Flow through pipes

 LOSS OF ENERGY IN PIPES

When a fluid is flowing through a pipe, the fluid experiences
some resistance due to which some of energy of fluid is lost.
This loss of energy is categorized as follows:
 Major losses : This is due to friction & it is determined
by the following formulae
 Darcy-Weisbach equation,
 Chezy’s formula
 Minor losses : Change of velocity
 Sudden enlargement
 Sudden contraction of pipe
 Bend in pipe
 Pipe fittings
 An obstruction in pipe
 Flow through pipes
 DARCY’S WEISBACH FORMULA
The loss of head in pipes due to friction is estimated using the
expression as follows:
hf = head loss due to friction
f = coefficient of friction which is function of
Reynolds number
f = 16/Re for Re less than 2000 (viscous flow)
f = 0.079/Re1/4 for Re varying from 4000 to 106
L = length of pipe
V = mean velocity of flow
d = diameter of pipe
 Flow through pipes
Moody’s diagram

Source : FM by Robert W. Fox, Alan T. McDonald and Philip J. Pritchard

 Flow through pipes
 CHEZY’S FORMULA
The loss of head (energy) due to friction is given by the
expression as:
 Problems
1. Find the head lost due to friction in a pipe of diameter 300 mm
and length 50 m, through which water is flowing at a velocity of
3 m/s using (a) Darcy formula (b) Chezy’s formula for which C
= 60. Take kinetic viscosity for water = 0.01 stoke.
2. Find the diameter of a pipe of length 2000 m when the rate of
flow of water through the pipe is 200 litres/s and the head lost
due to friction is 4 m. Take the value of C = 50 in the Chezy’s
formula.
3. A crude oil of kinematic viscosity 0.4 stoke is flowing through a
pipe of diameter 300 mm at the rate of 300 litres/s. Find the
head lost due to friction for a length of 50 m of the pipe.
4. An oil of specific gravity 0.7 is flowing through a pipe of
diameter 300 mm at the rate of 500 litres/s. Find the head lost
due to friction and power required to maintain the flow for a
length of 1000 m. Take kinematic viscosity = 0.29 stokes.
 Flow through pipes
 MINOR LOSSES
The loss of head (energy) due to friction in a pipe is known as
major loss while the loss of energy due to change of velocity of
the fluid in magnitude or direction is called minor loss.
The minor loss includes the following situations: Loss of head
due to
 Sudden enlargement
 Sudden contraction
 At the entrance of a pipe
 At the exit of a pipe
 An obstruction in a pipe
 Bend in the pipe
 Various pipe fittings
 Flow through pipes
 LOSS OF HEAD DUE TO SUDDEN ENLARGEMENT
It has found through experiment that p’ = p1

Formation of eddies
 Flow through pipes
 LOSS OF HEAD DUE TO SUDDEN CONTRACTION

 LOSS OF HEAD AT THE ENTRANCE & EXIT OF A PIPE

 LOSS OF HEAD DUE TO AN OBSTRUCTION IN A PIPE

 Flow through pipes
 VISCOUS FLOW
 Flow of fluids which are viscous and flowing at very
low velocity
 At relatively low velocity the fluid moves in layers
 Each layer of fluid slides over the adjacent layer
 Due to relative velocity between two layers the
velocity gradient exists
 Shear stress acts on the layers

Flow of viscous fluid through circular pipe

 Flow through pipes
 VELOCITY DISTRIBUTION
 y = R – r & dy = - dr

 B.C : r = R; u = 0

Velocity distribution for a circular pipe

 Flow through pipes
 RATIO OF MAXIMUM VELOCITY TO AVERAGE VELOCITY
 Velocity is maximum when r = 0 in previous eqn

 dQ = velocity at a radius r x (area of ring element)

= u x (2πr dr)

Ratio of Umax to average velocity is 2

 Flow through pipes
 DROP OF PRESSURE FOR A GIVEN LENGTH OF PIPE
 From previous eqn, we have

This above eqn is called as “Hagen-Poiseuille formula”

