LBYCVW 2

Updated: Sept 13, 2014

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PROBLEM EXERCISES:
Headloss Equations Using Friction Factor
Renan T. Tanhueco
Department of Civil Engineering
De La Salle University
Manila, Philippines
renan.tanhueco@dlsu.edu.ph

A. Darcy-Weisbach Equation and Friction Factor
The Darcy-Weisbach equation is used to determine the pipe friction losses in the form of

(1)
Type of Flow Flow Description
Equation
Laminar Flow
The friction factor is linearly dependent on
Reynolds number and calculated based on
Hagen-Poiseuille equation.

if
Transition
between
laminar and
turbulent
Transition flow occurs in the region with
Reynolds number greater than 4,000 and
prior to complete turbulence in rough pipes.

Colebrook and White

Turbulent flow
in smooth
conduits
Blasius developed an equation for friction
factor of a smooth pipe with Reynolds
number ranging from 3,000 to 100,000.

Von Karman developed an equation for
friction factor using the data from
Nikuradse.

[]
(i.e.,

)
Turbulent flow
in rough
conduits
Von Karman found that at high Reynolds
number the nominal thickness of viscous
sublayer becomes smaller and the friction
factor is independent of Reynolds number.

]
(i.e.,

)
Free surface
flow
A condition may exist in a pipe that is
flowing partially full of fluid

LBYCVW 2
Updated: Sept 13, 2014
2 | P a g e

Proposal for HNICEM Conference: Pipe Sizing for District Cooling Distribution Network, Augusto, Culaba , Tanhueco
2013, De La Salle University





































Figure 1.Composite Log-Law for smooth and rough pipes given by Moody Diagram using Colebrook and
White.

An explicit expresion for F is from Swamee and Jain (1976):

{ (

) (

(2)

Valid over a ranges: 0.01 >

>

and

>

> 5000



LBYCVW 2
Updated: Sept 13, 2014
3 | P a g e


Problem Exercises
Given the following absolute roughness e for different materials:
Material e (mm)*
Riveted steel 3
Concrete 0.3-3
Wood 0.3
Cast Iron 0.25
Galvanized Iron 0.15
Wrought Iron 0.046
Drawn Tubing 0.0015
*In computing for friction factor f make sure e unit is homogenous with D.
1. Water at 20 deg C is transported for 500 m in a 4cm diameter wrought iron horizontal pipe with a flow rate
of 3 liters per second (3 L/s). Calculate the pressure drop (headloss) over the 500 m length of pipe, using the
Darcy-Weisbach friction equation and using the following methods for computing friction factor f .
a. Colebrook and White
b. Swamee and Jain (1976)
c. Moody diagram
For kinematic viscosity (v) of water at 20-deg C, use 1.007 x 10
- 6
m
2
/s, and Reynolds Number v .
Answer : hl = 83 m.
2. A pressure drop of 700 kPa is measured over a 300-m length of horizontal, 10-cm diameter wrought iron pipe that
transports oil ( s= 0.9, v =10
5
m
2
/s). Calculate the flow rate using (a) Swamee and Jain (b) Moody diagram
i. Compute the headloss (m) equivalent to the given pressure drop. Use density of oil.
ii. Solve for friction factor f.
iii. Solve for velocity from Darcy Weisbach

Answer : Q = 38 lps.
3. What diameter of drawn tubing should be selected to transport 0.002 m
3
/s of 20 deg-C water over a 200 meter length ,
so that the head loss does not exceed 30 meters? Use the following
a. Swamee and Jain
b. Moody Diagram
i. Set-up velocity v, Darcy-Weisbach equation hl, and Reynods no. Re in terms of D and f
ii. First, guess f and solve for D, Re and recompute f in the process using above equations set-up.
iii. Check using friction factor equations if the next value of f is the same as the previous guess. Else repeat
the process until value of new and old f converges.
Ans. D= 4 cm.