Table of contents

Contents
Statement of academic integrity....................................................................................................... ii
Summary ......................................................................................................................................... iii
Acknowledgement .......................................................................................................................... iv
Table of contents ............................................................................................................................. v
List of tables ................................................................................................................................... vii
List of figures ................................................................................................................................. viii
1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1
1.1 General energy equation ................................................................................................. 2
1.2 Darcy–Weisbach or Pipe Friction equation ..................................................................... 3
1.3 Experimental head loss and friction factor ...................................................................... 4
1.4 Theoretical head loss and friction factor ......................................................................... 5
2 Experimental work ................................................................................................................... 7
2.1 Apparatus and materials .................................................................................................. 7
2.2 Experimental setup .......................................................................................................... 7
2.3 Experimental procedure .................................................................................................. 9
3 Result and discussion ............................................................................................................... 9
3.1 Observed data .................................................................................................................. 9
3.2 Calculated data .............................................................................................................. 10
3.3 Graphical analysis .......................................................................................................... 13
3.4 Discussion............................................................................................................................. 13
3.4.1 Result analysis ............................................................................................................... 14
3.4.2 Probable causes of discrepancies ................................................................................. 15
3.4.3 Recommendations ........................................................................................................ 15
4 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 18
Reference ....................................................................................................................................... 19
Nomenclature ................................................................................................................................ 25
Appendices..................................................................................................................................... 26
Appendix A ................................................................................................................................. 26
Appendix B ................................................................................................................................. 27
Appendix C ................................................................................................................................. 29

v
Appendix D ................................................................................................................................. 30

vi
List of tables

Table 1:Observed data for manometer readings at different flow rates, mass of collected water
and observation time ..................................................................................................................... 10
Table 2:Calculated data of mass and volumetric flow rate, flow area, average velocity and
Reynolds number ........................................................................................................................... 11
Table 3:Table showing the Reynolds numbers, both experimental and theoretical values for both
friction factor and frictional head loss for each observation ........................................................ 12

vii
 List of figures

Figure 1:Differential manometer ..................................................................................................... 4

Figure 2: Schematic diagram of the experimental setup ................................................................. 8

viii
 1 Introduction

The friction loss in fluid flow must be assessed since it has a widespread impact on the
health and performance of the devices involved in the flow of fluids. Friction can vastly
reduce pressure to the point where it is difficult to convey the fluid at all. For example,
when watering plants, the pressure of water flowing through a pipe is greatly reduced due
to pipe friction; this pressure decrease may disrupt the sprinkler system
from operating properly. However, because the presence of a trace amount of friction is
inescapable, it is necessary to calculate the friction loss in order to compensate by raising
the pump's power.

Dynamic viscosity is the measure of internal resistance to sheer stress.

These viscous effects result in a pressure drop in the flow direction, resulting in an irrever
sible pressure loss.The pressure loss for all forms of fully developed internal flows (lamin
ar or turbulent flows, circular or noncircular pipes, smooth or rough surfaces, horizontal o
r inclined pipes) is normally characterized as frictional loss.This frictional loss is a sizabl
e part of overall energy loss. Internal resistance between distinct layers of the fluid, intera
ction of these layers with the solid surface interaction between one molecule and the othe
r all result in frictional loss in the flow.

1
Theory

1.1 General energy equation

Bernoulli’s equation states that for steady flow of an incompressible fluid, the sum of
kinetic, potential and flow energies of a fluid particle is constant along a streamline
provided that frictional effects are negligible. For two points in a flow pipe, this statement
can be modified to a more general and universally applicable usable form –

P1 v1 2 P2 v2 2
+ + z1 + hM − hL = + + z2
γ 2g γ 2g

were,

P1 = Pressure at point 1
P2 = Pressure at point 2
v1 = Velocity at point 1
v2 = Velocity at point 2
z1 = Elevation of point 1
z2 = Elevation of point 2
γ = Specific gravity of the fluid
g = acceleration due to gravity
hM = Mechanical energy head
hL = Head loss

For a horizontal pipe with uniform cross-sectional area and with no mechanical device,
the equation can be further simplified.

In this case,
z1 = z2, v1 = v2, hM = 0
So, the equation becomes