Friction Factors: Fanning and Darcy

There are two common friction factors in use, the Darcy and Fanning friction factors. The Darcy friction factor is also known as the DarcyWeisbach friction factor or the Moody friction factor. It is important to understand which friction factor is being described in an equation or chart to prevent error in pressure loss, or fluid flow calculation results. The difference between the two friction factors is that the value of the Darcy friction factor is 4 times that of the Fanning friction factor. In all other aspects they are identical, and by applying the conversion factor of 4 the friction factors may be used interchangeably.

Unless stated otherwise the Darcy friction factor is used in this article
Manufacturing Process and Technology Sugar (sucrose) is a carbohydrate that occurs naturally in every fruit and vegetable. It is a major product of photosynthesis, the process by which plants transform the sun's energy into food. Sugar occurs in greatest quantities in sugarcane and sugar beets from which it is separated for commercial use. The natural sugar stored in the cane stalk or beet root is separated from rest of the plant material through a process known as refining.

For sugarcane, the process of refining is carried out in following steps y Pressing of sugarcane to extract the juice. y Boiling the juice until it begins to thicken and sugar begins to crystallize. y Spinning the crystals in a centrifuge to remove the syrup, producing raw sugar. y Shipping the raw sugar to a refinery where it is washed and filtered to remove remaining non-sugar ingredients and color. y Crystallizing, drying and packaging the refined sugar

Beet sugar processing is similar, but it is done in one continuous process without the raw sugar stage. The sugar beets are washed, sliced and soaked in hot water to separate the sugar -containing juice from the beet fiber. The sugar-laden juice is then purified, filtered, concentrated and dried in a series of steps similar to cane sugar processing. For the sugar industry, capacity utilization is conceptually different from that applicable to industries in general. It depends on three crucial factors the actual number of ton of sugarcane crushed in a day, the recovery rate which generally depends on the quality of the cane and actual length of the crushing season.

Since cane is not transported to any great extent, the quality of the cane that a factory receives depends on its location and is outside its control. The length of the crushing season also depends upon location with the maximum being in south India. Sugarcane in India is used to make either sugar, khandsari or gur. However, sugar products produced worldwide are divided into four basic categories : granulated, brown, liquid sugar and invert sugar. Granulated : Granulated sugar is the pure crystalline sucrose. It can be classified into seven types of sugar based on the crystal size. Most of these are used only by food processors and professional bakers. Each crystal size provides unique functional characteristics that make the sugar appropriate for the food processor's special need

Raw Sugar Production Process

1. WEIGHBRIDGE TIPPLER Cane is transported to the factory on Tully Sugar Limiteds highly energy efficient cane railway network consisting of some 280 km of 610mm gauge track. Bin units have a nominal capacity of eight tonnes. Each rake of bins is accompanied by a consignment note from the grower. When the bins reach the cane marshalling yards the consignment notes are collected and the details entered into the weighbridge computer system. When the bin/unit reaches the tippler it is weighed, tipped into the hopper below then weighed again when empty. The net weight of cane is allocated to the particular grower by the computer system.

2. CRUSHING MILLS After tipping the cane passes through a shredder, which reduces the billets of cane to a fibrous mass. The shredded cane then passes through a series of five crushing mills to extract as much sugar juice as possible. Most of the crushing mills are driven by steam turbines. The juice from the first crushing mill is analysed in the laboratory for sugar content (CCS). Payment to growers is based on weight of cane and CCS value.

3. STEAM GENERATING PLANT The fibre remaining after the cane has passed through the milling train is called "bagasse". Bagasse is used as fuel for the boiler plant, which provides steam to power the entire factory including our electricity generating turbines. Bagasse is also stored for use in the lead up to the start of the crushing season and when wet weather disrupts harvesting operations. This makes our factory virtually independent of external energy needs during the crushing season.

4. GREEN POWER The vast majority of what you see coming out of our chimney stacks is carbon dioxide and steam. The carbon dioxide is released when our bagasse is burnt. However, it was removed from the atmosphere over the past growing year as the sugar cane used the CO2, water and solar energy to grow. Bagasse that is excess to the factory needs is used to make additional steam for generating green electricity, which is then exported to the state grid (enough to power about 5,000 homes continuously). Tully Sugar Limited has been exporting renewable green power for use by Queenslanders since 1997. The steam from the chimney stacks is the result of water sprays that clean the exhaust gases by removing particulate matter.

5. CLARIFICATION The cane juice, as delivered from the milling train, contains some soil and other undesirable impurities. To remove these the juice is heated and lime is added to settle the unwanted material. The impurities settle out in the clarifier and then go to the rotary vacuum filters, which filter out any remaining juice. The filter mud from the vacuum filters is rich in nutrients and is recycled back to cane fields. Clear amber coloured clarified juice containing about 15% sugar is decanted from the clarifiers to the evaporators.

