NAME OF EXPERIMENT

‘’FRICTION LOSS IN A PIPES’’

NAME OF GROUP :
1- Ahmed Ebrahim ali
2- Ahmed Elmahdy abdelaal
3- Mohamed sabry Ebrahim
4- Mohamed mosaad Mahmoud
5- Abdelrahman Mostafa
6- Khaled abdelrady

ASWAN UNIVERSITY

DEPT. OF MECHANICAL POWER ENGINEERING

FACULTY OF ENERGY ENGINEERING

Under supervision ENG : Mahmoud eid

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Introduction:
In hydraulic engineering practice, it is frequently necessary to estimate the head
loss incurred by a fluid as it flows along a pipeline. The Friction Loss in a Pipe
apparatus allows students to study the change in the laws of resistance for
laminar to turbulent flow and find the critical Reynolds number. The Friction
Loss in Pipes experimental can be used on its own or with the basic hydraulics
bench.

Principle:
The total energy loss in a pipe system is the sum of the major and minor losses.
Major losses are associated with frictional energy loss that is caused by the
viscous effects of the fluid and roughness of the pipe wall. Major losses create a
pressure drop along the pipe since the pressure must work to overcome the
frictional resistance. Minor losses occur at a change of section, valve, bend, or
other interruption. In this practical, you will investigate the impact of major and
minor losses on water flow in pipes. The Darcy-Weisbach equation is the most
widely accepted formula for determining the energy loss in pipe flow. In this
equation, the friction factor ( f ), a dimensionless quantity, is used to describe the
friction loss in a pipe.
Objective
The objective of this experiment is to investigate head loss due to friction in a
pipe, and to determine the associated friction factor under a range of flow rates
and flow regimes, i.e., laminar, transitional, and turbulent.
The FRICTION LOSS IN PIPES apparatus allows the student to study the flow
through pipes, investigate the relationship between flow rate and pressure drop,
and plot values of friction factor against Reynold’s number.
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Description:
The apparatus consists of a set of parallel pipes manifold and valves to produce a
wide variety of flow circuits. Pressure tapings are provided at appropriate points
to measure the head loss over standard lengths of differing pipework, and various
types of fittings as required. The first pipe contains a flow meter used to measure
the water flow rate and this pipe acts as a feed pipe to the four manifold pipes.
The second and third pipes contain a ball-valve and a gate valve, and a
transparent portion of an enlarged cross-section which allows a study of sudden
enlargements and contractions.

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Experimental Capabilities:

• Flow through pipes with different types and diameters under laminar and
turbulent flow conditions.
• Investigations of the flow/pressure drop relationship for an annular pipe,
using the concept of equivalent hydraulic diameter.
• Investigation of pressure drops across various fittings enabling the results
to be used to predict resistance coefficients or equivalent lengths.
• Investigation of different methods of flow measurement including
Rotameter.
• Comparison of pressure drop across two different types of valves (ball
valve, globe, and gate valves) under different conditions of valve opening.

Method:
➢ Apparatus comprising set of different variable-sized PVC pipes and valves
together and mounted on melamine backboard with pressure tapings at
appropriate points and including pressurized water manometers.

➢ Studying the Hydraulic Losses at different flow rates (Q) in Energy for the
following:
1- Sharp Bend 90o (1") d=25.4 mm.
2- Elbow (1") d=25.4 mm.
3- PVC Pipe (1") d=25.4 mm , L=1m.
4- Rounded Bend L=16 cm + 25 cm for two manometers.
5- PVC Pipe (3/4") d=21 mm , L=1m.

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 6- Copper Pipe (3/4") d=19.6 mm , L=1m.
7- Aluminum Pipe (3/4") d=21.4 mm , L=1m.
8- Ball Valve (1").
9- Globe Valve (1").
10- Gate Valve (1").
11- Sudden Contraction (1"-3/4").
12- Sudden Expansion (3/4"-1").
13- Sudden Contraction (1"-1/2").
14- Sudden Expansion (1/2"-1").

