Chapter six

Internal flow
Outlines
❑ Laminar and Turbulent Flows
❑ Reynolds Number
❑ Entrance Region Flow
❑ Pressure drops and head loss in Laminar flow in circular pipes
❑ Minor Losses in piping system
 Introduction
✓ Flows completely bounded by solid surfaces are called INTERNAL
FLOWS which include flows through pipes (Round cross section), ducts
(NOT Round cross section), nozzles, diffusers, sudden contractions and
expansions, valves, and fittings.

✓ The flow regime (laminar or turbulent) of internal flows is primarily a

function of the Reynolds number.
LAMINAR AND TURBULENT FLOWS
✓ The flow appears to be smooth and
steady.
✓ The stream has a fairly uniform
diameter and there is little or no
evidence of mixing of the various
parts of the stream.
✓ The flow has very low velocity –
highly ordered motion

❖ The flow has a rather high velocity –

highly disordered motion.
❖ The elements of fluid appear to be
mixing chaotically within the stream.
 REYNOLDS NUMBER
How to distinguish Turbulent and Laminar in
mathematics?
Osborne Reynolds manage to do that in 1880s.
Re = vDρ/µ
✓ where fluid density ρ, fluid viscosity µ , pipe diameter
D, and average velocity of flow, v.
✓ Re is the ratio of the inertial forces to viscous forces in
the fluid. Dimensionless - no UNITS.
✓ How to calculate average velocity in laminar flow?

✓ The mean velocity is half of the maximum velocity.

Vmean = Vmax/2
REYNOLDS NUMBER
 EXAMPLE 1–REYNOLDS NUMBER
Determine whether the flow is laminar or turbulent if
glycerine at 25°C flows in a pipe with a 150-mm inside
diameter. The average velocity of flow is 3.6 m/s.

We must first evaluate the Reynolds number

 Flow development in a pipe
✓ The region of the flow in which the effects of the viscous shearing forces
caused by fluid viscosity is called the velocity boundary layer or just the
boundary layer. (as shown the following fig.)
✓ The hypothetical boundary surface divides the flow in a pipe into two
regions:
➢ the boundary layer region, in which the viscous effects and the velocity
changes are significant, and
➢ the ir-rotational (core) flow region, in which the frictional effects are
negligible and the velocity remains essentially constant in the radial
direction.
ENTRANCE REGION FLOW ENTERING CIRCULAR PIPE
 Cont…
➢ The region from the pipe inlet to the point at which the boundary layer
merges at the centerline is called the hydrodynamic entrance region, and
the length of this region is called the hydrodynamic entry length Le.

➢ Flow in the entrance region is called hydrodynamically developing flow

since this is the region where the velocity profile develops.

➢ The region beyond the entrance region in which the velocity profile is fully
developed and remains unchanged is called the hydro dynamically fully
developed region.
ENTRY LENGTH (LENGTH OF ENTRANCE REGION), Lh

◼ Dimensional analysis shows that the Reynolds number is the only parameter affecting
entrance length. If

◼ For Laminar flow :-

◼ For turbulence:-
 LAMINAR FLOW IN PIPES
◼ Assumptions:
❑ Steady, laminar flow of incompressible liquid with constant properties
in the fully developed region of a straight circular pipe

❑ No acceleration since it is steady and fully develop.

❑ No motion in the radial direction, velocity in radial direction is zero

❑ We try to obtain the velocity profile and also a relation to the

friction factor.
 LAMINAR FLOW IN PIPES
➢ The velocity profile in fully developed laminar flow in a pipe is parabolic
with a maximum at the centerline and minimum (zero) at the pipe wall.

➢ Also, the axial velocity u is positive for any r, and thus the axial pressure
gradient dP/dx must be negative(i.e., pressure must decrease in the flow
direction because of viscous effects.)
 LAMINAR FLOW IN PIPES
❑After some derivation velocity profile is determined as

❑ The maximum velocity occurs at the centerline and

determined as umax = 2Vavg ,Therefore, the average
velocity in fully developed laminar pipe flow is one half
of the maximum velocity.

u max = 2Vm
 PRESSURE DROP
✓ Pressure drop occurs as the fluid flows along straight lengths of pipe
and tubing.
✓ It causes pressure to decrease along the pipe and they increase the
amount of power that a pump must deliver the fluid.
✓ It is caused by friction, changes in kinetic energy, etc.
✓ Friction may occur between the fluid & the pipe work, but friction
also occurs within the fluid as sliding between adjacent layers of
fluid takes place.
✓ The friction within the fluid is due to the fluid’s viscosity.
✓ When fluids have a high viscosity, the speed of flow tends to be low,
and resistance to flow becomes almost totally dependent on the
viscosity of the fluid, this condition is known as ‘Laminar flow’.
 PRESSURE DROP IN LAMINAR FLOW
The pressure drop in laminar flow can be
expressed as below.

