National University of Singapore CE 2134 Hydraulics

Civil and Environmental Engineering 2014/2015

Lecture 8 Pipe Flow

Overview

1. Bernoulli equation
2. Pipe friction
3. Reservoir-pipeline flow
4. Parallel/branching pipelines

1 Bernoulli Equation

The Bernoulli equation is used to describe the principle of conservation of energy. Energy is the
capacity for doing work. Work is the force multiplied by distance moved in direction of force.
Power is the rate of doing work, and is the product of force and distance moved per second in
direction of force.

There are three types of energy in a fluid, namely potential energy, kinetic energy and pressure
energy. Potential energy is the energy required to raise a body to some height 𝑧. Kinetic energy is
the energy in a moving body. Pressure energy is the energy in a fluid when flowing under pressure.
Hence, the total energy of fluid is

Total Energy = Potential energy + Kinetic energy + Pressure energy

1 𝑊𝑉 2 𝑃𝑊
= 𝑊𝑧 + +
2 𝑔 𝜌𝑔

Figure 9.1. Transformation of potential energy to kinetic energy

National University of Singapore CE 2134 Hydraulics
Civil and Environmental Engineering 2014/2015

Figure 9.2. Pressure energy in fluid.

Dividing the total energy by weight 𝑊, we obtain the Bernoulli equation,

1 𝑉2 𝑃
𝑧+ + = 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑
2 𝑔 𝜌𝑔

The Bernoulli equation is typically applied to 2 points connected by a streamline. For 2 points, A
and B, the Bernoulli equation is written as

𝑉𝐴 2 𝑃𝐴 𝑉𝐵 2 𝑃𝐵
𝑧𝐴 + + = 𝑧𝐵 + + + ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠
2𝑔 𝜌𝑔 2𝑔 𝜌𝑔

where 𝑧 is elevation of point above a datum level (m), 𝑉 is mean velocity of flow (m/s), 𝑃 is
pressure (N/m2), 𝜌 is mass density of liquid (kg/m3), 𝑔 is acceleration due to gravity (9.81 m/s2).

Figure 9.3. Streamlines in a fluid.

Because all terms are represented by length (meters), they are called heads, i.e. elevation (or
potential) head, velocity head and pressure head.

The Bernoulli equation is also used to find the relationship between velocity and pressure. Suppose
the pipe is horizontal so that there was no change in elevation of its centerline, then 𝑧𝐴 = 𝑧𝐵 ,

𝑉𝐴 2 𝑃𝐴 𝑉𝐵 2 𝑃𝐵
+ = +
2𝑔 𝜌𝑔 2𝑔 𝜌𝑔
National University of Singapore CE 2134 Hydraulics
Civil and Environmental Engineering 2014/2015

Figure 9.4. Relationship between velocity and pressure.

As velocity decreases between points A and B (𝑉𝐵 < 𝑉𝐴 ), then pressure increases (𝑃𝐵 > 𝑃𝐴 ), so
that the total energy remains the same on both sides of the equation.

2 Pipe Friction

The friction losses in pipes are found from the energy equation. The energy equation is given as

𝑉𝐴 2 𝑃𝐴 𝑉𝐵 2 𝑃𝐵
𝑧𝐴 + + = 𝑧𝐵 + + + ℎ𝐴 − ℎ𝑅 − ℎ𝐿
2𝑔 𝜌𝑔 2𝑔 𝜌𝑔

where ℎ𝐴 , ℎ𝑅 and ℎ𝐿 are heads associated with addition, removal and friction loss in pipes,
respectively. The head loss in pipes is

ℎ𝐿 = 𝑓𝐿𝑉 2 /2𝑔𝐷

where 𝑓 is friction factor, 𝐿 is pipe length, 𝐷 is pipe diameter, 𝑉 is flow velocity. This is also
known as Darcy’s equation for energy loss.

For laminar flow conditions, the head loss is

32𝜇𝐿𝑉
ℎ𝐿 =
𝜌𝑔𝐷2
National University of Singapore CE 2134 Hydraulics
Civil and Environmental Engineering 2014/2015

where 𝜇 is dynamic viscosity, 𝑉 is mean velocity, 𝑔 is acceleration due to gravity. This is also
known as Hagen-Poiseuille equation. Equating Darcy’s equation and Hagen-Poiseuille equation,
the friction factor is

64𝜇 64
𝑓= =
𝑉𝐷𝜌 𝑅𝑒

Thus, friction factor is a function of Reynolds number. For laminar flow, the pipe roughness has
no effect. For turbulent flow, the friction factor 𝑓 is based on the pipe roughness and Reynolds
number. The pipe roughness is expressed as the relative roughness 𝜀/𝐷. For a rougher pipe, 𝜀/𝐷
is high, while for a less rough pipe, 𝜀/𝐷 is low. Table 9.2 shows the roughness values for different
types of pipes.

Figure 9.5. Relative roughness 𝜀/𝐷 in a pipe.

