PRESSURE VARIATION

The change in the motion of a particle can be brought about by variation in the forces acting on

the particle, the main forces being viscous and pressure forces. In accordance to Newton’s law,

the rate of change of velocity which is acceleration will be proportional to the change in the

force. We can therefore derive an expression for pressure variation along a streamline by

applying Newton’s law to an elemental streamline. The relevant assumptions are;

a. No viscous forces

b. No frictional forces

c. The variation of x-sectional area over the length of path is negligible

d. Flow is along a streamline and

e. Flow is steady.

The forces on the fluid element are shown in figure 5.

(Figure 5: Forces acting on an element stream tube)

A force balance yields

[
PΔA− PΔA +
∂
∂S ]
( PΔA ) ΔS −Δ Wcosθ=ρΔSΔA a s

ΔZ
Where a s is the acceleration along the path and W =¿ ρΔSΔA g. Cos θ = .
ΔS

We have

−∂ P ΔZ
−ρg = ρ as
∂S ΔS
∂P ∂Z
+ ρg + ρa s=0
∂S ∂S

∂VS
a s=V S
∂S

dV dV dS dV
(Acceleration of fluid element ¿ = . =V )
dt dS dt dS

∂P ∂Z ∂VS
+ ρg + ρV S =0
∂S ∂S ∂S

Since S is the only dependent variable, we can write

∂P VS
+dZ + d V S=0
ρg g

This equation is known as Euler’s equation. It can easily be integrated if ρ is constant or if its

functional dependence on P is defined. If the flow is incompressible, ρ is constant and the

integration of the equation gives

2
P V
+ Z+ =C B
ρg 2g

This is the Bernoulli’s equation and the constant of integration C B is called the Bernoulli’s

constant. The equation is applicable to steady, incompressible and frictionless flows along a

streamline. It holds across streamline if the flow is non-viscous. Each term in the equation is

energy per unit weight i.e. metre Newton/Newton on the S.I system or foot pound force/pound

force on the FPS system. The simpler form metre or foot is more often used. The term can be
 2
P V
interpreted as energy heads. Thus, is pressure head, Z is potential head and is the
ρg 2g

kinetic or velocity head.

This equation states that the sum of the pressure head, potential head and the velocity head is

constant. The equation is usually used to relate these quantities between any two points in the

fluid using a common datum. For example, for points 1 and 2 in the flowing fluid, we have

2 2
P1 V 1 P2 V2
+ Z 1+ = +Z 2 +
ρg 2g ρ g 2g

Where P1=Pressure at point 1 , Z 1=elevationat point 1 ,V 1=velocity at point 1

P2=Pressure at point 2, Z2 =elevationat point 2 ,V 2=velocity at point 2

BERNOULLI EQUATION

The Bernoulli equation states that the total energy of a flowing inviscid frictionless fluid is

constant. That is,

2
P V
+ + Z=Constant
ρg 2g

The energies of two points in the fluid can be related as

P 1 V 21 P2 V 22
+ + Z1 = + +Z
ρg 2g ρg 2g 2

2 2
P V P V
Compared with 1 + 1 + Z1 +h p= 2 + 2 + Z2 +h t +h L
ρg 2g ρg 2g

If h p , ht ∧h L are eliminated, Bernoulli equation is obtained under the following conditions;

considered

b. There must be no heat transfer and

c. The flow must be inviscid and frictionless

These conditions can only be satisfied by an ideal fluid, the real fluid experience fluid friction

which is represented by h L. Hence, the equivalent Bernoulli equation for the real fluid is

2 2
P1 V 1 P V
+ + Z1 = 2 + 2 + Z 2 +h L
ρg 2g ρg 2g

Where h L =loss of energy betweeen sections 1∧2

In other words, the Bernoulli equation for the real fluid is the same as the energy equation for

the case of no heat transfer and no work addition or rejection between the two points under

consideration.

Example

A pipe carries water through a height of 10m and discharges it into the atmosphere. The guage

pressure at the pipe end is 120KPa. Calculate the discharge velocity.

Solution

2
P1−P2=120 KN / m

V1 = 0

Z2 – Z1 = 10m
 2 2
P1 V 1 P2 V2
+ Z 1+ = +Z 2 +
ρg 2g ρ g 2g

Rearranging,

V 22 V 21 P1−P2
= + +( Z1 −Z 2 )
2g 2g ρg

V 22 120 x 10
3
=0+ 3 −10
2g 10 x 9.81

V 2=6.62 m/s

Pressure losses in pipe fittings

A pipe is defined as a closed conduit of circular section through which the fluid flows filling the

complete cross section. The fluid in the pipe has no free surface. it will be at a pressure above

or below atmospheric and this pressure may vary along the pipe. In order to calculate the total

head losses in a pipeline, the loss in the straight pipes and in the fittings must be calculated.

