Fluid Flow

Department Editor: Kate Torzewski

DEFINITIONS ¨ N N4 · nomenclature
Newtonian fluid. A fluid is known to be f  16 ©1  1 He 1 3 He7 ¸
NRe © 6 N Re 3 f NRe ¸ (11) a Dimensionless parameter
Newtonian when shear stresses associated with d ª d d¹
 A Dimensionless parameter
flow are directly proportional to the shear rate DVR
of the fluid NRed  (12) B Dimensionless parameter
Power law fluid. A structural fluid has a structure
Md  D Diameter, m
that forms in the undeformed state, but then D2 RT 0 f Fanning friction factor, dimensionless
breaks down as shear rate increases. Such a N He  (13) fL Laminar friction factor, dimensionless
fluid exhibits “power law” behavior at intermedi-
M d2
 fT Fully turbulent friction factor, dimensionless
ate shear rates
Turbulent Pipe flow fTr Transition friction factor, dimensionless
Bingham plastic fluid. A plastic is a material that
g Gravitational acceleration, m/s2
exhibits a yield stress, meaning that it behaves
as a solid below the stress level and as a fluid Since most turbulent flows cannot be analyzed L Length of cylinder or pipe, m
above the stress level from a purely theoretical perspective, data and m Consistency coefficient, (N)(s)/m2
generalized dimensionless correlations are used. n Power law fluid flow index, dimensionless
Newtonian fluid. The friction factor for a
Laminar Pipe flow Newtonian fluid in turbulent flow is a function of
NHe Hedstrom number, dimensionless
NRe Reynolds Number, dimensionless
both NRe and the pipe relative roughness, ε/D,
For steady flow in a pipe (whether laminar or NRe,pl Power law Reynolds Number, dimensionless
which can be read off the Moody diagram [5].
turbulent), a momentum balance on the fluid gives NRe,plc Power law Reynolds Number at transition
The turbulent part of the Moody diagram (for
the shear stress at any distance from the pipe from laminar to turbulent flow, dimensionless
NRe > 4,000) is accurately represented by the
centerline.
Colebrook equation (14). NRe∞ Bingham-plastic Reynolds Number,
T rx  $&r  T w r (1) dimensionless
2L R 1  4 log ¨ E D  1.255 ·
P Pressure, Pa
© ¸ (14)
In Equation (1), Φ = P + ρgz. The volumetric f ª¾ 3.7 NRe f ¹¾  Q Volumetric flowrate, m3/s
flowrate Q can be related to the local shear rate
When NRe is very large, the friction factor depends r Radial position in a pipe or a cylinder, m
by doing an integration by parts of Equation (2).
R only on ε/D. This condition is noted with fT as the R Pipe or cylinder radius, m
Q  P ∫¾ r 2G˙ rx dr (2) “fully turbulent” friction factor in Equation (15). V Velocity, m/s
0  z Vertical elevation above a horizontal refer-
1 = – 4 log ⎡ ε D ⎤ (15)
Newtonian fluid. For a Newtonian fluid, ⎢⎣ 3.7 ⎥⎦ ence plane, m
fT α Dimensionless parameter
τrx = µγ•rx, which gives the following volumetric 
flowrate, known as the Hagen-Poiseuille equation. The Churchill Equation [2] represents the entire γ•rx Shear rate in tube flow, s–1
4 Moody diagram, from laminar, through transition
Q  P$&D (3) flow, to fully turbulent flow. It is presented here as
ε Wall roughness, m
128 ML  µ Newtonian viscosity, Pa–s
Equations (16), (17), and (18).
It can be written in dimensionless form in Equation 1
µ∞ Bingham Plastic limiting viscosity, Pa–s
(4) with the two terms defined in Equations (5) ¨¥ ´
12 · 12 ρ Density, kg/m3
and (6). f  2 ©¦ 8 µ  1 ¸ (16) τ0 Yield stress, N/m2
f = 16 / NRe (4)
©§ NRe ¶
ª  A  B ¸¹
1.5
τrx Stress due to force in x direction acting on r
 
16 surface, N/m2
P 2 D5  $& ¨ ¥ ´· τw Stress exerted by fluid on tube wall, N/m2
f  (5) © ¦ µ¸
32RLQ2 1 Φ Flow potential, P + ρgz, Pa
 A  ©2.457 ln¦ µ¸ (17)
© ¦¥ 7 ´ 0.9
0.27E µ ¸¸
∆Φ Ιncrease in flow potential, Pa
4QR © 
NRe  (6) ¦§ ¶ µ
PDM ª¾ § Re D ¶ ¹¾
 