 Flow through pipes
 Flow of viscous fluid between two parallel plates
B.Cs: (i) y=0, u=0 &
(ii) y=t, u=0

Shear stress is maximum at y = 0 &

Shear stress is zero at y = t/2
 Flow through pipes
 EQUIVALENT PIPE
 It is defined as the pipe of uniform diameter having loss of head and
discharge equal to the loss of head and discharge of a compound
pipe consisting of various lengths and diameters.
Length,
Diameter &
Roughness

“Dupuit’s equation”
 Flow through pipes
 Pipes in series or compound having different L & d

Entrance
Contraction
Enlargement
Exit
 Flow through pipes
 Flow through parallel pipes
 The pipes are said to be connected in parallel when a
main pipe divides into two or more branches as seen in
diagram & again join together to form a pipe.
 The discharge through the main is increased by
connecting pipes in parallel.
 Problems
1. A crude oil of viscosity 0.97 poise and relative density 0.9 is
flowing through a horizontal circular pipe of diameter 100 mm
and of length 10 m. Calculate the difference of pressure at the
two ends of the pipe, if 100 kg of the oil is collected in tank is
30 seconds.
2. An oil of viscosity 0.1 Ns/m2 and relative density 0.9 is flowing
through a circular pipe of diameter 50 mm and of length 300
m. The rate of flow of fluid through the pipe is 3.5 litres/s. Find
the pressure drop in a length of 300 m and also the shear
stress at the pipe wall.
3. Determine (i) the pressure gradient, (ii) the shear stress at the
two horizontal parallel plates and (iii) the discharge per metre
width for the laminar flow of oil with a maximum velocity of 2
m/s between two horizontal parallel fixed plates which are 100
mm apart. Given μ = 2.4525 Ns/m2.
 Inclined pipes

Fig.1 Free body diagram of a ring-shaped differential fluid element of radius r, thickness dr, and
length dx oriented coaxially with an inclined pipe in fully developed laminar flow.

Problems
Oil at 20°C (ρ = 888 kg/m3 and μ = 0.800 kg/ms) is flowing steadily through a 5
cm diameter 40 m long pipe as seen in Fig.1. The pressure at the pipe inlet and
outlet are measured to be 745 and 97 kPa, respectively. Determine the flow
rate of oil through the pipe assuming the pipe is (a) horizontal, (b) inclined 15°
upward, (c) inclined 15° downward. Also verify that the flow through the pipe is
laminar.
 Pipe Network
For analysis of the system the following conditions are used.
The algebraic sum of the pressure drop around each
circuit must be zero.
The flow into the junction should equal the flow out of the
junction.
 For each pipe the proper relation between head loss and
discharge should be maintained.
 Problems
1. Three pipes of the same length L, diameter D and friction
factor f are connected in parallel. Determine the diameter of
the pipe of length L and friction factor f which will carry the
same discharge for the same head loss. Use the formula as
follows: hf = fLV2/2gD

2. The difference in water surface levels in two tanks, which are

connected by three pipes in series of lengths 300 m, 170 m
and 210 m and of diameters 300 mm, 200 mm and 400 mm
respectively, is 12 m. Determine the rate of flow of water if co-
efficient of friction are 0.005, 0.0052 and 0.0048 respectively,
considering :(a) minor losses and(b) neglecting minor losses.
 Problems
3. Two adjacent city centres B and D receive water from separate sources A
and C. The water level in A is 4 m above that in C. Reservoir A supplies city
centre B by 0.4 m diameter pipe of 3000 m length with a level difference of
10 m. City centre D’s is supplied by reservoir C through a 4000 m long pipe
of 0.45 m diameter, with a level difference of 15 m. After sometime it is
found that centre B has excess water while centre D is staraved. So it is
proposed to interconnect these lines and draw 100 l/s from the line A to B.
The junction on AB is at a distance of 2000 m from A. The junction CD is at
3000 m from C. Determine the original supply rates and supply rates with
interconnection to centres B and D. Also determine the diameter of the
interconnecting pipe, if the length is 1500 m Friction factor, f = 0.01 in all
cases.
Piping systems with
pumps and turbines