National Aerospace University – "Kharkiv Aviation Institute"

Department of Aerohydrodynamics

LABORATORY WORK №2
Losses in the pipes
Friction losses are a complex function of the system geometry, the fluid
properties and the flow rate in the system. By observation, the head loss is roughly
proportional to the square of the flow rate in most engineering flows (fully
developed, turbulent pipe flow). This observation leads to the Darcy-Weisbach
equation for head loss due to friction:
Δh = λ· (l/d) ·Vave2/2g,
where λ – coefficient of losses, l – pipe length, d – pipe diameter, V –
average flow velocity.
λ is insensitive to moderate changes in the flow and is constant for fully turbulent
flow. Thus, it is often useful to estimate the relationship as the head being directly
proportional to the square of the flow rate to simplify calculations.
λ = f (Re, k/d)
Reynolds Number (Re) is the fundamental dimensionless group in viscous flow.
Velocity times Length Scale divided by Kinematic Viscosity.
Relative Roughness (k/d) relates the height of a typical roughness element to the
scale of the flow
For laminar flow, the head loss is proportional to velocity rather than
velocity squared, thus the friction factor is inversely proportional to velocity:
λ = 64/Re – circular pipes

λ = k/Re, 48≤ k ≤96 – non-circular pipes

The Reynolds number must be based on the hydraulic diameter. Blevins

(Applied Fluid Dynamics Handbook, table 6-2, pp. 43-48) gives values of k for
various shapes. For turbulent flow, Colebrook (1939) found an implicit correlation
for the friction factor in round pipes. This correlation converges well in few
iterations. Convergence can be optimized by slight under-relaxation:
k
1 d 2.523
=−0.8691 ln ⁡( + )
√λ 3.7 ℜ √ λ
For turbulent flow viscosity plays not the main role, thus λ weakly depends on Re
and can be expressed with empirical equation:
1
λ turb=
¿¿¿
Darcy equation is limited only for laminar flows, fig1.
 Fig. 1 Limitations of Darcy’s Equation

Fig.2 Experimental setup

Processing of experimental results
1. With the water meter coefficient a volumetric flow rate should be calculated:
W =K × √ ∆ H , where ∆ H =h3−h4
2. With known dimensions for pipe cross section S=π d 2 /4 an average velocity
should be calculated:
V ave =W /S ,
3. Coefficient of losses:
λ = Δh·2g·d / (l·Vave2),
∆ h=h1 −h2

4. Re number:
 d ∙ V ave
ℜ= ,
ν

T, C° 10 15 20 25 30
ν , cm2/s 0.0130 0.0114 0.0100 0.0089 0.0089

5. Chart λ vs Re should be represented:

0.0300

0.0250

0.0200

0.0150
λ

0.0100

0.0050

0.0000
1.0E+04 1.2E+04 1.4E+04 1.6E+04 1.8E+04 2.0E+04 2.2E+04 2.4E+04 2.6E+04 2.8E+04
Re

Table 1.1 - Experimental and calculated data

№ h1 h2 Δh h3 h4 ΔH Qi Vi Re λ
cm cm cm cm cm cm cm3/s cm/s -
1 10 7 3 22 21 1 120 47.06 8470.8 0.048
2 11 8 3 23 21 2 169.7 66.54 11977.2 0.023
3 29 21 8 39 38 1 120 47.06 84708 0.127
4 28 22 6 39 38 1 120 47.06 84708 0.095

Conclusion:
In the experiment we can see the loss of pressure that occurs in a fluid due to
the friction of the fluid particles against each other and against the walls of the pipe
that leads them. By means of the formulas they can already observe the losses that
occur in the different sections that register the flow. According Reynolds number
we can determine if the fluid is turbulent or laminar through the path. Average
velocity directly proportional to the water meter coefficient and the Reynolds
number is directly proportional to average velocity and inversely proportional to
the volume of the water.

Group: 230 F Student Mudassir Saiyed

Mohammad