FLOW THROUGH PIPES

LOSS OF ENERGY (OR HEAD) IN PIPES

Major Energy Losses:
• Friction.
• The losses which are due to friction are calculated by:
1. Darcy-Weisbach formula
2. Chezy‟s formula
Minor Energy Losses:
• Sudden enlargement of pipe
• Sudden contraction of pipe
• Bend of pipe
• An obstruction in pipe
• Pipe fittings
Major Loses
The pressure loss for all types of fully developed internal flows (laminar or turbulent flows,
circular or noncircular pipes, smooth or rough surfaces, horizontal or inclined pipes)

The friction factor for fully developed laminar flow in a circular pipe,

This equation shows that in laminar flow, the friction factor is a function of the Reynolds
number only and is independent of the roughness of the pipe surface
Major Loses
Head loss
The head loss hL represents the additional height
that the fluid needs to be raised by a pump in
order to overcome the frictional losses in the
pipe.

Once the pressure loss (or head loss) is known,

the required pumping power to overcome the
pressure loss is determined from
MAJOR LOSES
The Moody Chart and Its Associated Equations
• The friction factor in fully developed turbulent pipe flow depends on
• Reynolds number, Re
• Relative roughness 𝜀/D,
• Relative roughness is the ratio of the mean height of roughness of the pipe to the pipe
diameter.
• Prandtl’s student J. Nikuradse in 1933, followed by others conducted experiments using
artificially roughened surfaces
• In 1939, Cyril F Colebrook (1910–1997) combined the available data for transition and
turbulent flow in smooth as well as rough pipes into the following implicit relation known
as the Colebrook equation:
MAJOR LOSES
The Moody Chart and Its Associated Equations

• Hunter Rouse (1906–1996) verified Colebrook’s equation and produced a graphical

plot of f as a function
• of Re and the product Re√f . He also presented the laminar flow relation and a table
of commercial pipe roughness.
• Two years later, Lewis F. Moody (1880–1953) redrew Rouse’s diagram into the form
commonly used today. The now famous Moody chart
MAJOR LOSES
The Moody Chart and Its Associated Equations
In the design and analysis of piping systems that involve the use of the Moody chart (or
the Colebrook equation), we usually encounter three types of problems (the fluid and
the roughness of the pipe are assumed to be specified in all cases)

1. Determining the pressure drop (or head loss) when the pipe length and
diameter are given for a specified flow rate (or velocity)
2. Determining the flow rate when the pipe length and diameter are given for a
specified pressure drop (or head loss)
3. Determining the pipe diameter when the pipe length and flow rate are given
for a specified pressure drop (or head loss)
MAJOR LOSES
The Moody Chart and Its Associated Equations
Swamee and Jain (1976) proposed the following explicit relations that are accurate to
within 2 percent of the Moody chart
 MINOR LOSSES
• The fluid in a typical piping system passes through various fittings, valves, bends, elbows,
tees, inlets, exits, expansions, and contractions in addition to the straight sections of
piping.
• These components interrupt the smooth flow of the fluid and cause additional losses
because of the flow separation and mixing they induce.
• Minor losses are determined experimentally, usually by the manufacturers of the
components.
• Minor losses are usually expressed in terms of the loss coefficient KL (also called the
resistance coefficient), defined as
MINOR LOSSES
Loss of head at the entrance to the pipe

Loss of head at the exit of a pipe

 MINOR LOSSES
Losses Due to Sudden Enlargement
• If the cross-section of a pipe with fluid flowing through it, is abruptly enlarged, at certain
place, fluid emerging from the smaller pipe is unable to follow the abrupt deviation of
the boundary.
• The streamline takes a typical diverging pattern as shown in (a). This creates pockets of
turbulent eddies in the corners resulting in the dissipation of mechanical energy into
intermolecular energy.
• The fluid flows against an adverse pressure gradient. The upstream pressure p1 at section
a-b is lower than the downstream pressure p2 at section e-f since the upstream velocity
V1 is higher than the downstream velocity V2 as a consequence of continuity.
• The fluid particles near the wall due to their low kinetic energy cannot overcome the
adverse pressure hill in the direction of flow and hence follow up the reverse path under
the favorable pressure gradient (from p2 to p1).
 MINOR LOSSES
Losses Due to Sudden Enlargement
• This creates a zone of re-circulating flow with turbulent eddies near the wall of the larger
tube at the abrupt change of cross-section, as shown in (a), resulting in a loss of total
mechanical energy.