Table 9.1. Roughness values for different types of pipe.

Material Roughness 𝜺 (m)

Plastic 3.0 × 10−7

Steel 4.6 × 10−5

Galvanized iron 1.5 × 10−4

Concrete 1.2 × 10−4

National University of Singapore CE 2134 Hydraulics
Civil and Environmental Engineering 2014/2015

For smooth turbulent pipes, the viscosity effects dominate with 𝑓 ∝ 1/𝑅𝑒. The friction factor 𝑓 is
computed with Moody’s diagram or Blasius (1913) equation,

𝑓 = 0.315/𝑅𝑒 0.25

For transitional turbulent pipes, the friction factor is computed with Moody’s diagram. For rough
turbulent pipes, the viscosity and pipe roughness effects are important. The friction factor 𝑓 is
computed with Moody’s diagram or Colebrook-White equation (needs to be solved numerically)

1 𝜀 2.51
= −2 𝑙𝑜𝑔 ( + )
√𝑓 3.7𝐷 𝑅𝑒√𝑓

where 𝐷 is diameter of pipe.

The Moody’s diagram is used to find friction factor 𝑓 for turbulent flow based on relative
roughness and Reynolds number. Figure 9.8 shows the Moody’s diagram for pipe flow. In the
laminar zone, the friction factor 𝑓 decreases as 𝑅𝑒 increases. In the transition zone, for a given 𝑅𝑒,
as 𝜀/𝐷 decreases, 𝑓 decreases. For a given 𝜀/𝐷, as 𝑅𝑒 increases, 𝑓 decreases. In the fully rough
zone, 𝑅𝑒 has no effect.

Figure 9.6. Moody’s diagram

National University of Singapore CE 2134 Hydraulics
Civil and Environmental Engineering 2014/2015

3 Reservoir-Pipeline Flow

The following are some tips for applying the Bernoulli equation:

 Minimize the number of unknown variables

 For tanks/reservoirs with a free water surface. If a point is selected on the water surface,
the pressure is atmospheric, so 𝑃 = 0

 If a pipe discharges to the atmosphere and the pipe has a constant diameter, assume that
water pressure in the pipe is the same as surrounding atmosphere, so 𝑃 = 0

 For tanks/reservoirs, the velocity on the water surface is assumed to be zero, so 𝑉 = 0

 Datum from which elevation is measured is taken as the lower of two points, so either 𝑧𝐴
or 𝑧𝐵 = 0

The water in a reservoir is discharged through a pipeline and transferred to a location some distant
away. The water flows through the pipeline due to the difference in elevation Z. The larger the Z,
the larger the flow through the pipeline. This only works if the end of the pipeline is below the
water level in the reservoir. Friction and other energy losses are incurred as water flows through
the pipeline.

The Bernoulli equation with losses included is

𝑉𝐴 2 𝑃𝐴 𝑉𝐵 2 𝑃𝐵
𝑧𝐴 + + = 𝑧𝐵 + + + ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠
2𝑔 𝜌𝑔 2𝑔 𝜌𝑔

As the pipeline is long (tens or hundreds of km), it is reasonable to assume that the energy loss
through friction and other factors is going to be very large.

• If the reservoir is large, then 𝑉𝐴 = 0

• If atmospheric pressure is the datum, then 𝑃𝐴 = 𝑃𝐵 = 0

• If datum for elevation passes through point B, then 𝑧𝐵 = 0 and 𝑧𝐴 is the head above the
centerline of the pipe.

𝑉𝐵 2
𝑧𝐴 = + ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠
2𝑔

• If 𝑧𝐴 is written as 𝑧, the equation is written as

National University of Singapore CE 2134 Hydraulics
Civil and Environmental Engineering 2014/2015

𝑉𝐵 2
𝑧= + ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠
2𝑔

𝑉𝐵 2
where the term is the velocity head at the end of the pipeline
2𝑔

• If point A is on surface lf large upper reservoir and point B is surface of large lower
reservoir, then 𝑉𝐵 = 0

𝑧 = ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠

Table 9.2. Types of energy losses in a pipeline.

Type of loss Equation

Friction ℎ𝐹 = 𝑓𝐿𝑉 2 /2𝑔𝐷

(Darcy equation)

Sudden expansion (sharp increase in ℎ𝐿 = (𝑉1 − 𝑉2 )2 /2𝑔

diameter or exit from pipeline)

Sudden contraction (sharp entrance ℎ𝐿 = 0.5𝑉2 2 /2g

to pipeline or reduction in diameter)

The friction losses are the head loss resulting from friction between moving water and walls of the
pipe. Friction forces oppose the movement of water through the pipeline. The minor losses are the
head loss resulting from changes in pipe diameter and cross-sectional area of flow, pipe bends and
fitting.

