ENGG*2230

Fluid Mechanics
Module 4: Internal viscous flow
(pipe flow)
Part 1: Major Losses and
Frictional Factor
 Internal vs. External Flow
• External (unbounded)
flows exhibit viscous
flow near the body but
flow becomes inviscid
further away
• Internal (bounded) flows
are constrained by walls
– viscous effects grow,
meet in centre,
eventually permeate
entire flow
 Flow from a Pipe
Laminar Flow Turbulent Flow

(White: Fig. 6.2)

 Flow Transition

(White:
4 Fig. 6.4)
 Velocity Profile in Duct Flow

(White:
5 Fig. 6.6)
 Parameters for Pipe Flow
• The forces acting on a fluid flowing through, and
completely filling, a horizontal pipe are: inertia, viscous,
pressure, and elastic.
• If the surface roughness of the pipe is ε, dimensional
analysis leads to:
Cp = function(Re, M, L/D, ε/D)
– where:
• Cp is the pressure coefficient;
• ε/D is the relative roughness of the pipe surface;
• L/D is the equivalent length, where L is the pipe length;
• Re is the Reynolds number;
• M is the Mach number.
 Parameters for Pipe Flow
• For incompressible fluids, we may write pressure loss as:
𝑉2 𝑉2
Δ𝑃 = 𝐶𝑝 ∙ =𝐾∙𝜌∙
2 2
– K is the resistance coefficient, where K = function(Re, L/D, ε/D).

• The pressure loss may be converted to units of lost head:

Δ𝑃 𝑉2
ℎ𝑓 = =𝐾∙
𝛾 2𝑔
 Parameters for Pipe Flow
Darcy–Weisbach

• Conventional practice is to use the Darcy–Weisbach friction

factor fD, defined as:
𝐾∙𝐷
𝒇𝑫 =
𝐿
• Therefore we can define the D-W equation as:
𝒇𝑫 ∙ 𝐿 𝑉2 𝐿 𝑉2
ℎ𝑓 = ∙ = 𝒇𝑫 ∙ ∙
𝐷 2𝑔 𝐷 2𝑔

– where 𝒇𝑫 = function(Re, ε/D).

 Parameters for Pipe Flow
• There are two types of friction factor used: the Darcy–Weisbach friction
factor (fD) and the Fanning friction factor (ff), where fD = 4∙ff

• Of the two, fD is more commonly used by civil and mechanical engineers, and
ff, by chemical engineers.

• Most charts or tables indicate the type of friction factor, or at least provide
the formula for the friction factor with laminar flow.

• If the formula for laminar flow is f = 16/Re, it's the Fanning factor, and if the
formula for laminar flow is f = 64/Re, it's the Darcy–Weisbach factor.

• Which friction factor is plotted in a Moody diagram may be determined by

inspection if the publisher did not include the formula described above:
– observe the value of the friction factor at a Reynolds number of 1000;
– if the value is 0.064, then the Darcy friction factor is plotted;
– if the value is 0.016, then the Fanning friction factor is plotted.
 Parameters for Pipe Flow
• The laminar flow through a pipe of uniform (circular) cross-
section is known as Hagen–Poiseuille flow.

Engineers, Eleventh Edition

Handbook for Mechanical
Source: Marks’ Standard
• The equation governing H–P flow can be derived directly
from the Navier–Stokes equations in cylindrical
coordinates:
32 ∙ 𝐿 ∙ 𝑉 ∙ 𝜇
∆𝑃 =
𝐷2
 Laminar Flow
• Substitution of the H-P equation into the D-W equation
gives:
64
𝒇𝑫 =
𝑅𝑒
• Laminar flow is stable when the Reynolds number is less
than approx. 2,000.
• The range {2,000 < Re < 4,000} is called the critical zone.
Flow in the zone is unstable, and designers of piping
systems must take this into account.
 Example 4.1
Glycerin at 68°F (20°C) flows through a horizontal pipe 1 inch
in diameter and 20 feet long at a rate of 0.090 lbm/s. What is
the pressure loss?
 Turbulent Flow
• The friction factor for Reynolds number over 4,000 is
computed using the Colebrook equation, named after
Cyril Frank Colebrook:

– The equation is used to iteratively solve for f.

