Lecture No.

Flow in Pipes

1
Objectives

1. Have a deeper understanding of laminar and

turbulent flow in pipes and the analysis of fully
developed flow
2. Calculate the major and minor losses
associated with pipe flow in piping networks
and determine the pumping power
requirements
3. Understand the different velocity and flow rate
measurement techniques and learn their
advantages and disadvantages

Introduction

Conservation Laws

Mass “Continuity C.E.”

Momentum “Bernoulli B.E.”

2
Introduction
This chapter deals with 2 equations
commonly used in fluid mechanics
The continuity equation is an expression of
the conservation of mass principle.
The Bernoulli equation is an expression of
the conservation of momentum principle. It is
concerned with the conservation of kinetic,
potential, and flow energies of a fluid stream
and their conversion to each other.

Conservation of Mass
Conservation of mass principle is one of the most
fundamental principles in nature.

Mass, like energy, is a conserved property, and it cannot

be created or destroyed during a process.

For closed systems mass conservation is implicit since

the mass of the system remains constant during a
process.

For control volumes, mass can cross the boundaries

which means that we must keep track of the amount of
mass entering and leaving the control volume.

3
 Conservation of Mass

Average velocity in a pipe

Recall - because of the no-slip
condition, the velocity at the walls of
a pipe or duct flow is zero
We are often interested only in Vavg,
which we usually call just V (drop the
subscript for convenience)
Keep in mind that the no-slip
condition causes shear stress and
friction along the pipe walls
Friction force of wall on fluid

Conservation of Mass

For pipes of constant

diameter and
incompressible flow
Vavg stays the same
down the pipe, even if
the velocity profile
Vavg Vavg changes
Why? Conservation of
Mass
Also, m˙ can expressed as m˙=  Q = constant

same same
same

4
 Conservation of Mass

for STEADY, compressible, 1 - D flow :

. .
m1  m 2

1V1 A1   2V2 A2

for Incompressible, 1 - D flow, " steady or unsteady":

Q  V1 A1  V2 A2  const.

Conservation of Mass

For pipes with variable diameter, m is still the

same due to conservation of mass, but V1 ≠ V2

D1

D2

V1 m V2 m

5
Bernoulli’s equation

Bernoulli’s equation

Pressure

6
Bernoulli’s equation

The sum of the Kinetic, Potential, and

Pressure energies of a fluid particle is
constant along a streamline during steady
flow when the compressibility and frictional
effects are negligible.

Bernoulli’s equation
If we neglect piping losses, and have a system without
pumps or turbines

P1 V12 P2 V22
 z   z
1 g 2 g 1  2 g 2 g 2

This is the Bernoulli equation

It can also be derived using Newton's second law of
motion.
3 terms correspond to: Static, dynamic, and hydrostatic
head (or pressure).

7
Bernoulli’s equation

Limitations on the use of the Bernoulli Equation


Steady flow t  0

Inviscid flow “Ideal flow” “Frictionless flow”

Incompressible flow:  = constant
Applied along a streamline “1-D”
(except for irrotational flow)
No Shaft work “No Pumps & No Turbines”
No heat transfer

Bernoulli’s equation

The Bernoulli equation

is an approximate relation
between pressure,
velocity, and elevation
and is valid in regions of
steady, incompressible
flow where net frictional
forces are negligible.
Equation is useful in flow
regions outside of
boundary layers and
wakes.

8
Flow in Pipes
Continuity equation
m  const
Q  AV  const
Momentum equation
P V2
Z   const
 2g

Laminar and Turbulent Flows

9
 Laminar and Turbulent Flows

 The flow of a fluid in a pipe may be Laminar ?

Turbulent ?
 Osborne Reynolds, a British scientist and mathematician,
was the first to distinguish the difference between these
classification of flow by using a simple apparatus as
shown.

Laminar and Turbulent Flows

 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
in a random fashion.

10
 Laminar and Turbulent Flows
Time Dependence of
Fluid Velocity at a Point

Laminar and Turbulent Flows

11
Laminar and Turbulent Flows
Critical Reynolds number
Definition of Reynolds number (Recr) for flow in a round pipe
Re < 2300  laminar
2300 ≤ Re ≤ 4000  transitional
Re > 4000  turbulent
 v D h v Dh
Re  
 
Where Dh is hydraulic diameter.
For circular pipe Dh= D
vD vD
Re  
 

Laminar and Turbulent Flows

For non-round pipes, define the
hydraulic diameter
Dh = 4Ac/P
Ac = cross-section area
P = wetted perimeter

12
The Entrance Region

Consider a round pipe of diameter D. The flow

can be laminar or turbulent. In either case, the
profile develops downstream over several
diameters called the entry length Lh. Lh/D is a
function of Re.

Lh

The Entrance Region

13
The Entrance Region
Pressure Distribution along Pipe
In the entrance region of a pipe, the fluid accelerates or
decelerates as it flows. The magnitude of the pressure
gradient is larger than that in the fully developed region. The magnitude of the
pressure gradient is constant.

p p
 0
x 

Fully Developed Pipe Flow

Comparison of laminar and turbulent flow

There are some major differences between laminar and
turbulent fully developed pipe flows
Laminar
Can solve exactly (Chapter 8)
Flow is steady
Velocity profile is parabolic
Pipe roughness not important

It turns out that Vav = 1/2Umax

14
Fully Developed Pipe Flow
Turbulent
Cannot solve exactly (too complex)
Flow is unsteady (3D swirling eddies), but it is steady in the mean
Mean velocity profile is fuller (shape more like a top-hat profile,
with very sharp slope at the wall)
Pipe roughness is very important

Instantaneous
profiles

Vavg 85% of Umax (depends on Re a bit)

No analytical solution, but there are some good semi-empirical
expressions that approximate the velocity profile shape.

Fully Developed Pipe Flow

Wall-shear stress
Recall, for simple shear flows u=u(y), we had
= du/dy
In fully developed pipe flow, it turns out that
= du/dr
Laminar Turbulent

w w
w = shear stress at the wall,
acting on the fluid
w,turb > w,lam

15
Fully Developed Pipe Flow
Pressure drop
 The energy equation for steady and incompressible flow
with zero shaft work
 p V
2
  V
2

 1  1  z1    p2  2  z 2   hL
 g 2 g   g 2g 
   
 Total head loss , hL, is regarded as the sum of major
losses, hL major, due to frictional effects in fully
developed flow in constant area tubes, and minor losses,
hL minor, resulting from entrance, fitting, area changes,
and so on.
hL  hLmajor  hLmin or

Fully Developed Pipe Flow

Pressure drop
There is a direct connection between the pressure drop in a pipe and
the shear stress at the wall
Consider a horizontal pipe, fully developed, and incompressible flow

w

Take CV inside the pipe wall

P1 V P2

L
1 2

16
Fully Developed Pipe Flow
Pressure drop
Conservation of Mass

Fully Developed Pipe Flow

Friction Factor
From momentum CV analysis

Equating the two gives

To predict head loss, we need to be able to calculate w. How?

Laminar flow: solve exactly
Turbulent flow: rely on empirical data (experiments)
In either case, we can benefit from dimensional analysis!

17
Fully Developed Pipe Flow
Friction Factor
Now go back to equation for hL and substitute f for w

or 0.8

Our problem is now reduced to solving for Darcy friction factor f

Recall But for laminar flow, roughness
does not affect the flow unless it
Therefore is huge
Laminar flow: f = 64/Re (exact)
Turbulent flow: Use charts or empirical equations (Moody Chart, a famous
plot of f vs. Re and /D

18