The pipe friction has the following relationships:

ℎ𝑓 ∝ 𝑓 the rougher the pipe, the greater the head loss

ℎ𝑓 ∝ 𝐿 the longer the pipe, the greater the head loss

ℎ𝑓 ∝ 𝑉 2 the higher the velocity, the greater the head loss

ℎ𝑓 ∝ 1/𝐷 the larger the diameter, the smaller the head loss

4 Parallel/Branching Pipelines
National University of Singapore CE 2134 Hydraulics
Civil and Environmental Engineering 2014/2015

An upper reservoir is connected to a lower reservoir via parallel pipelines. This may be analyzed
by considering each pipeline individually and applying the Bernoulli equation to a single
streamline passing through it. If needed, the continuity equation may be utilized: ∑ 𝑄 = 𝑄1 + 𝑄2

Figure 9.7. Two reservoirs are connected by parallel pipelines.

EXAMPLE 9.1

Two reservoirs are connected by two pipelines. The difference in the elevation of the water surface
between the upper and lower reservoir 𝑍 is constant at 150 m. Pipeline 1 has a diameter of 1.2 m,
while pipeline 2 has a diameter of 0.9 m. The pipelines are 43 km long with the roughness factor
𝑓 = 0.04. Since the pipelines are long, assume that friction losses will dominate and that minor
losses can be ignored. Calculate the discharge through each of the pipelines.

Applying the Bernoulli equation to a streamline joining A to B via pipeline 1 (USE Eq (**)),

𝑧 = ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠 = 𝑓1 𝐿1 𝑉1 2 /2𝑔𝐷1

150 = 0.04 × 43000 × 𝑉1 2 /19.62 × 1.2

𝑉1 = 1.433 𝑚/𝑠

Applying the Bernoulli equation to a streamline joining A to B via pipeline 2,

𝑧 = ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠 = 𝑓2 𝐿2 𝑉2 2 /2𝑔𝐷2

150 = 0.04 × 43000 × 𝑉2 2 /19.62 × 0.9

𝑉2 = 1.241 𝑚/𝑠

Applying the continuity equation to obtain the discharges:

National University of Singapore CE 2134 Hydraulics
Civil and Environmental Engineering 2014/2015

𝑄1 = 𝐴1 𝑉1 = (𝜋 × 1.22 /4) × 1.433 = 1.621 𝑚3/𝑠

𝑄2 = 𝐴2 𝑉2 = (𝜋 × 0.92 /4) × 1.241 = 0.789 𝑚3/𝑠

Total flow between the reservoirs,

∑ 𝑄 = 𝑄1 + 𝑄2 = 1.621 + 0.789 = 2.410 𝑚3/𝑠

A pipeline joining two reservoirs may also branch or split, so that there are parallel pipelines over
part of the distance. The solution is obtained by applying the Bernoulli equation to streamlines
passing through all combination of pipelines. If needed, the continuity equation may be utilized:
∑ 𝑄 = 𝑄1 + 𝑄2

Figure 9.8. Branching pipelines connect two reservoirs.

EXAMPLE 9.2

Two reservoirs are connected by a pipeline that splits into two branches. The difference in the
elevation of the water surface between the upper and lower reservoir 𝑍 is constant at 150 m. The
roughness factor of all the pipes is 𝑓 = 0.04. The branch in the pipeline occurs 23 km from the
upper reservoir, the lower pipelines being each 20 km long. The diameters of pipelines 1, 2 and 3
are respectively 1.5 m, 0.9 m and 1.0 m. Ignoring minor losses, calculate the discharge through the
three pipelines.

The pipeline is long so friction losses will dominate, minor losses to be ignored. Applying the
Bernoulli equation to a streamline joining A to B via pipelines 1 and 2,
National University of Singapore CE 2134 Hydraulics
Civil and Environmental Engineering 2014/2015

𝑓1 𝐿1 𝑉1 2 𝑓2 𝐿2 𝑉2 2
𝑧 = ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠 = +
2𝑔𝐷1 2𝑔𝐷2

150 = 31.261𝑉1 2 + 45.395𝑉2 2

Applying the Bernoulli equation to a streamline joining A to B via pipelines 1 and 3,

𝑓1 𝐿1 𝑉1 2 𝑓3 𝐿3 𝑉3 2
𝑧 = ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠 = +
2𝑔𝐷1 2𝑔𝐷3

150 = 31.261𝑉1 2 + 40.775𝑉3 2

Applying the continuity equation,

𝑄1 = 𝑄2 + 𝑄3

𝐴1 𝑉1 = 𝐴2 𝑉2 + 𝐴3 𝑉3

2.250𝑉1 = 0.810𝑉2 + 1.000𝑉3

Solving the set of equations gives,

𝑉1 = 1. 241 𝑚/𝑠

𝑉2 = 1.499 𝑚/𝑠

𝑉3 = 1.580 𝑚/𝑠

The discharges are

𝑄1 = 2.193 𝑚3/𝑠

𝑄2 = 0.954 𝑚3/𝑠

𝑄3 = 1.241 𝑚3/𝑠