6. EVAPORATORS (EFFETS) The clarified juice is concentrated to a thick syrup by boiling off water in the evaporators. The juice passes continuously from vessel to vessel until it is concentrated to a syrup containing approximately 70% sugar. The evaporators are operated under vacuum and in "multiple effect" configuration whereby the vapour space of one vessel is connected to the heating surface of the next throughout the set. This gives maximum efficiency in evaporation and steam usage. Boiling under a vacuum is very energy efficient because the boiling point of the liquid is much lower than at normal atmospheric pressure.

7. PAN STAGE At the pan stage the syrup from the evaporators is converted to crystal sugar. A charge of syrup is taken into a vacuum pan and again boiled under a vacuum. A quantity of very fine seed crystal is introduced. As water is evaporated fresh syrup is added and sugar is deposited on the seed crystal. This process continues until the crystals have reached the desired size

(approx. 1 mm square). The resulting semi liquid mass of sugar crystals and molasses is called massecuite'.

8. CENTRIFUGALS Sugar crystals are separated from the syrup in the centrifugals. The centrifugals are perforated metal baskets spun at high speed by an electric motor. While the sugar is spinning in the baskets it is given a short burst of hot water to help wash the sticky molasses off the sugar crystals.

9. SUGAR DRIERS Sugar has to be dried and cooled to precise levels to enhance its storage life. This is done in the sugar driers. Evaporation of excess water from the surface of the crystals results in the desired cooling of the sugar. In the generally wet conditions at Tully we use large airconditioning units to provide the cool dry air to the sugar driers. The dried and cool sugar is now ready for shipment.

10. SUGAR SHIPMENT The sugar is transported by road to the bulk sugar terminal at Mourilyan Harbour. Each truck carries 40 tonnes of sugar. The sugar is stored at the harbour in large sheds before being loaded on ships and transported to our overseas customers. All Tully sugar is exported and is widely recognised for its high and consistent quality.

Raw Materials
Sugar is a broad term applied to a large number of carbohydrates present in many plants and characterized by a more or less sweet taste. The primary sugar, glucose, is a product of photosynthesis and occurs in all green plants. In most plants, the sugars occur as a mixture that cannot readily be separated into the components. In the sap of some plants, the sugar mixtures are condensed into syrup. Juices of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) and sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) are rich in pure sucrose, although beet sugar is generally much less sweet than cane sugar. These two sugar crops are the main sources of commercial sucrose. The sugarcane is a thick, tall, perennial grass that flourishes in tropical or subtropical regions. Sugar synthesized in the leaves is used as a source of energy for growth or is sent to the stalks for storage. It is the sweet sap in the stalks that is the source of sugar as we know it. The reed accumulates sugar to about 15 percent of its weight. Sugarcane yields about 2,600,000 tons of sugar per year. The sugar beet is a beetroot variety with the highest sugar content, for which it is specifically cultivated. While typically white both inside and out, some beet varieties have black or yellow skins. About 3,700,000 tons of sugar are manufactured from sugar beet.

Other sugar crops include sweet sorghum, sugar maple, honey, and corn sugar. The types of sugar used today are white sugar (fully refined sugar), composed of clear, colorless or crystal fragments; or brown sugar, which is less fully refined and contains a greater amount of treacle residue, from which it obtains its color.

Read more: How sugar is made - manufacture, used, processing, parts, components, composition, steps, product, industry, machine, Raw Materials, The Manufacturing Process of sugar, Byproducts http://www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Sugar.html#b#ixzz1hAlyCCSV

Confusion with the Fanning friction factor

The DarcyWeisbach friction factor is 4 times larger than the Fanning friction factor, so attention must be paid to note which one of these is meant in any "friction factor" chart or equation being used. Of the two, the DarcyWeisbach factor is more commonly used by civil and mechanical engineers, and the Fanning factor by chemical engineers, but care should be taken to identify the correct factor regardless of the source of the chart or formula. Most charts or tables indicate the type of friction factor, or at least provide the formula for the friction factor with laminar flow. If the formula for laminar flow is f = 16/Re, it's the Fanning factor, and if the formula for laminar flow is f = 64/Re, it's the DarcyWeisbach factor. Which friction factor is plotted in a Moody diagram may be determined by inspection if the publisher did not include the formula described above: 1. Observe the value of the friction factor for laminar flow at a Reynolds number of 1000. 2. If the value of the friction factor is 0.064, then the Darcy friction factor is plotted in the Moody diagram. Note that the nonzero digits in 0.064 are the numerator in the formula for the laminar Darcy friction factor: f = 64/Re. 3. If the value of the friction factor is 0.016, then the Fanning friction factor is plotted in the Moody diagram. Note that the nonzero digits in 0.016 are the numerator in the formula for the laminar Fanning friction factor: f = 16/Re. The procedure above is similar for any available Reynolds number that is an integral power of ten. It is not necessary to remember the value 1000 for this procedure only that an integral power of ten is of interest for this purpose