Objectives

This experiment is to study the basic principles of fluid mechanics by observing the nature of laminar and
turbulent flow in pipes. Employ the Darcy and Poiseuille equations to predict the pipe friction factor, f, for
various flow rates. Evaluate predictions by comparing experimental results with the Moody diagram.

Introduction
friction loss is described as the loss of pressure or commonly known as head ,In flowing fluid
that occurs in pipe or duct flow due to the effect of the fluids viscosity near the surface of the pipe
whether entirely enclosed in a pipe ,Friction loss is a significant concern in every fluid flow .or duct
The phenomena is mainly due to the shear stress between the .or with an open surface ,or duct
depending on the conditions of flow and the physical properties ,pipe surface and the flowing fluid
These conditions can be encapsulated into a number known as the Reynolds .of the system
Re ,number

Re =

Where = , = , = , =

In a uniform pipe, the friction loss is caused by the effects of viscosity, the movement of fluid
molecules against each other or against the wall of the pipe. Therefore, the friction factor is greatly
dependent on the type of flow laminar if Re < 2000 and turbulent if Re > 3000.

In laminar flow, losses are proportional to fluid velocity, V. As the velocity varies along the surface
of the pipe, the surface of the pipe has no influence either on the fluid flow nor the friction loss.
Contrary in turbulent flow, friction losses are proportional to the square of the fluid velocity, 2 . In
this condition, the viscous sub-layer described as a layer of chaotic eddies and vortices near the
surface of the pipe form the transition to the flow. In this case, the pipe surface has great influence
on the flow. In most applications, turbulent flow is rather common. Under turbulent flow, the friction
loss is said to be proportional to 2 and inversely proportional to the pipe diameter. That is the
relationship follows Darcy equation,

1 2
=
2

In this experiment, the head loss is investigated in each pipes PVC and copper to determine
the friction factor of fluid flow in each materials.
Equipment
Frictional pipe rig, thermometer, vernier calliper, tape measure and protractor

Procedure
The water temperature and pipe diameter for the copper and PVC pipe are examined and
recorded. The location of the pressure taps from the inlet along the length of the pipe is recorded.
The V-notch angle and weir datum of the copper pipe rig as well as the venturi-nozzle meter
details for the PVC pipe rig are recorded. The header tank is checked in full and the first seven
pressure tubes on the manometer board are checked to make sure there is no air bubbles. Valves
are checked in closed condition. Pump near the header tank is then switched on. After switching
the pipe on, the manometer board is checked again to ensure there are no air bubbles in the lines.
The levels of first seven pressure tubes on manometer board are recorded. Turn the control vale
until maximum flow rate Q and the levels of first seven pressure tubes on manometer board are
recorded. These steps are repeated for six flow rates. The test is then repeated using a PVC pipe.

Results
Water Temperature: 12 oC
Water Density: 1000 kg/m3

Water Viscosity: 0.001236

PVC Pipe:

Pipe diameter: 53.85 mm

Venturi Diameter, d : 31.8 mm

o
Venturi Diameter, d : 52.1 mm
p
Basic coefficient, C : 0.96

Pipe size correction, Z : 1.0025

d
FLOW RATE Piezometric Readings
Venturi Tank 1 2 3 4 5 6
V
Readings Q L (m) 0.3 2.05 3.81 5.565 7.325 9.08
TEST (cm) (cm) (m3/s) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm)
(m/s)
PVC 1 43.0 43.0 0 0 132.6 132.6 132.6 132.6 132.6 132.6 132.6
PVC 2 42.2 43.9 0.00046 0.201974 131.6 132.2 132 131.7 131.4 131.2 130.9
PVC 3 35.7 51.7 0.00142 0.623486
497 132.3 128.9 126.7 124.5 122.5 120.4 118.3
PVC 4 24.8 66.6 0.00229 1.005481
49 131.9 123.5 118.4 113.4 108.7 103.9 95.4
PVC 5 12.1 83.3 0.00299 1.312834
735 131.5 117.5 110.5 101.3 93.6 80.8 77.8
PVC 6 2.8 95.3 0.0034 1.492854
23 131.2 113 102.6 92.6 82.7 72.7 62.4
PVC 7 -4.3 104.7 0.00369 1.620186
977 131 110 98.3 86.6 75.5 64 52.2
725
Copper Pipe:

