Head loss in pipes and fittings Head is important concept often used in fluid mechanics because the head

is directly proportional to the energy. There are four types of head: pressure, velocity, potential and total head. If there is no flow loss, the total head is constant. H 1 = H2, but this is only applies for ideal fluid. With real fluids, a flow loss occurs and the flow loss results in a head loss. The Bernoulli equation will become:
2 PA u A P u2 + + h1 = B + B + h2 + H L g 2 g g 2 g

Head loss has two components, a head loss due to pipe friction and head loss due to included eddies. The head loss that results from pipe can be calculated using Darcy formula.
HL = f L u2 d 2g

Where HL = head loss of the fluid (m) f = friction factor (dimensionless) L = length of pipe (m) d = diameter of pipe (m) = velocity of fluid (m/s) g = gravitational constant (9.81 m/s2 or 9.81 N/kg)

Pipe Roughness

d internal pipe diameter, absolute roughness R relative roughness R =

d

Absolute roughness values of various pipe materials Absolute Materials Roughness [mm] Cast iron 0.25 Commercial steel/wrought iron 0.045 Galvanised iron/steel 0.15 Concrete (cast on steel forms) 0.20 Concrete (spun) 0.10 Drawn tube 0.0015 Extruded tube made of metal, glass or plastic 0 (smooth) To calculate the friction factor, the flow regime must be determined. If flow is laminar, f = 64/Re and the friction factor is essentially independent on the roughness of the pipe and depends on the Reynolds number only. If flow is turbulent, the friction factor depends on the Reynolds number as well the surface roughness. The surface roughness is expressed as a relative roughness, R that is the absolute roughness, (or height of the surface protuberances) divided by the pipe diameter, d. The friction factor can then be calculated using the Moody formula:

f = 0.0055 [ 1 + (20000 R + 106/ Re)1/3 ] friction factor turbulent flow

Moody Diagram The friction factor can also be obtained graphically using the Moody diagram.

Head loss in fittings Fittings are attachments in a fluid system such as elbows, tees, contractions or enlargements, filters and valves.

There is also a head loss resulting from induced eddies and friction whenever fluid flows through fittings, or through a sudden enlargement or contraction. This head loss is estimated by use of K factors in the formula:

HL = K 2/2g Head loss in a number of fittings

The K factor for a fitting depends on the type and size of fitting, the surface roughness, corner sharpness and the extent to which the fitting induces turbulence and sudden changes in the fluid flow direction. The more rapid the change in direction, the higher is the K factor. The larger the fitting, the smaller is the K factor. Flow of fluid through an elbow (or bend) will subject to head loss due to fluid friction and the greater part because of turbulence and eddies.

Why most of the fluid system still use close bends rather than large radius bends? The reasons are close bends take up less space and make for a more compact installation. Large radius bends are usually more costly due to more material required, more expensive dies and moulds needed and more difficult to produce internally smooth surface. Simplified Table of K factors for common fittings FITTING/VALVE 45 Elbow 90 Elbow Return Bend Socket or Coupler Tee Gate Valve Globe Valve CONDITION Standard radius Standard radius Long radius Screwed type Along line of flow Through side Fully open Fully open open open open Hinged or swing disc Ball or poppet type Hinged or swing disc Ball or poppet type Contracting Enlarging Sudden contraction Sudden enlargement Sudden entrance Sudden exit K FACTOR 0.3 0.6 0.3 0.8 0.03 0.3 0.8 0.2 6.0 8.0 12.0 24.0 1.7 4.0 3.0 7.0 0 (negligible) 0.75 0.25 1.0 0.5 1.0

Check Valve Foot Valve with strainer Gradual transition Pipe line Tank to pipe line Pipe line to tank

The head loss through a system consisting of a single diameter pipe and a number of fittings can be calculated using the combined formula:

HL = f L/d + K 2/2g

Head loss in a fluid system

Equivalent Length The head loss due to a fitting can be calculated using an equivalent length L E which is defined as the length of pipe that will produce the same head loss as the fitting itself. That is :

f LE /d ( v2/2g ) = K ( v2/2g )

LE = K d/f equivalent length of a fitting

If the number of fittings in series, then

LE = K d/f
System Head When a fluid is pumped through a system, the total head supplied by the pump is called the system head. The system head is the sum of the static and dynamic heads, the difference between them being that the static head does not change with flow rate (or velocity), whereas the dynamic head changes with velocity. The static head is the sum of the pressure and potential head change between the initial and final condition of the fluid, and is given by:

p2 p1 Hstat = --------- + h2 h1 g
The dynamic head is the sum of the velocity head change and the head loss between the initial and the final condition of the fluid, and is given by:

22 - 12 Hdyn = ------------- + f L/d + K 2/2g 2g

The system head H = Hstat + Hdyn Often the velocity head term is negligible and when this is so, the dynamic head is the head loss. Fluid power The fluid power is necessary to pump a fluid through a system is given by the general formula expressing the relationship between fluid head and power.