16 Bingham plastic. For the Bingham plastic, fT is solely
Power law. A fluid that follows the power law
¥ 37, 530 ´ a function of NRe∞ and NHe, as represented by
model obeys the relationship τrx = –µ(–γ•rx)n. This B¦ (18)
µ Equations (26)–(29).
gives the following equation. § NRe ¶ 

1 1
3n+ 1 m (26)
τ n
⎞ n ⎞R
Power law. For a power-law fluid, the friction fac- f  f Lm  fTm
Q=π ⎞ w⎞ n (7) tor depends only upon Equation (9) and the flow
⎠mR⎠ ⎠3n + 1⎠ 
 index, as represented by Equations (19)–(25) [3]. a
Equation (7) can be rearranged into the following fT  10
0.193 (27)
f = (1 − α ) f L + α NRe
dimensionless form. d
[f ]
1 (19) 
−8 −8 8

; =
f = 16 / NRe, pl  (8) + fTr
a 
14.7 1  0.146 e 
2.9 s 10
T
5
N He
 (28)
7
3 n 2
n 16
2 RQ fL  
NRe, pl  n (9) NRe, pl
(20)
¨3n  1 ·  m  1.7 
40, 000 (29)
mP 2
n D 4
3n © n¸
ª ¹  0.0682n
0.5 NRe
fT  
1 (21)
Bingham plastic. In this case, there is a solid-like [ NRe, pl ] (1.87 2.39 n)
“plug flow” region from the pipe centerline (where  References
τrx = 0) to the point where –τrx = τ0 (that is, at r 1.Darby, R., Take the Mystery Out of Non-Newtonian
0.414 0.757 n [
5.24 n]
= r0 = R x τ0/ τw). The result is a flow integral fTr  1.79 s 10
4 NRe, pl e Fluids, Chem. Eng., March 2001, pp. 66–73.
(22)
modified from Equation (2). For a Bingham plas- 2.Churchil, S. W., Friction Factor Equation Spans all Fluid-
 Flow Regimes, Chem. Eng., November 1997, p. 91.
tic, –τrx = τ0 + µ∞(–γ•rx). Using this expression and A 1
3.Darby, R., and Chang, H. D., A Generalized Correla-
the modified flow integral, the Buckingham-Reiner 1  4
$  (23)
tion for Friction Loss in Drag-reducing Polymer Solutions,
Equation (10) is found. AIChE J., 30, p. 274, 1984.
$  NRe, pl
NRe, plc (24)

PR3T w ¨© 4 ¥ T 0 ´ 1 ¥ T 0 ´ ·¸
4 4.Darby, R., and Chang, H. D., A Friction Factor Equation
Q 1
¦ µ  ¦ µ (10) The value of NRe where transition from laminar to for Bingham Plastics, Slurries and Suspensions for all
4 M d © 3 § T w ¶ 3 §T w ¶ ¸ turbulent flow occurs (NRe,plc) is given by Equa- Fluid Flow Regimes, Chem. Eng., December 28, 1981,
ª ¹  pp. 59–61.
tion (25).
The equivalent dimensionless form is given by 5.Darby, R., “Fluid Mechanics for Chemical Engineers,”
Equations (11), (12) and (13). NRe, plc  2, 100  875(1
n) (25) Vol. 2, Marcel Dekker, New York, N.Y., 2001.


