)
2g
Example
 Example
Water at 40oF flows through the coils of the heat exchanger as shown at a rate of
0.9 gal/min. Determine the pressure drop between the inlet and outlet of the
horizontal device.
 Multiple Pipe Systems
• Governing mechanisms for the flow in multiple pipe systems
are the same as for the single pipe systems
 Multiple Pipe Systems
• Pipe network problems can be solved using node and loop
concepts.
• Complex pipe networks usually require numerical solutions
 Pumps, fans and blowers
• Power: Is the rate at which work is performed or at which
energy is converted W
P W
t
• Dimensions of Power
W FLT 1 MLT 3
• Units of power
– SI: N*m/s = J/s = Watt
– BG: 550 lbf*ft/s = 1 Horsepower, from wikipedia: “Watt determined that a
horse could turn a mill wheel 144 times in an hour (or 2.4 times a minute). The wheel
was 12 feet in radius, therefore the horse travelled 2.4 × 2π × 12 feet in one minute.
Watt judged that the horse could pull with a force of 180 pounds”
 Pump power
pump
www.fluent.com

Intake Outlet
(V1,P1) (V2,P2)

Δp p2 p1 if Δp 0 it' s a turbine, if Δp 0 it' s a pump

2 2
pout Vout pin Vin
W pump m gzout gzin
2 2
If Vout Vin and zout 
zin then W QΔ ppump
pump

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0GWe6Bgps4
 In terms of heads:

W QΔ Ppump Qγ H pump  H pump
gm
pump

• This allows us to express energy balance in a

pipe system with pumps:
2 2
pin Vin pout Vout
zin H pump zout H Lmajor H Lmin
2g 2g
The energy equation: Effects of shaft
work
out

Friction
in subtracts
Pump or
turbine energy

2 2
pin Vin pout Vout
zin H pump zout H turbine H loss
2g 2g
Pump adds Turbine subtracts
energy energy
 Pump efficiency
• Compares the amount of work or power we get out of the
pump to the amount of power we are putting into the pump

• pump efficiencies range from 15% to over 90%

• Some factors affecting efficiency:
– Turbulence
– Vibrations
– Etc…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUuoeZS34vs&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSGb4c0YMpA
Example
1 m3 = 267.2 gallons
 Tidal turbines
• Same principle as wind
turbines
• Available Power:
Au 3
P
2

• Larger density of seawater

allows power generation
www.windenergy.co.uk/framestidal.htm
at low speeds (>1 m/s)
• Benefit: High predictability
Modeled tidal currents (J. Gonzalez)
 Wave energy

About 80% of the energy is contained within a quarter of a

wavelength from the surface

~25-40 kW per m of exposed coastline in Atlantic (average)

WEC: Oscillating water column
 WEC: Floating
devices: Pelamis

http://www.windprospect.com.au/FCKfiles/Image/Cutaway2.jpg