Experimental setup:
1- Operate the pump at different flow rates.
2- Remove the air from the system.
3- Take the manometers reading.

Calculations
The transition from laminar to turbulent flow depends on the geometry, surface
roughness, flow velocity, surface temperature, and type of fluid, among other
things. After exhaustive experiments in the 1880s, Osborne Reynolds discovered
that the flow regime depends mainly on the ratio of the inertial forces to viscous
forces in the fluid. This ratio is called the Reynolds number and is expressed for
internal flow in a circular pipe as:

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Where:
Vm : Mean flow velocity, m/s.
D : Characteristic length of the geometry (diameter in this case), m.
υ = (µ/ρ) kinematics viscosity of the fluid, m2/s.

The Reynolds number at which the flow becomes turbulent is called the critical
Reynolds number, Recr. The value of the critical Reynolds number is different
for different geometries and flow conditions. For internal flow in a circular pipe,
the generally accepted value of the critical Reynolds number is Recr = 2300.

The average velocity of flow can be found out by measuring the actual discharge
using (the collecting tank and stop watch).Then the average flow velocity will be,

The head loss due to friction in pipe flows can be calculated using the Darcy-
Weisbach equation. It is a phenomenological equation, which relates the head
loss due to friction along a given length of pipe to the average velocity of the
fluid flow.

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Where:
hf = head loss due to friction, (m of fluid).
V = average velocity of flow inside the pipe, (m/s).
L/D = length to diameter ratio of the pipe, (m).
f = a dimensionless coefficient called the Darcy friction factor.
The Darcy friction factor “f “ is not a constant and depends on the parameters of
the pipe and the velocity of the fluid flow. It may be evaluated for given
conditions by the use of various empirical or theoretical relations, or it may be
obtained from Moody diagrams.
The Darcy friction factor for laminar flow (Re < 2300) is given by the following
formula:

The value of the Darcy friction factor may be subject to large uncertainties in
the transition flow regime and so here the equation for turbulent flow is
assumed to be valid. For turbulent flow Colebrook equation has to be used to
find f .

The above equation is an implicit equation and is difficult to solve. An

approximate explicit form, called the Haaland equation is commonly used.

Where: ε / D = is the relative roughness of the pipe.

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 Friction factor ‘f’ as a function of Reynolds number and relative roughness
for round pipes (Moody Chart) 

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Minor losses

- Studying the Hydraulic Losses in Energy for the following:

1-Rounded bend 2-Sharp Bend 90°

3-Ball valve 4-Gate valve
5- Globe valve 6- Sudden Contraction
7- Sudden expansion 8- Elbow

For an incompressible fluid flowing through a pipe the following equations

apply:

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(1) Head loss due to sudden changes in area of flow:

a. Sudden Expansion:
The head loss at a sudden expansion is given by and its expression is:
hL= KV12/2g
b. Sudden contraction:
The head loss at a sudden contraction is given by and its expression is:
hL= KV22/2g
K is a dimensionless coefficient which depends upon the area ratio.

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 (2) Head loss due to bends:
The head loss due to a bend is given by the expression:
hB= KBV2/2g
Where: KB is a dimensionless coefficient, which depends on the bend
radius / pipe radius ratio and the angle of the bend. It should also be noted
that the loss given by this expression is not the total loss caused by the
bend but the excess loss above that which would be caused by a straight
pipe equal in length to the length of the pipe axis.

(3) Head loss Due to Valves:

The head loss due to a valve is given by the expression:
hL= KV2/2g
The value of K depends upon the type of valve and degrees of opening.

Equivalent Length Technique

We can find a length of pipe that for the same flow rate would produce the
same head loss as a valve or fitting. This length of pipe, which is called the
equivalent length of a valve or fitting, can be found by equating head losses
across the valve or fitting and the pipe:

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Read (1) Major Losses:

- Water temperature = C 27
- kinmatic viscosity of water = 8.540E-07
- Density of water = kg/m3 998
- Pipe diameter = mm 25.4

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Read (2) Minor Losses:

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