Comparative Assessment of Friction Head Losses in Pipe Flow

Abstract

In spite of widely investigated and reported determination of frictional losses due to turbulent pipe flow, it is still demonstrating inconsistency. This work is presenting comparisons of estimated frictional losses results in study turbulent pipe flow as measured experimentally, estimated by empirical relations and predicted numerically. The Wilson frictional losses have been evaluated at inclination angles of 0°, 45° and 90°, different pipe materials, different inside diameters and at various flow rates ranging from 1.8 to 5.1 m³/s covering range of Reynolds number from 1925 to 4100. The results appeared that the head loss is strongly dependent on pipe inclination angle and this behaviour increases with its increase, for different pipe material and with different pipe diameter. Numerical results shown turbulence intensity increased with the inclination of pipe, particularly, its start to become unstable near at the inlet, with velocity profiles becoming more turbulence. The minimum head loss per unit length was estimated for three of the inclination angles (0°, 45°, and 90°), using this type of data, the feasibility of a piping system can be assessed. The numerical results and experimental data were compared and a good agreement was obtained.