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Print Article - The Hy draulic Grade

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The Hydraulic Grade

The Bernoulli theorem states that the total energy of the fluid anywhere in the system is composed of three components: the pressure head, the velocity head, and the elevation head. This relationship is expressed in the following way: H = P/r + v/2g + Z H = total head P = gage pressure r = fluid density v = fluid velocity Z = elevation g = gravitational constant Provided no work is done on the fluid, the energy of the fluid must remain the same throughout the piping system. The pressure at any point in the system can be found if the energy at one point is known and the velocity and elevation heads are known. Since all real piping systems have friction losses, a system energy loss will result in the form of heat released due to friction. This loss is the head loss calculated from the Darcy-Weisbach equation: HL = (fL/D)*v/2g f = Darcy friction factor L = pipe length D = pipe diameter v = velocity The figure below illustrates the energy balance between two points in a system:

The fluid energy at any point in the system can be determined from the following equation:
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11/30/12

Print Article - The Hy draulic Grade

P1/r + v1/2g + Z1 = P2/r + v2/2g + Z2 + HL When performing the pressure calculation at a node in the system, the fluid velocity value is unknown at the node, so PIPE-FLO does not factor it into the pressure calculation. This is a valid assumption because the fluid velocity in a process system is designed to be fairly constant.

Pressure and Hydraulic Grade At each node in the system, PIPE-FLO calculates the hydraulic grade and the pressure. Referring to the figure above, the hydraulic grade (HG) and pressure (P) are related as follows: HG = P/r + Z Solving for the pressure: P = (HG - Z)*r

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