Coiled Tubes

Calculation of Simple Pressure Drop Due to Fluid Flow Friction

The pressure drop in straight coiled tubing can be calculated as
= f ( 1 U2) ( L ) 2 D

With these values known, the Darcy friction factor can be found graphically using the Moody chart
f 0.1 0.09 0.08 0.07 0.06 0.05 0.04 0.03 0.025 D 0.05 0.04 0.03 0.02 0.015 0.01 0.008 0.006 0.004 0.002 Laminar flow Transition range 0.01 0.009 0.008 103 0.001 0.0008 0.0006 0.0004 0.0002 0.0001 0.00005 0.00001 2(10)3 4 6 8 104 2(10)4 4 6 8 105 2(10)5 4 6 8 106 2(10)6 4 6 8 107 2(10)7 4 6 8 108 Re = vD

f = Darcy friction factor (non-dimensional) = fluid density (lbm/ft3) U = average (bulk) fluid velocity (ft/s) L = tube length (ft) D = tube internal diameter (ft) The average velocity is calculated from the volumetric flow rate
U=

Wholly turbulent flow

0.02 0.015 Smooth

D2

4Q

Q = volumetric flow rate (ft3/s) To determine the Darcy friction factor, it is necessary to determine two non-dimensional parameters, the Reynolds Number Re =
UD

or calculated by an iterative process with Colebrooks equation

1 = -2log /D 3.7 + 2.5 Re f

Re = Reynolds number (non-dimensional) = fluid dynamic viscosity (lbm/ft.s) and the relative roughness

D = tube internal roughness (ft)

A reasonable value for the internal roughness of new coiled tubing is 8.3 x 10-5 ft (0.001 in)

The following unit conversions are useful for these calculations 1 BPM = 9.36 x 10-2 ft3/s 1 cP = 6.72 x 10-4 lbm/ft.s 1 ppg = 7.48 lbm/ft3 The following table provides common fluid properties used in these calculations
FLUID (68F) Fresh water 10 ppg brine 15% HCl Diesel DENSITY (Ibm/ft3) 62.310 74.806 66.967 51.724 VISCOSITY (cP) 0.9784 2.3000 1.9500 1.6200

CONTACT Tenaris Coiled Tubes 8615 E. Sam Houston Pkwy N. 77044 Houston Texas USA coiledtubesales@tenaris.com (1) 281 458 2883 tel (1) 281 458 2886 fax