FLUID MECHANICS

VISCOUS FLOW IN PIPE

Learning Outcomes
Upon the completion of this lecture, you will be
able to:

Characterize flows in pipes.

Explain laminar and turbulent flows and examine their differences

calculate losses in various segments of pipes

apply appropriate equations and principles to analyze a variety of

pipe flow situations.

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4.1 Flow in Pipe

Pipe is a closed conduit through which fluid may be
transported
Behaviour of fluid in pipe has wide variety of real
life applications ranging from large man-made pipe
such as the 800-miles Alaskan pipeline that carries
crude oil in such as a long distance to the natural
pipes that transports blood throughout human
bodies into and out of their lungs.
In fact numerous applications exist such as housing
pipeline network, machinery pipes etc.

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4.1 Flow in Pipe

Knowing there are this variety of applications, it is
extremely
important
to
understand
the
characteristic behaviour of moving fluid through
pipe.
Pipe fluid carrier
Fittings connectors for a desired configuration
of pipes
Pump as energy adder
Valve flowrate controller

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4.2 General Characteristics of

Pipe Flow
Conduits are not necessarily round cross-section but most of
the common one such as water pipes, hydraulic hoses,
and other conduits that are designed to withstand a
considerable pressure difference across their walls
without undue distortion of their shape.
Typical conduits of noncircular cross section include
heating and air conditioning ducts that are often of
rectangular cross section.
Normally the pressure difference between the inside and
outside of these ducts is relatively small. Hence, most of the
basic principles involved are independent of the crosssectional shape, unless otherwise specified.
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4.2 General Characteristics of

Pipe Flow
We consider a pipe completed filled with fluid as shown
below (a).
We will look at the types of flow such as laminar, transitional
turbulent.

(a) Pipe flow

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(b) Open channel flow

VISCOUS FLOW IN PIPES

4.2 General Characteristics of

Pipe Flow
Osborne Reynolds (1842 1912), a British scientist and mathematician
classified these flows by using a simple apparatus below
He injected dye into a pipe in which water flowed due to gravity. The
entrance region of the pipe is depicted below.
Neutrally buoyant dye is injected, as shown, into the flowing fluid of
given velocity V and pipe diameter D and a streaklike dye shape is
formed (only in small enough flowrate)

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4.2 General Characteristics of

Pipe Flow

VD
Re

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4.2 General Characteristics of

Pipe Flow
VD
Re

Reynolds Number

Flow

Re < 2300

Laminar

2300 < Re O 4000

Transitional

Re > 4000

Turbulent

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Example 4.1
a. Evaluate the minimum time required to fill
the 1-liter bottle as shown if the flow is (i)
Laminar (ii) Turbulent
b. Repeat a for 140oF temperature of the
water.

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4.3 Fully Developed Flow

Fully developed flow

Each fluid particle moves at a constant axial velocity along a streamline

The velocity profile u(r) remains unchanged in the flow direction.
There is no motion in the radial direction.
The velocity component in the direction normal to flow is everywhere zero.
There is no acceleration since the flow is steady and fully developed.

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4.3 Pressure Distribution

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4.4 Laminar Flow

Laminar flow exhibits parallel streamlines

Between parallel surfaces, it can be considered that laminar flow is made

up of parallel layers that do not mix up at low average velocity

The Reynolds number indicates that a flow can be laminar, translational or

turbulent as a function of velocity, pipe diameter and viscosity

VD
Re

There must be the critical velocity, diameter and viscosity

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4.4 Laminar Flow

Fully developed Laminar Flow

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4.4 Laminar Flow

Fully developed Laminar Flow

Shear stress distribution within the fluid in a pipe (laminar or turbulent

flow) and typical velocity profiles

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4.4 Laminar Flow

Shear Stress as a function of r

Average Velocity

r
2L

Velocity as a function of r
2

pR
v (r )
4 L

r
1
R

vave

pR 2 pD 2

8 L
32 L

Volumetric Flow rate or Flow rate

2

pD 4 pR 4
Q

128 L
8 L

Head Loss

hL

Maximum Velocity at r = 0

vmax

pR 2

4 L

32 Lv
gD 2

Hagen Poiseuille Equation

L v2
hL f
D 2g

Darcy Energy Loss Equation

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Example 4.2
A 200-m-long pipe made of 3-cm-diamter copper is used to
transport water at 5 liters / second (L/s) and at 4oC having viscosity
of 1.5028x10-3 kg/m.s. Determine the
a) average velocity of the water
b) friction factor
c) pressure drop
d) head loss
e) required pump power to overcome the head loss.