While the head loss in the straight pipes can be calculated from the Darcy-Weisbach equation,

some similar means are needed for calculating the loss in the fittings such as bends, valves etc.

L V2
h f =F . . Darcy-Weisbach equation
D 2g

Sudden Expansion

Losses of energy in pipe line are due to;

a. Shock from the disturbance of the normal flow due to bend or sudden changes of

section and
 b. Frictional resistance to flow

Fluid experiences sudden expansion when the diameter of the pipe in which it is flowing in

increases abruptly. Consider figure 7 in which the fluid is flowing from a smaller diameter pipe

of cross sectional area A1 to a bigger diameter pipe of cross-sectional area A 2. Section 1 is taken

very close to the exit of the smaller pipe and therefore V 1 is assumed to be the same as the

velocity in the smaller pipe. The fluid from section 1 jets into the fluid in the bigger pipe which

is moving at a slower velocity V 2. Consequently, it is retarded and eddies are formed resulting in

the loss of kinetic energy.

(Figure for abrupt expansion)

Linear momentum equation states that the sum of the external forces on a system (or on a

control volume) is equal to the rate of increase of momentum within the system plus the rate

of momentum across the ports

❑ ❑
d
F= ∫ V e dV +∫ V e V d A
dt cv cs

For this system, the momentum equation reduces

F=∑ V e V A

(V A is the volumetric flow rate)

Where F is the sum of the external forces on the fluid and the right hand term is the change in

its momentum. Substituting the relevant parameters

P1 A 1−P2 A 2=V 1 ρ1 (−V 1 A 1 ) +V 2 ρ2 (V 2 A 2) …………………………. (2)

From continuity equation, ρ1 V 1 A1 =ρ2 V 2 A 2 ,therefore the momentum balance equation

simplifies to

P 1−P2
=V 2 ( V 2−V 1 ) ……………………….. (3)
ρ2

For the incompressible flow ρ1= ρ2=ρ and

P1
P 1−P2 dP
=−∫
ρ2 P
ρ 2

…………………………. (4)

Applying the energy equation to sections 1 and 2 yields

2 2 P
V 1 V2 dP
= +∫ +h …………………………. (5)
2 g 2 g P ρg L
1

Where h L is the head loss due to the sudden change (enlargement) in the flow cross section. On

combining equations 3 to 5, we have

1 V2
hL=
2g
( V 1−V 2 ) + ( V 2−V 1)
2 2
g
…………………………… (6)

Which simplify to

1 2
hL= ( V −V 2 )
2g 1
…………………………. (7)
We can eliminate V 2 using the relationship

V 1 A 1=V 2 A 2

V 1 A1
V 2=
A2

h L=
V 21
2g
1−
(A1 2
A2 )
=K L
V 21
2g
……………………… (8)

( )
2
A1
Where K L= 1−
A2

This equation shows that h L can be computed from the knowledge of the velocity in the smaller

pipe and the ratio of the pipe areas. When the later is very small, for example when the fluid is

issuing into the atmosphere, h L can simply be calculated from a knowledge of the velocity in the

smaller pipe, that is

V 21
h L= …………….……………………… (9)
2g

Sudden Contraction

A sudden reduction in the cross section of the conduit causes a reduction in the cross section of

the flow area. The reduction continues until the smallest flow area, called Vena contracta is

achieved. Beyond the Vena contracta, the flow area expand gradually to the diameter of the

downstream section of the conduit. Towards the vena contracta, the fluid accelerates and

pressure energy is converted to kinetic energy. There is not much energy loss due to this

conversion because it does not give rise to eddy formation. However, beyond the vena
contracta, we have a situation akin to sudden expansion. We can therefore get an expression

for the loss in that portion of the pipe using equation 7 and substituting V C the velocity in the

vena contracta for V1.

( )
2 2
V2 V C
hC = −1 ……………………………….. (10)
2 g V2

V C A2
Where hC denotes head loss due to sudden contraction from continuity equation, = .
V 2 AC

Therefore,

(
V 22 A 2
)
2
hC = −1 ………………………….. (11)
2 g AC

2 2

( )
V2 1 2
V
hC = −1 =K C 2 ………………………….. (12)
2 g Cc 2g

Ac
( )
2
1
Cc = , K C= −1
A2 Cc

(Figure for sudden contraction)

Cc is described as the coefficient of contraction, its value has been found experimentally to be

between 0.6 and 1.0. The value of K C can be obtained from the following table

D2/D1 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9

KC 0.50 0.45 0.42 0.39 0.36 0.33 0.28 0.22 0.15 0.06
For gradual contraction, the formation Vena contracta is prevented. The angle of taper should

be between 200 and 400 and the head loss is given by

2
V2
hC =0.04
2g

Pipe entrance loss

The flow situation at the pipe inlet is similar to that of sudden contraction. If the entrance is

sharp, a vena contraction is formed, pressure drops sharply to its lowest value at the vena

contracta and increases thereafter, as shown in the figure below. The pressure loss is given by

V2
h e=K e
2g

Where K e =0.50

(Figure for sharp entrance)

A rounded entrance prevents the formation of vena contracta and reduces the value of K e to

about 0.05 (figure 7). If the discharge pipe project into the reservoir, the entrance is called a re-

entrant entrance. Such an arrangement increases the energy loss considerably. For a project of

one pipe diameter or more, K e is between 0.8 and 1.0.

