TP 02 :The Reynolds experiment - Head Loss due to friction in a pipe

i
Table of Contents

TP 02 :The Reynolds experiment - Head Loss due to friction in a pipe ............................. i

Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1
Objectives ............................................................................................................................. 1
Procedures ............................................................................................................................ 3
Precautions ........................................................................................................................... 4
Observation & calculations.................................................................................................... 5
Results for water flow ........................................................................................................... 5
Results for water and mercury flow ....................................................................................... 8
Results for mercury flow ....................................................................................................... 9
Analysis and discussion ....................................................................................................... 12
Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 12
References .......................................................................................................................... 13

ii
Introduction

The flow of a fluid through a pipe is more complex than it seems at first glance. To
answer these questions, we need to find the relationship between the different
parameters that influences flow, such as the pressure difference along a duct, the
specific duct diameter, and the resulting flow.

Osborne Reynolds, an English engineer born in Belfast (Ireland) in 1842 and died in
Somerset (England) in 1912. Following experimental studies on various types of
flows, he introduced a dimensionless parameter (Re) that compares transfers of fluid
impulse due to convective motions to those due to diffusion processes. The value of
this parameter indicates whether the fluid flow is laminar or turbulent. He expressed a
law of similarity: "Two flows of the same geometry which possess the same Reynolds
number are similar".

The flow pipes are classified into three main flow regimes:

1. the nature of the fluid (density and viscosity)

2. The characteristics of the duct (the condition of the surface, the length and the
diameter)

Objectives
The purpose of the test is to determine the pressure loss results from the friction
exerted between the fluid and the inner surface of a pipe after determining the nature
of the fluid flow by the Reynolds Number.

A low Reynolds number indicates that viscosity forces predominate. A high Reynolds
number indicates that the forces of inertia which dominate the movement.

Re =

ρ: density, in kg / m3

U: average speed of water, in m / s-1

L: internal Length of the pipe in m

μ: dynamic viscosity

1
Classification of the Reynolds number:

If in a pipe,

Re < 2000 : Laminar flow regime

2000 < Re < 4000 : Transient flow regime

Re > 3000 : Turbulent flow regime

Laminar flow: Hf =

Turbulent flow: Hf =

The results for (a) laminar and (b) turbulent flow should be plotted on a graph to
establish relationships.

Tools and materials used

1. The apparatus, consisting of:

i. Piezometers,
ii. U tube,
iii. Stainless steel pipe, and
iv. A needle valve

2. Graduated cylinder
3. Stopwatch
4. Moody Diagram
5. Graph paper

2
Procedures

1. The pump is turned on and the bench supply valve is opened and adjusted until
a uniform flow in the system is achieved.

2. The needle valve is partially open to allow the flow of water into the system
and any trapped air is evacuated by squeezing the hose.

3. Air is also evacuated from the piezometer pipe so that the two limbs of the
reverse pipes stabilize at the same value as when the needle valve is closed.

3
 4. The height of the water in the manometer is adjusted to a suitable level, letting
the air escape through an air valve.

5. The needle valve is fully open to obtain an approximate 500mm load head

6. A quantity of suitable water is collected and the time is recorded using a

stopwatch.

7. Several measurement are taken for laminar flow.

8. Turbulent flow results are obtained by working with a larger load head.

9. The pressure drop and flow measurements are now taken and start with the
maximum flow rate.

Precautions

1. Any air trapped in the tubes must be evacuated. In addition, the pipe that
carries the water must have a larger diameter than the pipe to ensure that water
completely fills the last.

2. Flow rates should be measured only when the flow is uniform.

3. Avoid the parallax error by reading on the graduations.

4
 Observation & calculations

Since the length of the pipe is 524mm, and the diameter is 3mm.