Pipe diameter: 46.37 mm

Weir Datum, H0: 65 mm
o
Weir angle: 60
CD: 0.578

Kv: 1.2 mm

FLOW RATE Piezometric

Corrected Tank 1 2 Readings
3 4 5 6
0.3 2.05 3.81 5.565 7.325 9.08
Measured Weir
Weir Height,
Height, Hx He = Hx Q V L (m)
TEST
(mm) H(mm)
0 + kv (m3/s) (m/s) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm)
Copper 1 65 1.2 0 0 192 192 192 192 192 192 192
Copper 2 70 6.5 0.00000268 0.0016 191.5 191.2 191 191 190.8 190.8 190.5
Copper 3 74 10.2 0.00000828
5 0.0049 191.5 191.7 190.8 190.6 190.5 190.2 190.3
Copper 4 80 13.8 0.00002
4 0.0118 191 190 189.5 189 188.2 188.1 187.9
Copper 5 93 29.2 0.00011 0.065 190.7 189 188.1 187.3 186.8 186 185.2
Copper 6 100 33.8 0.00017 0.101 190.5 187.5 186 184.8 183.7 182.2 180.8
Copper 7 109 42.8 0.0003 0.178 190.4 185.5 183 181 179 176.8 174.8
5

GRAPH OF FLOW RATE VS HEAD LOSS FOR PVC PIPE

Theoretical Experimental

0.9

0.8

0.7

0.6
HEAD LOSS (M)

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
0 0.0005 0.001 0.0015 0.002 0.0025 0.003 0.0035 0.004 0.0045 0.005
-0.1
FLOW RATE, Q (M^3/S)

Figure 1: Flow rate vs head loss for PVC pipe

 GRAPH OF FLOW RATE VS HEAD LOSS FOR COPPER
PIPE
0.18

0.16

0.14

0.12
HEAD LOSS (M)

0.1

0.08 Experimental
Theoretical
0.06

0.04

0.02

0
-0.00005 0 0.00005 0.0001 0.00015 0.0002 0.00025 0.0003 0.00035
-0.02
FLOW RATE, Q (M^3/S)

Figure 2: Flow rate vs head loss for copper pipe

Discussion
From the tables above, we can summarise that the flow in PVC pipe experiences turbulent flow,
whereas the flow in copper pipe undergoes laminar flow. There is indication of transitional flow
particularly in section 5 and 6 in the copper pipe, with Reynolds number of 2551.68 and 3678.42
respectively. The results obtained in the copper pipe are far from prediction, as it is hypothesized
that there will be turbulent flow in both pipes. Flow rates tabulated in Table are extremely small
compared to the rates in PVC pipes, due to the narrow range of weir height. By plotting the data
we have on the Moody diagram, it is found that the roughness of the PVC is average
approximately 0.00037, which is close enough to 0 as predicted. However, due to the large friction
factor values of the copper pipe, the data cannot be plotted on the Moody diagram alone. Hence,
no roughness value could be estimated.

As seen in Figure 2, the theoretical and experimental results experience different trends producing
large percentage of error. This is mainly due to the tight range of weir height. The height is
controlled too close from each data points, therefore resulting in smaller values of flow rate and
hence velocity. As the head loss and friction factor are depending on the velocity, this explained
why the theoretical head loss values are extremely small as compared to the observed head loss.
There are several systematic and random errors that could have led to the large percentage of
error. These errors include parallel error while measuring the height of the Piezometric readings.
The scales on the manometer board are mostly faded that have caused confusion on whom taking
the readings and alternatively resulted in fault readings. In measuring the length of sections with
respect to the tank, the middle points of each marks are assumed as the end point for that
particular section. There are variations within 5-10mm depending on a person's preference in
measuring. Besides due to the age of the copper pipe, there may be some scums deposit around
the surface of the pipe, resulting in minor loss of the energy flow and hence minor reduction in flow
rates. Equations stated earlier assumes that the water flows smoothly through the pipe, where in
practical it involves minor loss in energy, therefore producing percentage of error. These errors
can be minimize by cleaning the pipes from scum deposition prior to the experiment. A detailed
scaling manometer board should be used for better measurements. To get a wider vision of the
Copper pipe analysis, an appropriate range of the weir height should be selected. In this
experiment, the range is narrow and hence producing very small values of Q.
Appendix
Sketches of expected dye streak line patterns for:
Laminar flow:

Transitional flow:

Turbulent flow:

Sketch of piezometer readings:

Calculated theoretical results for PVC Pipe:

Q V Re F Head Loss
0.0001 0 0 0
0.000541 0.237352 10340.94 0.031 0.015009
0.001658 0.728163 31724.56 0.023 0.104806
0.002681 1.176946 51277.14 0.021 0.249996
0.003498 1.536061 66923.04 0.02 0.405553
0.003987 1.750811 76279.27 0.019 0.500534
0.004329 1.90056 82803.54 0.019 0.589818
Calculated theoretical results for Copper Pipe:

Q V Re F Head Loss
0.0001 0 0 0
3.93E-08 2.32865E-05 0.873621 0.031 1.67772E-10
2.69E-06 0.001590137 59.65587 0.023 5.80426E-07
8.28E-06 0.004905142 184.0222 0.021 5.04281E-06
1.76E-05 0.010443567 391.8027 0.02 2.1771E-05
0.000115 0.068015558 2551.684 0.019 0.000877243
0.000166 0.098048937 3678.422 0.019 0.00182301