– Examination of the Colebrook equation indicates that if the value
of surface roughness ε is small compared with the pipe diameter
(i.e. ε/Dh → 0), f is a function of Reynolds number only.
– A smooth pipe is one in which the ratio (ε/Dh)/3.7 is small
compared with 2.51/Re.
 Turbulent Flow
– On the other hand, as the Reynolds number increases so that
2.51/Re → 0, the friction factor becomes a function of relative
roughness only, and the pipe is called a rough pipe.
– Thus the same pipe may be considered smooth under one flow
condition, and rough under another.
– The reason for this is that as the Reynolds number increases, the
thickness of the laminar sublayer of the boundary layer decreases,
exposing the surface roughness to flow.
 •
Turbulent Flow
Boundary layer along a smooth flat plate:

Source: Marks’ Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers, Eleventh Edition

 Moody Chart
• The Moody chart is a graphical representation of the
Colebrook equation; it is named after Lewis Ferry Moody.
• It can be used for working out pressure drop or flow rate
down such a pipe.
• The Moody chart can be divided into two regimes of flow:
laminar and turbulent.
 Moody Chart v1a

Source: Marks’ Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers, Eleventh Edition

 Moody Chart v1b

(White: Fig. 6.13)

 ε/d = 0.002 Re = 10,000 What is f?

2
(White: Fig. 6.13)
 Moody Chart v2

Source: Schaum's Outline of Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulics, Fourth Edition

 Roughness

Source: Marks’ Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers, Eleventh Edition

• Values of absolute roughness ε are given in this table:
 Roughness
• There are different types of roughness:

Source: Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering, Seventh Edition.

 Roughness
• The variation of friction factor shown in Table 3.3.9 is for
new, clean pipes.
• The change of friction factor with age depends upon the
chemical properties of the fluid and the piping material.
• Published data for flow of water through wrought-iron or
cast-iron pipes show as much as 20 percent increase after a
few months to 500 percent after 20 years.
• When necessary to allow for service life, a study of specific
conditions is recommended.
 Roughness Values – Commercial Ducts

(White:
24 Table 6.1)
 Turbulent Flow
• For turbulent flow, many hydraulic engineers have endeavored to
evaluate f from the results of physical experiments:
• For smooth pipes, and for Reynolds numbers between 3000 and
100,000, there is the Blasius equation, named after Paul Richard
Heinrich Blasius:

• For values of Re up to about 3,000,000, there is the von Karman

equation, named after Theodore von Kármán:

• For rough pipes:

 Turbulent Flow
• The Haaland equation, named after Prof. Skjalg E. Haaland (NTNU),
can be used to solve directly for the Darcy–Weisbach friction factor for
a full-flowing circular pipe:

– It is an approximation of the implicit Colebrook–White equation, but the

discrepancy from experimental data is well within the accuracy of the
data.
 Engineering Calculations
• Engineering pipe computations usually fall into one of the following
classes:
1. Determine pressure loss (ΔP) when Q, L, and D are known.
2. Determine flow rate (Q) when L, D, and ΔP are known.
3. Determine pipe diameter (D) when Q, L, and ΔP are known.
4. Determine pipe length (L) when Q, D and ΔP are known.
• Pressure-loss computations may be made to engineering accuracy
using an expanded version of the Moody chart.
• Greater precision may be obtained by using a combination of Table
3.3.9 and the Colebrook equation.
• Flow rate may be determined by direct solution of the Colebrook
equation.
• Computation of pipe diameter necessitates the trial-and-error method
of solution.
 Example 4.2
2,000 gal/min of 68°F (20°C) water flows through 500 ft of
cast-iron pipe having an internal diameter of 10 in. At point 1
the pressure is 10 lbf/in2 and the elevation is 150 ft, and at
point 2 the elevation is 100 ft. Find P2.
 Example 4.3
Water at 68°F (20°C) is to flow at a rate of 500 ft3/s through a
concrete pipe 5,000 feet long with a head loss not to exceed
50 feet. Determine the diameter of the pipe.