So, the cross sectional area is x 32 = 7.0714286 mm2

Results for water flow

Test Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Up 285.00 295.00 314.00 320.00 350.00 357.00 390.00 413.00 428.00
Down 280.00 265.00 244.00 230.00 195.00 187.00 150.00 123.00 103.00
h 5.00 30.00 70.00 90.00 155.00 170.00 240.00 290.00 325.00
Dist. Initial
(mm) 150.00 300.00 450.00 400.00 350.00 200.00 500.00 200.00 400.00
Dist. Final
(mm) 200.00 400.00 600.00 700.00 500.00 450.00 800.00 650.00 850.00
V (ml) 50.00 100.00 150.00 300.00 150.00 250.00 300.00 450.00 450.00
t (s) 267.00 88.51 51.69 90.66 37.89 62.99 58.79 74.69 71.46
Q (ml/s) 0.187 1.130 2.902 3.309 3.959 3.969 5.103 6.025 6.297
Velocity 0.026 0.160 0.410 0.468 0.560 0.561 0.722 0.852 0.891
Log V -1.577 -0.796 -0.387 -0.330 -0.252 -0.251 -0.142 -0.070 -0.050
Hf 0.005 0.030 0.078 0.089 0.107 0.107 0.137 0.162 0.169
Log H -2.298 -1.517 -1.107 -1.050 -0.973 -0.971 -0.862 -0.790 -0.771
Reynolds
Number 79.288 478.36 1228.7 1401 1676.2 1680.4 2160.5 2550.9 2666.2
Flow regimes Laminar Flow Transitional Flow

Velocity =

Hf =

Re =

5
 Graph for Laminar Flow
0.600
0.107, 0.560
0.107, 0.561

0.500
0.089, 0.468

0.400 0.078, 0.410

Velocity V

0.300

0.200
0.030, 0.160

0.100

0.005, 0.026
0.000
0.000 0.020 0.040 0.060 0.080 0.100 0.120
Head loss Hf

6
 Graph Log for Laminar Flow
0.000
-2.500 -2.000 -1.500 -1.000 -0.500 0.000
-0.200

-0.400

-0.600

-0.800
Log V

-1.000

-1.200

-1.400

-1.600

-1.800
Log Hf

7
Results for water and mercury flow

Test Number 10 11 12 13
Up 470.00 475.00 497.00 510.00
Water Down 50.00 42.00 38.00 0.00
h 420.00 433.00 459.00 510.00
Up 235.00 236.00 239.00 239.00
Mercury Down 24.00 202.00 200.00 202.00
h 211.00 34.00 39.00 37.00
Dist. Initial (mm) 500.00 100.00 300.00 600.00
Dist. Final (mm) 900.00 400.00 400.00 750.00
V (ml) 400.00 300.00 100.00 150.00
t (s) 55.39 40.10 12.93 19.10
Q (ml/s) 7.222 7.481 7.734 7.853
Velocity 1.021 1.058 1.094 1.111
Log V 0.009 0.024 0.039 0.046
Reynolds Number 3057.6 3167.5 3274.5 3325.1
Flow regimes Transitional Flow

Velocity =

Re =

8
Results for mercury flow

Test Number 14 15 16 17
Up 247.00 260.00 270.00 285.00
Down 194.00 180.00 175.00 160.00
h 53.00 80.00 95.00 125.00
Dist. Initial
(mm) 650.00 200.00 600.00 400.00
Dist. Final
(mm) 800.00 350.00 800.00 650.00
V (ml) 150.00 150.00 200.00 250.00
t (s) 15.88 13.50 14.96 15.30
Q (ml/s) 9.446 11.111 13.369 16.340
Velocity 1.336 1.571 1.891 2.311
Log V 0.126 0.196 0.277 0.364
Reynolds
Number 3999.329 4704.396 5660.369 6918.229
Hf 0.572 0.930 1.622 2.960
Log Hf -0.2426 -0.03152 0.210051 0.471292
Flow regimes Turbulent Flow

Velocity =

Hf =

Re =

9
 Graph for turbulent flow
2.500
2.960, 2.311

2.000
1.622, 1.891

0.930, 1.571
1.500
Velocity V

0.572, 1.336

1.000

0.500

0.000
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Head loss Hf

10
 Graph Log for Laminar Flow
0.400

0.350

0.300

0.250
Log V

0.200

0.150

0.100

0.050

0.000
-0.3 -0.2 -0.1 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
Log Hf

11
Analysis and discussion

From the results obtained, we find that the flow changes when the average velocity
increases from a minimum value to a critical value necessary to disturb the flow.

The flow through the pipe is divided into two parts and the pressure drop for the same
pipe is different from the laminar flow and the turbulent flow.

Conclusion

The values for friction that we obtained for the long pipe are almost consistent with
the values in the Moody Diagram. We learned through this experiment that there is an
head loss in each pipe due to internal friction of the pipes. The experiment is accurate
and gives us a good idea of the head loss in pipes.

12
References

29.03.19 http://www.fluiddynamics.it/Elements/Turb.pdf

31.03.19
http://sitelyceejdarc.org/autodoc/cours/003%20T%20STI2D/Technologie%20transversale/H
ydraulique/files/Documents/ecoulements.pdf

12.04.19 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reynolds_number

13