Major and Minor Losses

Thomas Runyan Team 2

Abstract

In a system with pipes a change in the pressure or the friction can cause losses in the

system. If the pipes were to change length, have a different fitting, or a change in size, this could

change the amount of losses obtained. This experiment was designed to teach students how to

compare the major and minor losses in a system. The students in the experiment were able to

calculate the data by using an Edibon Energy Losses in Bends Module (FME05). To show how the

diameter effects were at loss for the Major Loss data the water was to flow through a small pipe

into a larger pipe. The minor loss in the system was able to be obtained because of the different

type of pipe fittings. The K values in this experiment were computed through the loss at each of

the pipes fitting. The major loss was the large pipe versus the velocity squared and the

experimental and theoretical values were very similar. As the students obtained the data for

percent error and theoretical for the small pipe it was obvious that the values were very high. As

both the theoretical and experimental data was very different the theoretical data is more

accurate in the large pipe than it was for the small pipe. The minor loss data was obtained and

plotted. In the minor loss as the velocity increased so did the pressure. The experimental K value

was able to be obtained at each slope of the pipe fittings. These values were then compared to

the theoretical values. Since the theoretical doesn’t take everything in the pipe to be calculated

this had the largest error.

Keywords- Major Loss, Minor Loss, Edibon Energy Losses in Bends Module, Experimental

Value, Theoretical Value.

Introduction

Friction in the pipes as well as the fitting of the pipes, and how the pipes were connected

is how major and minor losses are found in the pipes. Volumetric Flow Rate is the velocity of a

fluid multiplied by the cross-sectional area (Cengal and Cimbala, 2018). The Volumetric Flow

Rate is affected by the losses in the system. Major Losses in a system is affected by the friction

changes while the Minor Losses are affected by the changes of areas. Head Loss is the pressure

as it drops in a pipe. During the Major Losses (which is found in large pipes) head loss is found in

the straight sections of the pipes. The Minor Losses in a system happen when the pipes come to

an elbow or change in directions. As the flow of the liquid is moving throughout the pipe as it

changes directions it disrupts the flow of the liquid. For very smooth turns the loss will be almost

non-existent. For a very sharp turn piping the loss will be much greater. The reason that the

fluids cannot make a more sharped edge turn is because the velocity will be lost. This also

explains the increases and decreases of velocities in the piping. Head Loss in a system can be

altered by a network of components (Haghighi, Bralts, Mohtar, and Segerlind, 1945-1953). The

friction of a fully developed turbulent flow is dependent on the Reynolds number and its relative

roughness. The Reynolds number determines if a flow will be laminar, turbulent, or transient.

The chart used to obtain the friction factor is the Moody Chart. This chart uses Reynolds

number, and relative roughness. Another equation that is used for pipes is the Colebrook

equation (Bralts, Pandey, and Miller, 1994)

Objective

The purpose of the lab is to measure the effect of pipe diameter on friction factor (major

loss) and the effect of fitting type on minor losses.

Methods and Materials

To be able to measure major and minor losses a technovate fluid circuit was used for

major losses while an Edibon Energy Losses in Bends Modules (FME05) was used for minor

losses. The loss in the major pipe setting was from the pressure drop and the orifice in the

system. The diameter obtained for the first pipe was 2.60 cm (1.025 in) while the third pipe had

a diameter of 1.38 cm (0.545 in). After the six readings obtained the flow rate was changed

throughout the system. Using the first equation presented below the flow rate is able to be

calculated. The Cd of the system is equal to 0.656 and the Ao is the cross-sectional area equaling

a diameter of 1.59 cm (0.625 in). The  of the diameter leading into the orifice is equaled to 2.60

cm (1.025 in). To calculate the theoretical friction factor, you would use the Colebrook

equations presented below. For the minor losses in the system there were many different type of

fittings which made the losses change. The valves on the system was used to let water in and

out of the system. These valves were the main component in the flow of the water coming in

and out of the system. The students were to conclude six different readings and as the flow rate

changed it began to slow down as the water began to exit the system. To obtain the volumetric

flow rate the students were to let water into the system for 105 seconds and then record the

amount of height the water increased. Then the pressure as it dropped, and the velocity was
recorded then plotted. KL was able to be calculated using Microsoft excel. The theoretical values

were compared to the experimental value. To find the head loss you would use the equation

below.

𝑉2
ℎ𝑓 = 𝐾 (1.)
2𝑔

To find the friction in the pipes you would use the Colebrook Equation.

