1 FLOW THROUGH PIPES

1.1 Laminar Flow

A stream line is an imaginary line with no flow normal to it, only along it. When the flow is laminar, the
streamlines are parallel and for flow between two parallel surfaces we may consider the flow as made up
of parallel laminar layers. In a pipe these laminar layers are cylindrical and may be called stream tubes.
In laminar flow, no mixing occurs between adjacent layers and it occurs at low average velocities.

1.2 Turbulent Flow

The shearing process causes energy loss and heating of the fluid. This increases with mean velocity.
When a certain critical velocity is exceeded, the streamlines break up and mixing of the fluid occurs. The
diagram illustrates Reynolds coloured ribbon experiment. Coloured dye is injected into a horizontal
flow. When the flow is laminar the dye passes along without mixing with the water. When the speed of
the flow is increased turbulence sets in and the dye mixes with the surrounding water. One explanation
of this transition is that it is necessary to change the pressure loss into other forms of energy such as
angular kinetic energy as indicated by small eddies in the flow.

1.3 Laminar and Turbulent Boundary Layers

1.3.1 Critical Velocity - Reynolds Number

When a fluid flows in a pipe at a volumetric flow rate Q m3/s the average velocity is defined
If you check the units of Re you will see that there are none and that it is a dimensionless number. You
will learn more about such numbers in a later section.

For “small enough flowrate” the dye streak will remain as a well-defined line as it flows along, with only
slight blurring due to molecular diffusion of the dye into the surrounding water. For a somewhat larger
“intermediate flowrate” the dye fluctuates in time and space, and intermittent bursts of irregular behavior
appear along the streak. For “large enough flowrate” the dye streak almost immediately become blurred
and spreads across the entire pipe. Reynolds discovered that it was possible to predict the velocity or
flow rate at which the transition from laminar to turbulent flow occurred for any Newtonian fluid in any
pipe. He also discovered that the critical velocity at which it changed back again was different. He found
that when the flow was gradually increased, the change from laminar to turbulent always occurred at a
Reynolds number of 2500 and when the flow was gradually reduced it changed back again at a Reynolds
number of 2000. Normally, 2000 is taken as the critical value.

1.3.2 Head loss due to Friction:

There are many types of losses of head for flowing liquids such as friction, inlet and outlet losses. The
major loss is that due to frictional resistance of the pipe, which depends on the inside roughness of the
pipe. The common formula for calculating the loss of head due to friction is Darcy’s one.

Darcy’s formula for friction loss of head:

For a flowing liquid, water in general, through a pipe, the horizontal forces on water between two
sections (1) and (2) are:

P1 A = P2 A + FR

P1= Pressure intensity at (1).

A = Cross sectional area of

pipe. P2= Pressure intensity
 at (2).
FR= Frictional Resistance at (2).

FR /  A = (P1 / ) - (P2 / ) = hf

Where,

hf = Loss of pressure head due to friction.

  = Specific gravity of water.

It is found experimentally that:

FR = Factor x Wetted Area x Velocity2

FR = ( f / 2g) x ( d L) x v2

Where, f = Friction coefficient.

d = Diameter of pipe.
L = Length of pipe.

hf = ( f / 2g) x ( d L) x v2 = 4 f * L * v2

 ( d2 /4) d*2g

hf = 4fLv2

2gd

It may be substituted for [v = Q / ( d2 /4)] in the last equation to get the head loss for a
known discharge. Thus,

hf = 32 f L Q 2

2 g d 5
Note: f ՛= 4 f

The Darcy – Weisbach equation relates the head loss (or pressure loss) due to friction along a given
length of a pipe to the average velocity of the fluid flow for an incompressible fluid.

The friction factor f՛ is not a constant and depends on the parameters of the pipe and the velocity of the
fluid flow, but it is known to high accuracy within certain flow regimes.

For given conditions, it may be evaluated using various empirical or theoretical relations, or it may be
obtained from published charts.

Re (Reynolds Number) is a dimensionless number.

Re = ρ v d

For pipes, Laminar flow, Re < 2000

Transitional flow, 2000 < Re < 4000

Turbulent flow, Re > 4000

For laminar flow,

Poiseuille law, (f = 64/Re) where Re is the Reynolds number .

