PIPE NETWORKS

CE 3502 FLUID MECHANICS

Laboratory Experiment #8
Ryan Conway
Lab Section 2
Jon Czuba
2 December, 2014
Laboratory work was performed by or under the observation of authors stated
above.
Ryan Conway_______________________________________________________________

I.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this lab is to use the solver tool in Excel to find optimal
solutions for pipe networks. Three different networks containing pipes,
pumps, and reservoirs will be analyzed to explore pipe friction and pump
sizing and efficiency.

II.

PROCEDURE:
A. Exercise 1
These steps are to be repeated for Case 1 and Case 2
1. Analyze the node and loop equations given. Correct the errors in
Node C and D.
2. Write out all final loop and node equation and reference them on
pipe system diagram with assigned flow directions drawn in.
3. Create spread sheet with columns for all relevant information in
excel. Enter loop equations.
4. Enter the assigned inflow values into the spread sheet.
5. Run solver on the Q values in the five pipes with one of the loops as
the objective cell and the other loop and the 4 nodes as constraints.
The objective cell and the constraints should all be set to 0 in
solver.
6. Once solver has converged to a solution, copy and paste the Q
values as data only so they will be preserved.
7. Enter the new case values and repeat steps 1-6.
B. Exercise 2
Case 1: Flow in all pipes with Hp as a function of Q6.
1. Analyze the pipe system and assign flow directions
2. Calculate ks/d(see sample calculation 1)
3. Calculate r from the given data(see sample calculation 2)
4. Create spread sheet with columns for all relevant information in
excel. Enter loop equations.
5. Come up with balance equations for the 2 nodes and 4 loops and
enter the equations in excel.
6. Write out all final loop and node equation and reference them on
pipe system diagram with assigned flow directions drawn in (See
Appendix 4-b).
7. Enter Hp as function of Q6.
8. Run solver on the Q values in the five pipes with one of the loops as
the objective cell and the other loop and the 4 nodes as constraints.
The objective cell and the constraints should all be set to 0 in
solver.
9. Once solver has converged to a solution, copy and paste the Q
values as data only so they will be preserved
10.Solve the given pump equation for the max flow rate. (see sample
calculation 3).
11.Compare the flow through the pump (Q6) to the max flow of the
pump. (see sample calculation 4)
12.Estimate the efficiency of the pump with line fitting (see sample
calculation 5) to efficiency table (appendix 3).

Case 2: Flow in pipe 1 = 0, solve for Hp and Q6 separately

1. Flow directions, loops, nodes, and diagram will be the same as used
for case 1.
2. Change Hp from a function of Q6 to an independent variable to be
optimized. This adds an unknown.
3. Set Q1 equal to zero. This removes an unknown. We once again
have six equations and six unknowns and the system can be
solved.
4. Run solver on the Q values of pipes two through six and Hp. Set one
of the loops as the objective cell and the other loop and the 4 nodes
as constraints. The objective cell and the constraints should all be
set to 0 in solver.
5. Once solver has converged to a solution, copy and paste the Q and
Hp values as data only so they will be preserved
6. Compare the flow through the pump (Q6) to the max flow of the
pump.( see sample calculation 4)
7. Estimate the efficiency of the pump with line fitting (see sample
calculation 5) to efficiency table (appendix 3).
Case 3: Flow in pipe 3 = 0, solve for Hp and Q6 separately
1. Repeat the steps for Case 2 with Q3 now set equal to zero.
C. Exercise 3
1. Analyze the pipe system and assign flow directions
2. Create spread sheet with columns for all relevant information in excel.
Enter loop equations.
3. Come up with balance equations for the 2 nodes and 4 loops and enter
the equations in excel.
4. Write out all final loop and node equation and reference them on pipe
system diagram with assigned flow directions drawn in (See appendix 4-c)
5. Enter Hp as function of Q1.
6. Run solver on the Q values in the 3 pipes with one of the loops as the
objective cell and the other loop and the node as constraints. The
objective cell and the constraints should all be set to 0 in solver.
7. Once solver has converged to a solution, copy and paste the Q values as
data only so they will be preserved
8. Solve the given pump equation for the max flow rate. (see sample
calculation 3).
9. Compare the flow through the pump (Q1 to the max flow of the pump.
(see sample calculation 4)
10.Estimate the efficiency of the pump with line fitting (see sample
calculation 5) to efficiency table (appendix 3).

III.

TABULATION OF COMPUTED RESULTS:

A. Exercise 1

Outflow conditions 1
Pipe
1
2
3
4

r Q(m3/s)
6
48
1
29
2
-21
3
-1.5

5 5

-52

Outflow conditions 2
Pipe
1
2
3
4

r Q(m3/s)
6
1
2
3

5 5

B. Exercise 2
1. Flow rate for cases 1,2,3 :

2. Pump head and efficiency data

C. Exercise 3

46
23
23
23
-54

IV.

SAMPLE CALCULATIONS
1. Sample calculation of ks/d:

k s 0.0003 m
=
=0.002
D
0.15 m

Where ks is the roughness coefficient (m) and D is the diameter of the

pipe (m).
2. Sample calculation of r:

8 fl
80.024300 m
=
=7840
5 2
D g 0.15 m5 29.81m/ s2

Where f is the friction factor, l(m) is the length of the pipe, D(m) is the
diameter of the pipe and g[m/ s
3. Sample calculation of

H p=1502Q0.5 Q2=0 Qmax=15.4

Where

Qmax .
m3
s

H p (m) is the pump head

4. Comparison of Q and

] is the acceleration due to gravity.

