ASCE 150th Anniversary 1

The History of the Darcy-

Weisbach Equation for Pipe
Flow Resistance
Glenn O. Brown
Oklahoma State University
2002, ASCE National, Washington D.C.
ASCE 150th Anniversary 2
D-W Equation
g
V
D
fL
h
l
2
2
=
f = | (V, D, roughness & viscosity)
h
l
D
V
L
ASCE 150th Anniversary 3

f c/D
Re
Friction Factor, f
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Julius Weisbach, 1845
g
V
D
fL
h
l
2
2
=
V
f
|
o + =
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Antoine Chzy, ~ 1770
S A P V
2
RS C V =
2
2
4
V
D
L
C
h
l
=
g
C
f 8
1
=
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Poiseuille (1841) & Hagen (1839)
g
V
D
L
h
l
2
64
2
v =
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Osborne Reynolds, 1883
v
VD
= Re
Re
64
= f
laminar flow
Laminar < 2,000
2,000 > Critical > 4,000
Turbulent > 4,000
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f c/D
Re
Friction Factor, f

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Henry Darcy, 1857
(

|
.
|

\
|
+ +
|
.
|

\
|
+ =
2
2
'
' V
D
V
D D
L
h
l
|
o
|
o
2
"
" V
D D
L
h
l
|
.
|

\
|
+ =
|
o
For cast iron at high flow
For all conditions
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John Fanning, 1877
g
V
R
mL
h
l
2
2
=
4
f
m =
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Ludwig Prandtl
originator of
boundary layer
theory and advisor to
von Krmn, Blasius,
Nikuradse and others
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Paul Blasius, 1913
4 / 1
3164 . 0
Re
= f
for smooth pipes
(using data from Nikuradse)
( ) 08 . 0 log 2
1
= f
f
Re
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f c/D
Re
Friction Factor, f

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Theodor von Krmn, 1930
|
.
|

\
|
=
D
f
c
log 2 14 . 1
1
for rough pipes at high Re
(based on data from Nikuradse)
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f c/D
Re
Friction Factor, f

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Johann Nikuradse, 1933
artificial sand roughness
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C. F. Colebrook, 1939
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ =
f
D
f Re
35 . 9
log 2 14 . 1
1 c
for commercial pipe in transition zone
Colebrook and White completed several
papers on pipe friction in the 1930s. The
last under Colebrooks name contained,
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f c/D
Re
Friction Factor, f

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Hunter Rouse, 1942
integration

f
Re
f
1
f Re
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Lewis Moody, 1944
convenient form

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A Rose by Any Other Name
The D-W equation has had a confusing
history of nomenclature and usage.
Weisbachs Eq.
Darcys Eq.
Chezys Eq.
Fannings Eq.(still used in Chemical Eng.)
No Name or Pipe Flow Eq.
Darcy-Weisbach Popularized by Rouse
and adopted by ASCE in 1962.
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Misnamed?
The f vs Re diagram is almost universally
credited to Moody, and the contributions
of others are seldom acknowledged.
This was a sore point for Hunter Rouse
even though he had sincere respect for
Moody. In 1976 Rouse wrote in the third
person,
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Misnamed? (cont)
"After the conference, Lewis Moody of
Princeton suggested using the latter
variables (f and Re) as primary rather
than supplementary, as in the past, but
Rouse resisted the temptation because he
felt that to do would be a step backward.
So Moody himself published such a plot,
and it is known around the world as the
Moody diagram!"
ASCE 150th Anniversary 24
Closing Comments
Little has changed in the D-W application
since Moodys 1944 publication.
The critical zone is still undefined.
Pipe roughness is difficult to estimate.
It is thus surprising that the f diagram
has not been modified or replaced over
the last 58 years.
ASCE 150th Anniversary 25
A Warning from Henry Darcy
In a letter to Henri Bazin, Darcy quoted
Franois I who wrote,
"Often women vary: he is quite mad who
has faith in them",
which Darcy amended with,
"is no less true for hydraulic coefficients
than for women."