For turbulent flow,

Methods for finding the friction coefficient f include using a diagram such as the Moody chart, or
solving equations such as the Colebrook–White equation.

Also, a variety of empirical equations valid only for certain flow regimes such as the Hazen – Williams
equation, which is significantly easier to use in calculations. However, the generality of Darcy –
Weisbach equation has made it the preferred one.

The only difference of (hf) between laminar and turbulent flows is the empirical value of (f).
1.4 Minor Losses

Minor losses occur in the following circumstances.

a) Exit from a pipe into a tank.

b) Entry to a pipe from a tank.

c) Sudden enlargement in a pipe.

d) Sudden contraction in a pipe.

e) Bends in a pipe.

f) Any other source of restriction such as pipe fittings and valves.

In general, minor losses are neglected when the pipe friction is large in comparison but for short pipe
systems with bends, fittings and changes in section, the minor losses are the dominant factor.

In general, the minor losses are expressed as a fraction of the kinetic head or dynamic pressure in the
smaller pipe.

Minor head loss = k (v2/2g)

Values of k can be derived for standard cases but for items like elbows and valves in a pipeline, it is
determined by experimental methods.
1.4.1 Coefficient of Contraction Cc

The fluid approaches the entrance from all directions and the radial velocity causes the jet to contract
just inside the pipe. The jet then spreads out to fill the pipe. The point where the jet is smallest is called
the VENA CONTRACTA.

The coefficient of contraction Cc is defined as

Cc = Aj/Ao

Aj is the cross sectional area of the jet and Ao is the c.s.a. of the pipe. For a round pipe this becomes Cc

= dj2/do2.

1.4.2 Coefficient of Velocity Cv

The coefficient of velocity is defined as

Cv = actual velocity/theoretical velocity

In this instance it refers to the velocity at the vena-contracta but as you will see later on, it applies to
other situations also.

1.4.3 Exit from a Pipe Into a Tank.

The liquid emerges from the pipe and collides with stationary liquid causing it to swirl about before
finally coming to rest. All the kinetic energy is dissipated by friction. It follows that all the kinetic head
is lost so k = 1.0
1.4.4 Entry to a Pipe from a Tank

The value of k varies from 0.78 to 0.04 depending on the shape of the inlet. A good rounded inlet has a
low value but the case shown is the worst.

1.4.5 Sudden Enlargement

This is similar to a pipe discharging into a tank but this time it does not collide with static fluid but with
slower moving fluid in the large pipe. The resulting loss coefficient is given by the following expression.

1.4.6 Sudden Contraction

This is similar to the entry to a pipe from a tank. The best case gives k = 0 and the worse case is for a
sharp corner which gives k = 0.5.
1.4.7 Bends and Fittings

The k value for bends depends upon the radius of the bend and the diameter of the pipe. The k value for
bends and the other cases is on various data sheets. For fittings, the manufacturer usually gives the k
value. Often instead of a k value, the loss is expressed as an equivalent length of straight pipe that is to
be added to L in the Darcy formula.

1.5 Hydraulic Gradient

Consider a tank draining into another tank at a lower level as shown. There are small vertical tubes at
points along the length to indicate the pressure head (h). Relative to a datum, the total energy head is h T
= h + z + u2/2g and this is shown as line A.

The hydraulic grade line is the line joining the free surfaces in the tubes and represents the sum of h and
z only. This is shown as line B and it is always below the line of h T by the velocity head u2/2g. Note that
at exit from the pipe, the velocity head is not recovered but lost as friction as the emerging jet collides
with the static liquid. The free surface of the tank does not rise.