Qmax :

Qmax ( m
s

) is the max discharge

m3
4.9
Q
s
=
100=32
Q max
m3
15.4
s
5. Sample calculation of pump efficiency
Fitting equation: y = -0.0005x3 + 0.044x2 + 0.6133x + 0.6

Q
Qmax

( )

Eff = -0.0005*
= -0.0005* 32

V.

+ 0.044*
2

+ 0.044* 32

Q
Qmax

( )

+ 0.6133*

Q
Qmax

( )

+ 0.6

+ 0.6133* 32 + 0.6 = 48%

DISCUSSION

A. Exercise 1:
The two separate outflow conditions provided in exercise one resulted very different
flows. In both situations the flows through pipe 1, pipe 2 and pipe 5 we similar, the
flows through pipe 3 and 4 were very different. For the second configuration, the
flow through pipe 4 was much lower than for the first configuration (-1.5 m3/s vs 23
m3/s).
B. Exercise 2:
The friction factors calculated from the Moody diagram are consistent with the type
of flow that would be expected within this pipe system. Flow directions were initially
chosen to simplify calculations rather than to try and estimate true flow direction.
When the equations were solved, all flow directions were found to be accurate
except for pipe 4 which flows toward the outlet. The highest flow in the system,
other than pipe 6, was found to be in pipe 3. See appendix 4.B and 5. A for flow
diagrams.
When the head and flow volume through the pump were solved independently,
setting one of the pipe flows equal to zero resulted in a sufficient number of
equations and unknowns that the system could be solved. When the system was
solved for the flow in pipes 1 and 3 equal to 0, the flow direction changed in several
of the pipes (see tabulated resulted B.1)
When the pump efficiencies were calculated for all three scenarios, it is clear that
this pump would not be a good choice for a system in which all these conditions
occurred (see tabulation of computed results B.2)
Within exercise 2, the three flow scenarios provided resulted in three very different
flow patterns. Though the pump was 87% efficient for scenario 2 (flow through pipe
1 = 0) , and 48% efficient for scenario 1 (flow in all pipes), it was only 1.6% efficient
for scenario 3 (flow through pipe 3 = 0). This pump would be poor choice for this
system. If the system only included scenario 1, the pump would be a good choice.

C. Exercise 3:
This system had much lower flows overall than either previous system. Testing of
the two proposed pumps suggests that neither pump would be optimal. Pump 1 and
pump 2 run at 54% and 66% efficiency respectively.

VI.

APPENDIX

1.
Loop and Node Equations
A. Exercise 1
Loop 1: r1Q12 + r4Q42+ r5Q52 = 0
Loop 2: - r2Q22 + r3Q32+ r4Q42 = 0
Node A: QA +Q5 - Q1 = 0
Node B: Q1 Q2 QB Q4 = 0
Node C: Q2 Q3 QC = 0
Node D: Q3 + Q4 - Q5 QD = 0
Overall Balance: QA QB QC QD = 0
B. Exercise 2
Loop 1: r1Q12 + r4Q42+ r5Q52 = 0
Loop 2: r4Q42 + r2Q22+ r3Q32 = 0
Loop 3: -Hp + r6Q62 + r5Q52+ (h1-h3) = 0
Loop 4: -Hp + r6Q62 + r3Q32+ (h1-h2) = 0
Node A: Q1 +Q2 + Q4 Qout = 0
Node B: Q1 +Q2 + Q4 Qout = 0
C. Exercise 3
Loop 1: -Hp + r1Q12 + r2Q22- (h1-h2) = 0
Loop 2: -Hp + r1Q12 - r3Q32- (h1-h3) = 0
Node A: Q1 +Q2 - Q4 = 0

2. Relevant computed values

A. Exercise 2:

B. Exercise 3:

3. Pump Efficiency table

This table was used to find the efficiency of pumps used in this lab. An
equation was fit the relationship between Q max and n.

4. Setup Loop Diagrams

A. Exercise 1.

B. Exercise 2.

C. Exercise 3

5. Solution Loop Diagrams

A. Solution diagram for Exercise 2, case 1.

All flow values are in m3/s.

6. Thought questions
A. In order to ensure that a solution is an absolute minimum rather than a
local minimum, many different starting values were tried. For all initial

guesses, solver converged to the same value, suggesting that this value is
indeed the only unique solution.
If solver were converging to multiple solutions, or the system were more
complicated, a sum RMS error could be calculated. The error could be
based on the goal vs the actual value. For this system, it would be how far
the constraints are from zero. This sum RMS error would then be a
constraint to be minimized. The solution with the lowest RMS would be
found by testing various values. Whichever solution had the lowest overall
RMS error value would be the global minima.
Additionally, solver includes a multi-start function which comes to
minima from multiple directions to ensure that the point is the global
minima.
B. Using solver to find solutions with error constraints could be applied to
many engineering problems. For example, solver could be used to find
the optimal configuration of pumping wells in an aquifer. Error could be
computed by comparing calculated head values to known head values.
Another possible application would be simple curve fitting. Solver could be
used fit a data set to parameters in an equation. The parameters could be
set as constraints and manipulated by solver until best fit is found.

7. Works Cited:
Crow, Egler, and Roberson, Engineering Fluid Mechanics, 9 th ed, 2012 (John Wiley &
Sons, New York).
Guala, Michele, John S. Gulliver, Kimberly Hill, Ben Janke, Corey Markfort, Qin Qian,
Fotis Sotiropoulos, Craig Taylor, and Jim Thill. CE 3502 Fluid Mechanics Lab
Manual. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota-Twin Cities, 2014. Fall ,2014. Text.