• A control volume abcdefgh is considered (in a) for which the momentum theorem can be
written as
MINOR LOSSES
Losses Due to Sudden Enlargement
MINOR LOSSES
Losses Due to Sudden Enlargement
• Applying Bernoulli's equation between sections ab and ef
 MINOR LOSSES
Losses Due to Sudden Contraction
The velocity of flow in the converging part of the stream tube (vena contracta) increases
due to continuity and the pressure decreases in the direction of flow accordingly in
compliance with the Bernoulli's theorem
The flow pattern after the vena contracta is similar to that after an abrupt enlargement
Therefore, we can say that the losses due to contraction are not for the contraction itself,
but due to the expansion followed by the contraction
MINOR LOSSES
THE TOTAL ENERGY LINE AND THE HYDRAULIC
GRADE LINE
• A useful interpretation of the Bernoulli equation can be obtained through the use
of the geometric concepts of the hydraulic grade line (HGL) and the total energy
line (TEL).
• The total energy line is a line that represents the total head available to the fluid.
The elevation of the energy line can be obtained by measuring the stagnation
pressure with a Pitot tube.
• The hydraulic grade line is a line that represents the sum of the pressure head
and the elevation head. This sum is often called the piezometric head. The static
pressure tap connected to a piezometer tube gives the elevation of the hydraulic
grade line.
THE TOTAL ENERGY LINE AND THE HYDRAULIC
GRADE LINE
• The difference in elevation between the two lines will therefore represent the
velocity head. The distance from a streamline to the hydraulic grade line indicates
the gauge pressure (thermodynamic).
PIPING NETWORKS
Series and Parallel Pipes
• Most piping systems encountered in practice such as the water distribution systems
in cities or commercial or residential establishments involve numerous parallel and
series connections as well as several sources

For pipes in series, the flow rate is the same in

each pipe, and the total head loss is the sum of the
head losses in the individual pipes.
PIPING NETWORKS
Series and Parallel Pipes
• For pipes in parallel, the head loss is the same in each pipe, and the total flow rate is
the sum of the flow rates in individual pipes.
PIPING NETWORKS
Series and Parallel Pipes
The analysis of piping networks, no matter how complex they are, is based on two
simple principles:
1. Conservation of mass throughout the system must be satisfied. This is achieved by
requiring the total flow into a junction to be equal to the total flow out of the
junction for all junctions in the system. Also, the flow rate must remain constant in
pipes connected in series regardless of the changes in diameters.
2. Pressure drop (and thus head loss) between two junctions must be the same for all
paths between the two junctions.
PIPING NETWORKS
Piping Systems with Pumps
• When a piping system involves a pump and/or turbine, the steady-flow energy
equation on a unit-mass basis is expressed as

• where hpump, u = wpump, u /g is the useful pump head delivered to the fluid
• 𝛼 is the kinetic energy correction factor whose value is about 1.05 for most (turbulent) flows
encountered in practice,
• hL is the total head loss in the piping (including the minor losses if they are significant)
between points 1 and 2.
PIPING NETWORKS
Piping Systems with Pumps
• Once the useful pump head is known, the mechanical power that needs to be
delivered by the pump to the fluid and the electric power consumed by the motor of
the pump for a specified flow rate are determined from
APPLICATIONS OF BERNOULLI EQUATION
A major application area of fluid mechanics is the determination of the flow rate of
fluids
PITOT TUBE

• At this point (2) velocity is zero

• The fluid does not move at this one point.
• This point is known as the stagnation point.
• Using the Bernoulli equation we can calculate the pressure at this point.
APPLICATIONS OF BERNOULLI EQUATION

Two piezometers: One as normal and one as a Pitot tube within the pipe can be used as
shown below to measure velocity of flow
APPLICATIONS OF BERNOULLI EQUATION
Expression for velocity obtained from two pressure measurements
PITOT STATIC TUBE
The holes on the side of the tube connect to one side
of a manometer and register the static head, (h1), while
the central hole is connected to the other side of the
manometer to register, as before, the stagnation head
(h2).
PITOT STATIC TUBE
The Pitot-static probe measures local velocity by
measuring the pressure difference in conjunction with
the Bernoulli equation.
The inner tube is fully open to flow at the nose, and thus
it measures the stagnation pressure at that location
(point 1). The outer tube is sealed at the nose, but it has
holes on the side of the outer wall (point 2) and thus it
measures the static pressure. For incompressible flow
with sufficiently high velocities (so that the frictional
effects between points 1 and 2 are negligible), the
Bernoulli equation is applicable and is expressed as
Noting that z1 ≅ z2 since the static pressure holes of the
Pitot-static probe are arranged circumferentially around
the tube and V1 = 0 because of the stagnation conditions,
the flow velocity V = V2 becomes
PITOT STATIC TUBE
VENTURI METER
• The Venturi meter is a device for measuring discharge in a pipe.
• It consists of a rapidly converging section which increases the velocity of flow and
hence reduces the pressure.
• It then returns to the original dimensions of the pipe by a gently diverging
‘’diffuse’’ section.
• By measuring the pressure differences the discharge can be calculated.
• This is a particularly accurate method of flow measurement as energy losses are
very small.
VENTURI METER
Applying Bernoulli along the streamline from
point 1 to point 2 in the narrow throat of the
Venturimeter we have
VENTURI METER
VENTURI METER