The only reason why the hydraulic grade line is not horizontal is because there is a frictional loss h f. The
actual gradient of the line at any point is the rate of change with length i = hf/L
1.6 Siphon

A siphon is a long bent pipe which is used to carry water from a reservoir at a higher elevation to another
reservoir at a lower elevation when the two reservoirs are separated by a hill or high level ground in
between as shown in Fig. Since the siphon is laid over the hill or the high level ground, for some length
from the entrance section it will rise above the water surface in the upper (or supply) reservoir, and then
for the remaining length it will drop down to be connected to the lower reservoir.
The rising portion of the siphon is known as the 'inlet leg (or inlet limb), the highest point is known as
summit and the portion between the summit and the lower reservoir is known as outlet leg (or outlet
limb). As may be seen in Fig. the inlet leg (or inlet limb) of a siphon isusually smaller than the outlet leg
(or outlet limb). As the siphon is also a long pipe, the loss of head due to friction will be very large and
hence the other minor losses may be neglected. Further the length of the siphon maybe taken as the
length of its horizontal projection. Hence the hydraulic grade line and the energy grade line (or total
energy line) for a siphon, as shown in Fig.2.1 may also be obtained in the same manner as in the case of
an ordinary long pipe.

It will be seen from Fig. 2.1, that the hydraulic grade line cuts the siphon at points C and D, so that some
portion of the siphon is above the hydraulic grade line. The vertical distance between the hydraulic grade
line and the pipe centre line represents the pressure at any section. If the hydraulic grade line is above
the centre line of the pipe then the pressure is above atmospheric; and if the hydraulic grade line is below
the centre line of the pipe, the pressure is negative or below atmospheric.

Thus for the portion of the siphon below points C and D the pressure will be above atmospheric and at
points C and D the pressure of the water flowing in the siphon is equal to atmospheric pressure. For the
portion of the siphon between C and D the pressure will be below atmospheric. As the highest point of
the siphon above the hydraulic grade line is the summit S, the water pressure at this point is the least.
Further as the vertical distance between the summit of the siphon and the hydraulic grade line increases,
the water pressure at this point reduces. Theoretically this pressure may be reduced to - 10.3 m of water
(if the atmospheric pressure is 10.3 m of water) or absolute vacuum, because this limit would correspond
to a perfect vacuum and the flow would stop. However, in practice if the pressure is reduced to about 2.5
m of water absolute or 7.8 m of water vacuum the dissolved air or other gases would come out of the
solution and collect at the summit of the siphon in sufficient quantity to form an air-lock, which will
obstruct the continuity of the flow, (or the flow will completely stop).

A similar trouble may also be caused by the formation of the water vapor in the region of low pressure.
Therefore the siphon should be laid so that no section of the pipe will be more than 7.8 m above the
hydraulic grade line at the section. Moreover, in order to limit the reduction of the pressure at the
summit the length of the inlet leg of the siphon is also required to be limited. This is so because as
indicated below, if the inlet leg is very long a considerable loss of head due to friction is caused,
resulting in further reduction of the pressure at the summit.
1.7 Pipes in Series and Parallel

In many pipe systems there is more than one pipe involved. The governing mechanisms for the flow in
multiple pipe systems are the same as for the single pipe systems.

1.7.1 Pipes in Series

The indicated pipe system has a steady flow rate Q through three pipes with diameters D1, D2, & D3.
Two important rules apply to this problem.

The flow rate is the same through each pipe section. Q1 = Q2 = Q3 = Q

The total frictional head loss is the sum of the head losses through the various sections.

1.7.2 Pipes in Parallel

The indicated pipe system has a steady flow rate Q1, Q2, Q3 through three pipes with diameters D1, D2, &
D3. Two important rules apply to this problem.
1.8 Branched Pipes
Consider the third example of a three-reservoir pipe junction as shown in the figure. If all flows are
considered positive toward the junction, then Q1 +Q2 +Q3 = 0

which obviously implies that one or two of the flows must be away from the junction. The pressure must
change through each pipe so as to give the same static pressure pJ at the junction. In other words, let the
HGL at the junction have the elevation.