(Figure for rounded entrance)

Losses in pipe fittings

and reducers. Fluid loses pressure as a result of expansion or contraction through the fittings.

Analytical expressions for h f through fittings are possible for only a few of the fittings and

therefore empirical approaches are mostly used. There are two empirical approaches. In the

first, the equivalent length of the pipe fitting is determined from chart and then h f is calculated

from

Le V 2
h f =F . . …………………… (14)
D 2g

Where Le denotes equivalent length of the pipe fitting. In the second method, h f is calculated

from an equation of the form

2
V
h f =K Where K is a loss coefficient ………………………. (15)
2g

Le
For both methods, the values of and K have been determined by many researchers, some of
D

the results are given in Table 2.

From equation 14 and 15, Le = KD/f ………………………. (16)

Which means that if there are n fittings in a line, the total equivalent length can be written as

n
D
¿t = ∑K
F i=1 i

………………... (17)

Therefore, the total length of the line is given by

…………………… (18)

The equation for the total frictional loss can then be written as

∑ hf =F . ( )L+¿t V 2
D
.
2g
……………... (19)

Or

( )
n 2
∑ hf = F DL +∑ K i .
V
2g
...................... (20)
i=1

The use of equation 20 requires less computation. It must be noted that V must be the same in

all the fittings as long as there is no change in flow cross section.

The equation for head loss for sudden enlargement uses the upstream velocity whereas that for

sudden contraction uses the velocity in the downstream pipe. In order to avoid confusion and

mistake when using equation 20, it is better to adopt the following form

L V
2 n
V
∑ hf =F . D . 2 g +∑ K i 2 gfi …………...……. (21)
i=1

Where V fi is the velocity through the device of fitting number i and K i is the corresponding loss

coefficient.

Table 2 Loss coefficients

Globe valve (fully open) 10.00

Angle valve (fully open) 5.00

Swing check valve (fully open) 2.50

Gate valve (fully open) 0.19

Cross-return bend 2.20

Strainer tee 2.00

Standard tee 1.80

Standard elbow 0.90

Short-radius elbow 0.90

Medium sweep elbow 0.75

Long sweep elbow 0.60

450 elbow 0.42

Note

ρVD VD
Reynolds number Re = =
µ υ

υ=µ/ ρ

Friction factor correlation for smooth pipe

1
Prandtl− =2 log ( R e √ f ) −0.8 at high Re
√f
 0.3164
Blasius−f = 1/ 4 4,000 ˂ R e ˂100,000
Re

Sudden expansion

(Figure for abrupt enlargement of pipe section)

When the pipe cross section abruptly changes to a large diameter, the flow jets into the larger

section resulting in a flow pattern different from that in the smaller section. A region of

transition is established from the point of the abrupt expansion to some downstream. The

streamline which are straight and parallel in the smaller section have to expand to fill the larger

section. Consequently, in the region of transition, the streamlines diverge and a region of

eddies is created towards the wall. Downstream of transition, straight and parallel streamlines

are re-established. The creation of eddies in the transition region results in energy loss. That

loss can be determined by the application of energy equation, momentum equations and the

continuity equation.

In the figure above, the control surface consists of the dashed lines and the wall of the pipe.

The pressure distributions in the sections are hydrostatic and the pressure in the transition

zone is equal to that in the jet. The application of the energy equation and momentum

equation to the two sections yields

2 2
P 1 V 1 P2 V 2
+ = + +h ……….. (X)
ρg 2 g ρg 2 g l

And P1 A 1−P2 A 2=ρ V 2 ( V 2 A2 ) + ρ V 1 (−V 1 A 1) ……… (XX)

P1 P2 V 22 V 21 A 1
− = − ……. (XXX)
ρg ρg g g A2

From X and XXX, we obtain

2 2 2 2
V 2 V 1 V 2 V 1 A1
hl + − = −
2g 2 g g g A2

And from the continuity equation

A1V1 = A2V2

By combining these two equations,

V 21
( )
2
1 2 A1
hl =
2g
( V 1 −V 2) =
2g
1−
A2

The equation shows that the head loss in abrupt expansion is proportional to the square of the

difference in velocities in the two sections.