13 - Fluids at Rest and Piped Fluids

Fluids at Rest

In any fluid, a force is exerted on a submerged area A at depth h by the column of fluid above
it. The pressure (Pa) exerted by this fluid is perpendicular to the area A and is given by

P = ρgh (1)

where ρ is the density and g is the acceleration due to gravity (9.81 m/s2 ).

Hydrostatic Force

The hydrostatic force at depth h is therefore

F = ρ ghA (2)

Pressure and Force on Immersed Surfaces

• The force and hydrostatic pressure at a particular depth is the same in all directions;

• Force and pressure at equal depths is always the same regardless of volume or shape;

• Hydrostatic pressure always acts at right angles to the containing surface.

Consider a surface of height H, holding back a volume of water of the same depth. The
average pressure (Pa) acting on that surface will be:

1 H ρ gH 2
ρ gH
P =
H
∫0 ρ ghdh =
2H
=
2

For calculation purposes the force is exerted at the centre of pressure, which for rectangular
surfaces is equal to 0.67H. Given that the force acts perpendicularly to the surface of area
W×H, the total force acting on the surface is

ρ gH
F = PA = A (3)
2
Fluid Flow in Pipes

The Bernoulli Equation

The Bernoulli equation is the main tool for the analysis for flows and pressures in piping
systems. Between two points 1 and 2 along a pipe, the Bernoulli equation would be

2 2
p1 v1 p v
+ + z1 = 2 + 2 + z 2 (4)
ρg 2g ρg 2 g

Put simply, Bernoulli’s equation states that the sum of pressure energy, kinetic energy and
potential energy per unit mass is constant along a streamline. In most cases in closed pipes, all
streamlines can be assumed to have the same energy level.

The Bernoulli Equation with Losses

Bernoulli’s equation can be modified to take account of friction effects

2 2
p1 v1 p v
+ + z1 = 2 + 2 + z 2 + h f (5)
ρg 2 g ρg 2g

hf is the “head” loss due to friction.

If a pump is placed between the two points then the equation is further modified to take
account of the energy addition due to the pump.

2 2
p1 v1 P p2 v2
+ + z1 + = + + z2 + hf (6)
ρg 2 g ρg ρg 2g

P is the pressure rise through the pump.

The D’Arcy Equation

The D’Arcy equation relates the pressure loss in a pipe to the frictional shear stress acting at
the boundary of the flow. In a cylindrical pipe of length L, diameter D, the balance of forces
between points 1 and 2 is given by

π
(p1 − p 2 ) D 2 = τ 0 πDL
4
τ0 is the shear stress (N/m2) due to friction.

The pressure drop over length L is therefore

4τ 0 L
p1 − p 2 = (7)
D

p1 − p 2 4τ 0 L
Now, hf = =
ρg ρgD

Dimensional analysis gives the following expression for shear stress as an unknown function
of the Reynolds number and ks/D, the relative surface roughness.

τ 0 = ρV 2 φ [(Re), (k s / D)]

This can be re-expressed as

ρV 2
τ0 = f
2

where f is a dimensionless parameter known as the friction factor. Substituting back into the
expression for hf gives

4fLV 2
hf = (8)
2gD

Friction Factor in Laminar Flow

Mathematical analysis of laminar flow shows that the friction factor is purely a function of the
Reynolds number (Re).

16µ 16
f= = . (9)
ρVD Re

Friction Factor in Turbulent Flow

By its nature turbulent flow is not amenable to simple mathematical analysis. The equations
for the friction factor in the turbulent flow regime are therefore derived from experimental
analysis.
Nikuradse Equations

Experiments were performed on artificially roughened pipes. Two important observations

were made:

ƒ For each pipe, there is a Reynolds Number below which the pipe has the same resistance
as a smooth pipe. The value of this Reynolds number is dependent upon the relative
roughness. Nikuradse proposed the following equation for this “smooth zone of flow”:

1
= 4 log(Re f ) − 0.4 4000 < Re < 3.2 × 106 (10)
f

ƒ There is a value of Reynolds number above which the resistance of the pipe is
independent of Re and is solely a function of the relative roughness. This “rough zone of
flow” is characterised by

1 D
= 4 log( ) + 2.28 (11)
f ks

This result can be explained by the behaviour of the laminar sub-layer: in the smooth
zone this layer is so thick that roughness elements do not project into the body of the flow
and the pipe behaves as if it was smooth. At higher flow rates this sub-layer gets thinner
and roughness elements project into the main body of the flow.

The flow state between fully rough and fully smooth is known as the transition zone.

Colebrook-White Equation

Colebrook and White proposed the following general equation after studying flow in real
pipes:

1  k 1.26 
= −4 log10  s +  (12)
f  3.71D Re f 

The values of friction factor obtained from equation 12 are plotted on a Moody diagram,
which shows a family of curves for f plotted against the relative roughness and Reynolds
number.
Representative values of ks are as follows.

Cast iron 0.25mm

Galvanised steel 0.15mm

Uncoated steel 0.046mm

Drawn tubing 0.0015mm

Concrete 0.3-3mm

Riveted steel 0.9-9mm

Additional Losses in Piping

In addition to friction losses due to pipe length, other losses occur. These are termed minor
losses and are expressed either as a head loss:

KV 2
hl = (13)
2g

or more commonly as a pressure loss

KρV 2
pl = (14)
2

pl
Note: hl =
ρg
The K value in each equation is known as the the velocity pressure factor and varies for
different loss types.

Loss Type K value

Abrupt enlargement A1 A
K = 1− , referred to V1, or K = 2 − 1
A2 A1
referred to V2

Exit loss 1.0

Abrupt contraction 1
K= − 1 , Cc is the coefficient of
Cc
contraction for the contraction geometry

Globe valve, fully open 10.0

Gate valve, fully open 0.2

Strainer 2.0

A full range of K values can be found in the CIBSE guide.

Equivalent Length

It is common to express minor losses in terms of an equivalent length of pipe. From equations
14 and 7:

KρV 2 4ρfL e V 2
= (15)
2 2D

giving the equivalent pipe length, Le:

KD
Le = (16)
4f
 Tutorial – Fluids and Rest and Flow in Pipes
1. Calculate the pressure and force exerted on a reinforced glass window of area 4m2 and
height of 2m, which forms the side of a tank. [9.81 kPa, 39.24 kN]

2. Water at a temperature of 75oC flows in a 10mm nominal diameter steel pipe at a flow
rate of 0.075 l/s. Determine the pressure drop due to friction per metre length of pipe, if
the ks value of the pipe is 0.046mm. Use tables and the Moody chart methods. Assume
density at this temperature is 975 kg/m3 and dynamic viscosity is 0.378 x 10-3 kg/m.s.
(Note that for the Moody method, you should assume the mean pipe diameter is 11.3mm
to get good agreement between the two methods.) [780 Pa/m]

3. Calculate the new pressure drop if the temperature of the water is 10oC. Assume density
at this temperature is 1000 kg/m3 and dynamic viscosity is 1.306 x 10-3 kg/m.s. [1025
Pa/m]

4. Two water tanks of depth 6m and 3m are connected by a pipe of 0.035m in diameter:

3m

8m
6m

3m
2m

Determine the mass flow rate between the two tanks if the friction factor of the connecting
pipe is 0.004 and the velocity pressure factor for entry into the pipe is 0.5. Also include the
exit loss in your calculation. [3.25 kg/s].