1.9 Equivalent Pipe

Often a compound pipe consisting of several pipes of varying diameters and lengths is to be replaced by
a pipe of uniform diameter, which is known as equivalent pipe. The uniform diameter of the equivalent
pipe is known as the equivalent diameter of the compound pipe. The size of the equivalent pipe may be
determined as follows. If L1, L2, L3 etc., are the lengths and D1, D2 and D3 etc., are the diameters
respectively of the different pipes of a compound pipeline, then the total head loss in the compound pipe,
neglecting the minor losses, is

If D is the diameter and Load is the length of the equivalent pipe then it would carry the same discharge
Q if the head loss due to friction in the equivalent pipe is same as that in the compound pipe. The loss of
head due to friction in the equivalent pipe is

The above equation is known as Dupuit’s equation, which may be used to determine the size of the
equivalent pipe. Thus if the length of the equivalent pipe is equal to the total length of the compound
pipe i.e., L= (L1, L2, L3+…), then the diameter D of the equivalent pipe may be determined by using
above expression.

1.10 Pipe Networks

A group of interconnected pipes forming several loops as shown in fig below is called a network of
pipes. Such networks of pipes are commonly used for municipal water distribution systems in cities.

The main problem in a pipe network is to determine the distribution of flow through the various pipes of
the network such that all the conditions of flow are satisfied and all the circuits are then balanced. The
conditions to be satisfied in any network of pipes are as follows:
According to the principle of continuity the flow into each junction must be equal to the flow out of the
junction. For example at junction A, the inflow must be equal to the flow through AB and AG.

In each loop, the loss of head due to flow in clockwise direction must be equal to the loss of head due to
flow in anticlockwise direction. For example in the loop ABCHG the sum of the head losses due to flow
in AB, BC and CH (clockwise flow) must be equal to the sum of the head losses due to flow in AG and
GH (anticlockwise flow).

The Darcy-Weisbach equation must be satisfied for flow in each pipe. Minor losses may be neglected if
the pipe lengths are large. However if the minor losses are large, they may be taken into account by
considering them in terms of the head loss due to friction in equivalent pipe lengths.According to Darcy-
Weisbach equation the loss of head ℎ𝑓through any pipe discharging at the rate of Q can be expressed as

ℎ𝑓 = 𝑟𝑄𝑛

Where 𝑟 is a proportionality factor which can be determined for each pipe knowing the friction factors
𝑓, the length L and the diameter D of the pipe.

and n is an exponent having numerical value ranging from 1.72 to 2.00.

1.11 Hardy – Cross Method

The pipe network problems are in general complicated and cannot be solved analytically. As such
methods of successive approximations are utilised. One such method which is commonly used is ‘Hardy
Cross Method’, named after its original investigator. The procedure for the solution of pipe network
problems by the Hardy Cross Method is as follows:
Assume a most suitable distribution of flow that satisfies continuity at each junction.

With the assumed values of Q, compute the head losses for each pipe using ℎ𝑓 = 𝑟𝑄𝑛

Consider different loops or circuits and compute the net head loss around each circuit considering the
head loss in clockwise flows as positive and in anti-clockwise flows as negative. For a correct
distribution of flow the net head loss around each circuit should be equal to zero, so that the circuit will
be balanced. However, in most of the cases, for the assumed distribution of flow the head loss around the
circuit will not be equal to zero. The assumed flows are then corrected by introducing a correction ∆Q
for the flows, till the circuit is balanced. The value of the correction ∆Q to be applied to the assumed
flows of the circuit may be obtained as follows:

In the above expression for the correction the denominator is the sum of absolute terms and hence it has
no sign. Further if the head losses due to flow in the clockwise direction are more than losses due to flow
in the anti-clockwise direction, then according to the sign convention adopted, ∆Q will be negative and
hence it should be added to the flow in the anti- clockwise direction and subtracted from the flow in the
clockwise direction. On the other hand if the head losses due to flow in the clockwise direction are less
than the head losses due to flow in the anti-clockwise direction, then ∆Q will be positive hence it should
be added to the flow in the clockwise direction and subtracted from the flow in the anti-clockwise
direction. Moreover, for the pipes common to two circuits or loops (such as CH, GH, HF etc.) a
correction from both the loops will be required to be applied.

With the corrected flows in all the pipes, a second trial calculation is made for all the loops and the
process is repeated till the correction become negligible.
 Numericals

Problem.

Solution.
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Solution.
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Solution.
Problem. Consider the example of a reservoir feeding pipe.

Solution.
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Solution.
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Solution.
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