8LVm 32LVm
P = P1 − P 2 = =
R2 D2

Pressure drop will be 0 if the viscosity is 0, when

there is no frictions. It also mean that the pressure
drop depends entirely on the viscous effects.
 Head loss in pipe flow
✓ In piping system analysis, ΔP = ρgh express loss in terms of pressure.
 EXAMPLE 2 - ENERGY LOSS
Determine the energy loss if glycerine at 25°C
flows 30 m through a 150-mm-diameter pipe with
an average velocity of 4.0 m/s.
First, we must determine whether the flow is
laminar or turbulent by evaluating the Reynolds
number:

From Appendix B, we find that for glycerin at 25°C

 EXAMPLE 2 - ENERGY LOSS
Because NR < 2000, the flow is laminar. Using
Darcy’s equation, we get

Notice that each term in each equation is

expressed in the units of the SI unit system.
Therefore, the resulting units for hL are m or Nm/N.
This means that 13.2 Nm of energy is lost by each
newton of the glycerine as it flows along the 30 m
of pipe.
FRICTION LOSS IN TURBULENT FLOW

◼ Using Darcy equations we can calculate the friction losses in

turbulent flow. It depends on the surface roughness of the pipe
as well as Reynolds number (IN LAMINAR, LOSSES ONLY
DEPEND ON THE REYNOLD NUMBER)
◼ The є , the average wall roughness can be obtained from tables
(experiment has been conducted to determine the value). The
average value is for new and clean pipe.
FRICTION LOSS IN TURBULENT FLOW

Roughness value, є for new and clean pipe

 MOODY DIAGRAM FOR TURBULENT FLOW

◼ One of the most widely used methods for evaluating the

friction factor employs the Moody diagram shown below.
 MOODY DIAGRAM –IMPORTANT OBSERVATION

For a given Reynolds

number of flow, as the
relative roughness is
increased, the friction
factor f decreases.

For a given relative

roughness , the friction
factor f decreases with
increasing Reynolds
number until the zone of
complete turbulence is
reached.
 MOODY DIAGRAM

The transition region is

shown in the shaded area
( 2300<Re<4000)
The friction factors alternate
between laminar and
turbulent flow.
 MOODY DIAGRAM

Within the zone of complete

turbulence, the Reynolds
number has no effect on
the friction factor.
As the relative roughness
increases, the value of the
Reynolds number at which
the zone of complete
turbulence begins also
increases.
The friction factor is a minimum
for a smooth pipe (but still
not zero because of the no-
slip condition) and increases
with roughness.
 USE OF THE MOODY DIAGRAM
Why do we need the Moody diagram?
The Moody diagram is used to help determine the
value of the friction factor, f for turbulent flow.
How ?
❑ First determine the value of the Reynolds number
(calculations),
❑ Then determine the relative roughness.
Therefore, the basic data required are:
1. The pipe inside diameter,
2. The pipe material,
3. The flow velocity, and the kind of fluid and its temperature,
from which the viscosity can be found.
 EXAMPLE 3- MOODY DIAGRAM
Determine the friction factor f if water at 70°C is
flowing at 9.14 m/s in an uncoated ductile iron pipe
having an inside diameter of 25 mm.

The Reynolds number must first be evaluated to

determine whether the flow is laminar or turbulent:

Here D=0.025 m and kinematic viscosity=4.11x10–7

m2/s. We now have
EXAMPLE 3- MOODY DIAGRAM
Thus, the flow is turbulent. Now the relative
roughness must be evaluated. From Table 8.2
we find ε = 2.4 x 10–4 m. Then, the relative
roughness is
ϵ/D = 0.0096
The steps are as follows:

1. Locate the Reynolds number on the abscissa

of the Moody diagram:
 EXAMPLE 3- MOODY DIAGRAM
2. Project vertically until the curve for ε/D = 0.0096 is
reached.
3. Project horizontally to the left, and read f = 0.038.
EXAMPLE 4 – MOODY DIAGRAM
Determine the friction factor f if ethyl alcohol at
25°C is flowing at 5.3 m/s in a standard 1.5-in
Schedule 80 steel pipe.

Evaluating the Reynolds number, we use the

equation

Given, ρ = 787 kg/m3 and μ =1.00 x 10–3 Pa•s.

Also, for a 1.5in Schedule 80 pipe, D = 0.0381
m.
 MINOR LOSSES IN PIPES
◼ The fluid in a typical piping system passes through various
fittings, valves, bends, elbows, tees, inlets, exits, enlargements,
and contractions in addition to the pipes.

◼ These components interrupt the smooth flow of the fluid and

cause additional losses because of the flow separation and
mixing they induce.

◼ In a typical system with long pipes, these losses are minor

compared to the total head loss in the pipes (the major losses)
and are called minor losses.
✓ Minor losses are usually expressed in terms of the loss
coefficient KL (also called the resistance coefficient), defined as

✓ where hL is the additional irreversible head loss in the piping

system caused by insertion of the component
❖When the loss coefficient for a component is available, the head
loss for that component is determined from

❖in head loss calculations, the velocity in the small pipe is to be

used as the reference velocity.
❖Minor losses are also expressed in terms of the equivalent length
Lequiv, defined as

❖The head loss caused by the component is equivalent to the head

loss caused by a section of the pipe whose length is Lequiv.
❑ Once all the loss coefficients are available, the total head loss in a
piping system is determined from
❑ Total head loss (general): hL,total = hL,major + hL,minor

❑ where i represents each pipe section with constant diameter and j

represents each component that causes a minor loss.
➢ If the entire piping system being analyzed has a constant
diameter, the above Eq. reduces to

➢ where V is the average flow velocity through the entire system

(note that V = constant since D = constant)
❑ loss coefficients KL are given in this Table for inlets, exits, bends,
sudden and gradual area changes, and valves.
✓ Piping systems often involve sudden or gradual expansion or
contraction sections to accommodate changes in flow rates or
properties such as density and velocity
✓ The losses are usually much greater in the case of sudden
expansion and contraction (or wide-angle expansion) because of
flow separation.
✓ Combining the conservation of mass, momentum, and energy
equations, the loss coefficient for the case of sudden expansion
is approximated as
➢ The losses due to expansion and contraction can be
reduced significantly by installing conical gradual
area changers (nozzles and diffusers) between the
small and large pipe.
➢ Losses during expansion are usually much higher
than the losses during contraction because of flow
separation