𝜀
1 𝑑 2.51
= −2.0 log ( 3.7 + ) (2.)
√𝑓 𝑅𝑒√𝑓

Results and Discussion

A technovate fluid circuit system and an Edibon Energy Losses in Bends Modules (FME05)

was used for major and minor losses. For Major Losses, Volumetric Flow Rate is computed using

the equation below.

2∆𝑃
𝑄 = 𝐴𝑐𝑑 √𝜌(1−𝛽4) (3.)

To find the experimental friction factor use the equation below.

𝐿 𝑉2
ℎ𝐿 = 𝑓 (4.)
𝐷 2𝑔
Figure 1 is a graph that shows the relation between the Experimental F and the Theoretical F.

The graph shows that the Experimental F decreases more substantially than the Theoretical F

but shows similar decline.

0.1

0.09

0.08

0.07
Friction Factor (f)

0.06

0.05
Experimental f

0.04 Theoretical

0.03

0.02

0.01

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
Veloctiy Squared ( m^2/s^2)

Figure 1- Experimental F and Theoretical F friction factor versus velocity squared in pipeline 1.
Figure 2 is a graph that shows the relation between the Experimental F and the Theoretical F.

This graph shows that the Experimental F begins greater than the Theoretical F but both plots

on the graph plane off.

0.045

0.04

0.035

0.03
Friction Factor (f)

0.025

0.02 Theoretical
Experimental
0.015

0.01

0.005

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Velocity Squared (m^2/s^2

Figure 2- Experimental F and Theoretical F friction factor versus velocity squared in pipeline 3.
Figure 3 is graph using multiple trendlines to show Head Loss versus the Velocity Squared in

different type of pipe settings.

0.05

y = 0.0595x
0.045

0.04

Sudden Enlargement
0.035
Long Elbow
y = 0.0429x
Sudden Contraction
0.03 Medium Elbow
y = 0.0356x Short Elbow

0.025 Right Angle

Linear (Sudden Enlargement)
Linear (Long Elbow)
0.02
Linear (Sudden Contraction )
Linear (Medium Elbow)
0.015 y = 0.02x
Linear (Short Elbow)

y = 0.0156x Linear (Right Angle)

0.01
y = 0.0102x

0.005

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9

Figure 3- The graph uses various colors to show the different amount of Head Loss versus the

Velocity Squared in different settings of pipes.

Table 4 shows the Experimental and Theoretical K values for different types of pipes for

Minor Losses.

Section experimental K theoretical % relative error

long elbow 0.3924 0.25 56.96

sudden enlargement 0.200124 0.59 66.08067797

sudden contraction 0.841698 0.4 110.4245

medium elbow 0.306072 0.5 38.7856

short elbow 0.698472 0.74 5.611891892

right angle 1.16739 0.1 1067.39

Conclusions

For the experiment, the goal was to find the Major and Minor Losses in the system. To find the

Major and Minor Losses students used a technovate fluid circuit and Edibon Energy Losses in

Bends Modules (FME05). Major Losses was computed because the flow went through a long

pipe. After the data was collected the data of the friction factor was plotted versus the velocity

squared. The graph of the friction factor and the velocity squared was very similar in the fact

that they followed the same trend. The same graph was computed but used for the third pipe.

The data showed very similar results to the first graph for Major Losses. The percent errors are

presented on Table 1. Minor Losses data was computed throughout the six readings of different

type of pipes. The readings are presented in Figure 3. The graph shows the different types of

Head Loss versus the Velocity squared in the different type of pipe settings. The biggest type of
Head Loss in Figure 3 is the Right-Angle pipe. The lowest being the Sudden Enlargement. K

values were computed by the slopes of the fittings. The highest amount of percent error

presented is the sudden contraction while the lowest would be the Right-Angle pipe.

Experimental K is proportional to the pressure drop.

References

Cengel, Yunus A., Cimbala, John M. “Fluid Mechanics: Fundamentals and Applications”,

Fourth Edition, pp 51-55. McGraw Hill, 2018

K. Haghighi, V. F. Bralts, R. Mohtar, L. J. Segerlind , Transactions of the ASABE. 32(6) 1945-

1953. (doi: 10.13031/2013.31247) @1989

V. F. Bralts, S. R. Pandey, A. Miller, Applied Engineering in Agriculture. 10(1): 27-36. (doi:

10.13031/2013.25823) @1994