Flow of incompressible fluid through pipe/tube

• Incompressible fluids who’s density does not vary significantly.

• Pipes are widely used for transportations of fluids because the withstanding
capacity at pressure difference of outside and inside pipe. Also, circular cros section
is a standard configuration for various calculations.
Macroscopic momentum balance
• The sum of all the forces acting on the fluid
Is equals to time rate of change of momentum
Between exit and entrance of pipe.
In mathematical form,

Here, Pa and Pb are inlet and outlet pressures

Fw is the wall forces on fluid.
Fg is the gravitational force oppose to flow.

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 Shear-stress distribution in cylindrical tube
• Consider the flow of fluid in a cylin.tube
P is upstream pressure
P+dP is the downstream pressure
If we consider, flow is fully developed
βa = βb, and
Substituation in momentum balance equation, it gives

• The shear forces due to viscosity between two layers is equals to product of shear
stress and cylindrical surface area. Fg=0; pipe is parallel to ground.

2
• For entire cros section, by taking

Substracting above two equations, it gives

The variation of shear stress

Vs radius of cylinder.

3
 Relation between skin friction and wall shear
• Here, the skin friction signifies the friction between wall and fluid layer.

Pressure drop between two position of same layer is

equals to skin friction.

• By substitution into pressure change equation of last slide

Here, D is diameter of cylinder.

• Friction factor / Fanning friction factor ( f)

Ratio of wall shear stress to density and

velocity head.

• Darcy friction factor = 4*f

4
• By substituation, we get the relationship between f and pressure drop

• The above all equations are applicable to laminar and turbulent flow with steady
state and full developed characteristics.

Laminar flow of Newtonian fluids

• The variation of local velocity w.r.t. Radius i.e. Crossectional area in circular tube

By substituation, U=umax when r=0 substitute

For newtonian fluid,

Integrate with boundary

As we know, Ratio of local to maximum
condition,
velocity,
u=0 ; r=rw

5
Average velocity, kinetic energy correction factor and momentum correction factor for
laminar flow of Newtonian Fluids :
1) Average velocity:
Home work : Kinetic energy correction factor is
equals to 2 for laminar flow, 1 for fully developed
turbulent flow and momentum correction factor
is equal to 4/3 for laminar flow.
S = pi*rw 2
, we get

The average velocity is one

half of maximum velocity.

6
 Calculations of pressure drop due to skin friction –Hagen –Poiseuille equation

We know,

Replace wall shear by pressure drop using above 2 equns

Hence,

Final equation gives

,But

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 Friction factor chart
• Effect of variation in Reynold’s number on f for various values of roughness factor
on log-log graph

• Roughness factor = k/D, Here D is pipe diameter.