Pf = mg H where H is the total system head

If the total head is expressed as a pressure head (or if the pressure head is the only significant head), the fluid power can be expressed by an alternative formula:

Pf = pV
The power input to the pump can be obtained by dividing the fluid power by the efficiency of the pump. The way in which the system head varies with flow rate or velocity can be expressed by the system head equation, which includes both the static and dynamic head terms. The equation may be shown graphically as the system head curve. If the friction factor is constant, the system head curve is a parabola, otherwise the curve resembles a parabola but is not exactly parabolic. In most cases, even though the friction factor varies with flow rate and Reynolds number, it is sufficiently accurate to use a constant value of the friction factor based on the mean flow rate, that is, the flow rate approximately midway between the smallest and largest flow rates.

Pipe Flow In many cases, the head loss, flow rate (or velocity) and pipe diameter may be unknown. In such cases a direct solution is usually not possible and trial-and-error (or iterative) approach is required. This is because the head loss, flow rate (or velocity) and pipe diameter are all interdependent. For example, in free flow of a fluid from a tank or reservoir through a pipe the head loss depends on the flow rate, and the flow rate depends on the head loss. This interdependence prevents a direct solution when attempting to calculate the flow rate, head loss or pipe diameter needed for a given flow rate. Pipes in series Pipes are in series when a number of pipes of different diameters or materials (or both) are connected one after another so that the flow rate through each pipe is the same. Pipe A, velocity, vA, diameter, dA , Length, LA, friction, fA
1 2

Pipe B, velocity, vB, diameter, dB, Length, LB , friction, fB When pipes are in series for example Pipe A and Pipe B above, the total head loss is the sum of the head losses in each pipe. HL (Total) = HLA + HLB The flow rate is same through each pipe, and assuming incompressible flow, by continuity: V = vAAA = vBAB Equivalent Length Series Pipes Solution to the problem involving series pipes is often simplified by reducing the pipes to a single-diameter equivalent pipe. It is the length of single diameter pipe that gives the same head loss for the same flow rate as the original series pipes. Equivalent diameter, dE Single diameter pipe velocity, vE , friction, Equivalent length, LE The equivalent length of several pipes in series may be calculated using the derived formula:

fE LE fA LA ----- = ------dE5 dA5

fB LB + ------- + . dB5

If friction factor is assumed to be the same, the above formula reduces to: LE LA ----- = ------dE5 dA5 LB + ------- + dB5

The head loss can be calculated using Darcy formula: LE vE2 HL = fE --- ---dE 2g Pipes in parallel Pipes are in parallel when a number of pipes are connected in such a way that the flow is shared between the pipes. The pipes may be of the same or different diameters or materials. Examples of pipes connected in parallel are shown below:

When parallel pipes are connected at the upstream end (point 1) to a common pipe, tank or reservoir, the pressure at this point is the same for all pipes. If the downstream pressure (point 2) is also the same for all pipes, it follows that the head loss between 1 and 2 is the same in each pipe. Equivalent length parallel pipes The equivalent length of a single pipe to replace a number of pipes in parallel is the length of a single diameter pipe that gives the same head loss for the same flow rate as the original parallel pipes. pipe A 1 2

pipe B Equivalent pipe Equivalent Length, LE , equivalent diameter, dE Head loss is equal for each pipe A and pipe B. HLA = HLB = HL 1 2

The total flow rate is the sum of the flow rates in each pipe, by continuity: V = vAAA + vBAB The equivalent length of parallel pipes may be calculated using the following derived formula:

[ dE5 / fE LE ] = [ dA5 / fA LA ] + [ dB5 / fB LB ] + .. If the friction factor is assumed to be the same, the above formula reduces to: [ dE5 / LE ] = [ dA5 / LA ] + [ dB5 / LB ] + The head loss can then be calculated using Darcy formula: LE vE2 HL = fE --- ---dE 2g It can be summarised that the free flow of a liquid occurs when the fluid flows under the influence of gravity out of a storage tank or a reservoir. In this case if flow losses are neglected, the Bernoulli equation reduces to: v = 2gh , (Torricelli equation) where h is the height of the free surface of the fluid above the outlet point. When fluid flows from a non vented tank under pressure, the pressure head of the tank must be included, so the equation becomes: v = 2gH , where H is the total head of fluid in the tank. When the head loss is included, the Torricelli equation becomes: v = 2g(H HL) If fluid flows from one tank to another the velocity head at the outlet is zero and the Bernoulli equation reduces to: H = H L , that is, all the static fluid head is dissipated as head loss. When applying any of these equations the solution is straight forward when the head loss and/or friction factor is/are known (or given). If the head loss or friction factor is not known, the solution becomes more complex and a trial an error (iterative) method may be required. An initial trial of friction factor of 0.02 is a good starting point. In many cases, particularly when there are long length of pipes involved minor losses may be negligible compared to the frictional loss in pipe. If this not the case, the K factors for fittings (including entrance and outlet) need to be included when determining the head loss. In most cases little accuracy is lost by assuming the friction factor is the same in each of the series or parallel pipe, and this assumption is greatly simplifies the calculation. If the friction factor is not assumed to be the same in all pipes in parallel the solution may require considerable computation, which is best done by computer.