Department Editor: Scott Jenkins
P
eristaltic pumps work by compress-
ing a tube against a circular pump
housing with rollers on a rotating
arm. The fluid that is ahead of the roller
gets pushed forward, while new fluid is
drawn into the tube by the vacuum gener-
ated as the tube returns to its relaxed
state. Peristaltic pumps are a type of
positive displacement pump that can be
used in industrial chemical dosing ap-
plications and others, including medical
applications. The tubing used to convey
the material into and out of the pump
mechanism is a critical aspect of pump
performance. The following are consid-
erations for selecting tubing materials for
use with a peristaltic pump.
Advantages and disadvantages
As dosing pumps, peristaltic-based sys-
tems have a number of advantages, along
with some limitations (Table). Reducing the
risk of contamination by pump compo-
nents is a distinct advantage of peristaltic
pumps, but the flow is non-uniform, which
can present problems in certain applica-
tions requiring continuous flow.
Tubing materials
Peristaltic pump tubing is a key compo-
nent, and needs to be selected thought-
fully. Major considerations for tubing
are chemical compatibility, elastomeric
performance and tube life.
Tubing for peristaltic pumps needs to
be constructed of an elastomeric material
in order to maintain the circular cross-
sectional shape, even after millions of
squeeze-cycles inside the pump. Because
of this requirement, many non-elastomeric
polymer materials that are effective
at resisting chemical attack must be
eliminated from consideration in these
applications. Materials such as PTFE
(polytetrafluoroethylene), polyolefins,
PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) and so on
should not be considered as material for
pump tubing unless they are used as a
lining of another tubing material.
Popular elastomers for pump tubing
are silicone, PVC (polyvinyl chloride),
EPDM (ethylene propylene diene
monomer)+polypropylene (as in Santo-
prene), polyurethane and Neoprene. Of
these materials, the EPDM+polypropylene
(“-prenes”) have the best fatigue resis-
tance and a wide range of chemical
compatibility. Silicone is popular with
water-based fluids, such as in the biop-
harma industry, but have limited range of
chemical compatibility in other industries.
To help select tubing materials, many
tubing suppliers provide chemical com-
patibility charts, but it is important for
engineers to use a chart designed specifi-
Advantages and disadvantages of peristaltic pumps
Advantages
• Dosing accuracy is high, and is
not affected by line pressure and
fluid viscosity
• Maintenance can be minimal
due to the absence of valves,
seals, pipework, strainers and
so on
• Contamination is virtually elimi-
nated because the only part of
the pump in contact with the
fluid being pumped is the interior
of the tube
• Handling slurries, highly viscous,
shear-sensitive and aggressive
fluids is possible
• Pump design prevents backflow
and syphoning without valves
cally for pump tubing rather than for gen-
eral use. Tubing that gets an acceptable
rating for general contact with a given
chemical might not withstand exposure to
the same chemical when subjected to the
physical stresses of peristaltic pumping.
When using compatibility charts, end-
users should check the compatibility of
each component of the solution, rather
than just the main ingredient. Even trace
levels of some acids or solvents can be
enough to destroy pumps with exposure
over longer periods of time.
Chemical resistance decreases as
temperature increases. Chemicals that
have no effect on the tubing material at
room temperature could attack the tubing
at elevated temperatures.
Immersion test
If information on chemical compatibility
cannot be found, or if a plant’s operating
conditions are significantly different from
those used to determine the chemical-re-
sistance ratings, an immersion test can be
performed. In an immersion test, a small
length of tubing is weighed accurately,
and its diameter and length measured.
The tubing is then immersed in a closed
vessel containing the chemical in question
for 48 h. The test piece is then rinsed,
dried, weighed and measured again,
and changes are recorded. The tubing
should also be examined for signs of
softening or embrittlement, which would
indicate chemical attack on the tubing.
Tube squeezing
The amount of squeeze applied to the tub-
ing affects pumping performance and the
tube life — more squeezing decreases the
tubing life dramatically, while less squeez-
ing decreases the pumping efficiency,
especially in high-pressure pumping.
Tubing for
Peristaltic Dosing
Pumps
Disadvantages
• F lexible tubing tends to de-
grade with time and requires
periodic replacement
• T he flow is pulsed, particularly
at low rotational speeds, so
peristaltic pumps are less
suitable where a smooth, con-
sistent flow is required
• N
 ot as effective for con-
tinuous process duties, as op-
posed to intermittent duties,
because hose and coolant
replacements are needed
• L argest sizes are limited to
10–15 gal/min
Thicker-walled tubes generate greater
suction when they return to their original
shape after being squeezed, so they are
generally better for pumping more viscous
fluids. For longer tube life, larger-bore tubes
at lower pumping speeds should be used.
Pressure capabilities
Peristaltic pump applications are typically
limited by the pressure capabilities of the
tubing. Typical pump tubing materials
have working pressure ratings from 10
to 40 psi, with softer materials such as
silicone at the low end and firmer materi-
als at the higher end. Recent material
advances are expanding the pressure
ranges for peristaltic pump applications.
Pressure sources in a fluid-handling
system can vary. Backpressure can be
generated by the fluid passing through a
filter or by the fluid pushing through the
flowmeters or the valves. Backpressure
can also come from the fluid pumping
into a pressurized reaction vessel.
Peristaltic pumps deliver fixed amounts
of fluid with each pass of a roller over
the tube, so the size of the tube has a
direct effect on the amount of fluid deliv-
ered. Variations in tubing dimensions can
mean compromised consistency and re-
peatability, so a tighter tubing-dimension
tolerance is better.
References
1. Hall, J. Process Pump Control. Chem. Eng.,
November 2010, p. 30–33.
2. Ebelhack, A. Peristaltic Pumps: Matching the
Tubing to the Fluid. Cole-Parmer Technical Re-
source Library, article 576. September 2009.
Accessed from www.coleparmer.com, March
2012.
3. Cole-Parmer Metering Pump Selection Guide.
Cole-Parmer Technical Resource Library, article
681. April 2008. Accessed from www.colepar-
mer.com, March 2012.