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Example 4.3
Gasoline of density 680 kg/m3 and viscosity of 3.1x10-4 N.s/m2 flows
is to be transported in a smooth pipe of 40-mm diameter at a rate of
0.001m3/s. determine the ratio of turbulence and laminar head
losses to avoid the turbulence to occur.

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4.5 Laminar vs Turbulent Flows

The fundamental difference between the laminar and turbulent flows is
that the laminar flow does not depend on the pipe wall surface
roughness thus the friction factor is constant (64/Re) regardless of the
relative roughness /D.

The turbulent flow is dependent on both density and the surface pipe
wall surface roughness. Thus the equation 7
(laminar)

L v
hL f
D 2g
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64
Re

VISCOUS FLOW IN PIPES

(Turbulent)

f (Re, / D)

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4.6 Minor and Major Losses

When fluid flows through pipe resistance against it exists in
various forms, thus there are pressure drops along the length of
the pipe.
This pressure drop is termed as loss. The loss is divided into two categories
namely minor and major losses

Minor Losses these losses occur in the following smooth flow interruptions
a. Inlets or exits
b. Sudden enlargement and contraction in a pipe.
c. Bends in a pipe.
d. Any other source of restriction such as pipe fittings and valves.

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4.6 Minor and Major Losses

When fluid flows through pipe resistance against it exists in
various forms, thus there are pressure drops along the length of
the pipe.
This pressure drop is termed as loss. The loss is divided into two categories
namely minor and major losses

Major Losses these losses are due to the shearing resistance on the pipe
wall surface. Therefore, equation 7 defines the Major Loss or simply

L v2
hL f
D 2g

is the Major Head Loss

and the total head loss in the pipe should be the

Minor Head Losses + Major Lead Losses
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4.6 Minor and Major Losses

Minor losses are usually expressed in terms of loss coefficient
which

KL

hL
is also called resistance coefficient where hL is the
2
V / 2g

additional irreversible head loss in the piping system caused by insertion of

the component and is defined as h PL
L
g

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V 2
PL K L
2

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4.6 Minor and Major Losses

Minor losses are also expressed in terms of the equivalent length Lequiv
V2
h L K L
2g

L equiv V 2

D
f

L equiv K L
D 2g
f

Where f is the friction factor and D is the diameter of the pipe that contains the
component.

The head loss caused by the component is equivalent to the head loss
caused by a section of the pipe whose length is Lequiv. This is simply
accounted for additional length for the pipe.

V2

h L K L
2g
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Minor Head Loss

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4.6 Minor and Major Losses

The total head losses therefore for a given pipe length with any of the
components (valves, elbows, etc) is the combination of the equation 7 and 8
i.e.

hL ,total hL , major hL , minor

2

hL ,total
i

Vj
Li Vi
fi
K L, j
Di 2g
2g
j

For constant diameter

hL ,total

2
L
V
f
KL
D
2g

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4.6 Minor and Major Losses

Sharp-Edged Exit

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4.6 Minor and Major Losses

Loss Coefficient for sudden contraction

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4.6 Minor and Major Losses

Loss Coefficient for sudden expansion

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4.6 Minor and Major Losses

Loss Coefficient for Round Edge

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4.6 Minor and Major Losses

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4.6 Minor and Major Losses

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4.6 Minor and Major Losses

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4.6 Minor and Major Losses

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4.5 Minor and Major Losses

PIPE INLETS

Reentrant: KL = 0.80
T << D

Sharp-edged: KL = 0.50

r
0.2 KL = 0.03
D r
0.1 KL = 0.12
Slightly-rounded
D

Well-rounded

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Example 4.4
Water at 10C flows from a large reservoir to a smaller one
through a 5-cm diameter cast iron piping system, as shown in
Figure below. Determine the elevation z1 for a flow rate of 6 L/s.

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