1.

HEAD LOSS FORMULAS

1.1 Darcy-Weisbach Equation
The fundamentally most sound and versatile equation for frictional head loss in a pipe is the Darcy-Weisbach equation:

Where
hL the head loss in [m]
f the pipe friction factor
L the pipe length in [m]
4Q
v the average flow velocity in the pipe [m/s] v  2
d the inside diameter of the pipe [m] d
K friction coefficient of the pipe fittings (elbow, tee, valve, ………)
Q the flow rate [m3/s]
the friction factor f is a function of the pipe Reynolds number Re= ρVd/µ and the relative roughness factor
/d. The following table presents common values of the absolute roughness  for several pipe materials.

Recommended values for the absolute roughness 

Pipe Material Smooth Average Rough
Glass, drawn tubing -- 0.0015 --
PVC -- 0.035 --
PE, GRP, Cast Iron cement lined -- 0.040 0.09
Seamless Steel -- 0.045 --
Galvanized Steel -- 0.15 --
Cast iron -- 0.25 --
Wood stave 0.18 0.54 0.9
Concrete 0.3 1.65 3
Riveted Steel 0.9 4.95 9

Swamee & Jane developed the flowing equation for calculating the friction factor f=f (Re, ε) for all kinds of flow;
laminar, turbulent and transition zone.
 16  0.125
 64 8  ε 5.74 2500 6  
f  ( )  9.5  ln (  )  ( )  
 R e 
 3.7d R e
0.9
R e  

For Re= 2000 to 5x106 the Swamee & Jane formula can be simplified to:
2
  0 .9  
  1  
f  1 .325  ln  o .27    5 .74   
  D  Re   
where r vd
Re is the Reynolds Number Re 
m
ε is the absolute roughness of the pipe wall
r the fluid density for water at 20 C = 1000 kg/m3
m the absolute viscosity of the fluid; for water at 20 °C = 0.001 kg/m/s
The Darcy-Weisbach friction factors f =f (Re, /d) are presented in the following Moody diagram .

1.2 Empirical Equations

Hazen Williams Formula
Other formulas for calculating the head losses in the piping of the irrigation network is the Hazen William’s
formula:

1 .852
Q L
h L  10 .675   
C  D 4.8704
Where: hL the head loss in [m]
Q the flow rate [m3/s]
L the pipe length in m
d the inside diameter of the pipe [m]
C = CHW friction coefficient of the pipe
 The Manning Equation

Another empirical equation, which was originally and primarily developed for flow in open channels, is the
Manning equation

in which,
S = HL/L is the slope of the energy line,
R = A/P is the hydraulic radius,
A is the cross-sectional area, and P is the wetted perimeter, so that pipes flowing full will always have R = D /4,
n is the Manning friction factor.

Recommended values of C HW and n

Pipe Material CHW n
Very Smooth 150 0.009
PVC, Commercial Steel 140 0.010
Cement-lined Ductile Iron, GRP 140 0.012
New Cast Iron, Welded Steel 130 0.014
Wood, Concrete 120 0.016
Clay, New Riveted Steel 110 0.017
Old Cast Iron, Brick 100 0.020
Badly corroded Cast Iron 80 0.035

In summary, the best equation for computing the frictional head loss in a given pipe for a given discharge, or the
best equation for the discharge if the head loss is known, regardless of the fluid, is the Darcy-Weisbach equation.
The range of applicability for the empirical equations is much more restricted. Consequently, all engineers should
consider using the Darcy-Weisbach equation in professional practice even if it is sometimes more difficult to use than
the empirical equations.
2. Minor Losses

Where
HL the head loss in [m]
v the average flow velocity in the up steam pipe [m/s]
K friction coefficient of the pipe fittings (elbow, tee, valve,...)

Head loss coefficients for valves and fittings

* Hydraulic Institute Standard

 Head loss coefficients for valves and fittings

* Hydraulic Institute Standard

* Pump Handbook 3rd Edition

Physical Properties of Fluids & Pipes

Physical Properties of Water (SI units)

Temp. r m pv/g E
3 2
°C kg/m kg/m s m kN/m
0 999.9 0.001792 0.06 2040000
5 1000.0 0.001519 0.09 2060000
10 999.7 0.001308 0.12 2110000
20 998.2 0.001005 0.25 2200000
30 995.7 0.000801 0.44 2230000
40 992.2 0.000656 0.76 2270000
50 988.1 0.000549 1.26 2300000
60 983.2 0.000469 2.03 2280000
70 977.8 0.000406 3.20 2250000
80 971.8 0.000357 4.86 2210000
90 965.3 0.000317 7.18 2160000
100 958.4 0.000284 10.33 2070000

Some Properties of common Liquids

r m K
Liquid 3 2
kg/m kg/m s GN/m
at 20°C
See Water 1025 0.00100 2.05
Alcohol 789 0.00119 1.32
Benzene 870.0 0.00065 1.10
Glycerol 1262 0.62000 4.03
Mercury 13546 0.00152 26.20
Paraffin
800 0.00190 1.62
Oil
at 38°C
Oil
880-950 0.0290
s.a.e 10
Oil
880-950 0.0960
s.a.e 30
Properties of gases at atmospheric pressure and 20 °C

Chemical Molecular R Cp Cv
Gas k
formula weight m N/kg kcal/kg k kcal/kg k
Air -- 29.0 287.00 0.24 0.171 1.40
Carbon
CO 28.0 297.00 0.249 0.178 1.40
monoxide
Helium He 4.0 2077.00 1.25 0.753 1.66
Hydrogen H2 2.02 4121.00 3.43 2.44 1.41
Nitrogen N2 28.0 297.00 0.248 0.177 1.40
Oxygen H2O 32.0 260.00 0.219 0.157 1.39

Modulus of Elasticity and Poisson's ratio for common pipe materials

Modulus of Elasticity E
Pipe Material Poisson's ratio n
[bar]
Steel 2,068,965.5 0.30
Cast Iron 1,034,482.8 0.29
Ductile Iron 1,655,172.4 0.28
Brass 1,034,482.8 0.34
Copper 1,103,448.3 0.36
Aluminum 724,137.9 0.33
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) 27,586.2 0.45
Polyethylene (PE) 6,896.6 0.40
Fiberglass-reinforced plastic (GRP) 89,655.2 0.22
E1 & E 2 275,862.1 0.29
Asbestos Cement 234,482.8 0.30
½
57000 (sc) /14.5 0.24
Concrete
sc =28 days strength [psi]
Steel Pipes
Sch.20 Sch.30 Sch.40
ND OD
Inch [mm] t ID W t ID W t ID W
[mm] [mm] [kg/m] [mm] [mm] [kg/m] [mm] [mm] [kg/m]
1 33.4 3.38 26.64 2.50
1.25 42.2 3.56 35.08 3.38
1.5 48.3 3.68 40.94 4.05
2 60.3 3.91 52.48 5.43
2.5 73.0 5.16 62.68 8.62
3 88.9 5.49 77.92 11.26
3.5 101.6 5.74 90.12 13.56
4 114.3 6.02 102.26 16.05
5 141.3 6.55 128.20 21.76
6 168.3 7.11 154.08 28.23
8 219.1 6.35 206.40 33.25 7.04 205.02 36.76 8.18 202.74 42.49
10 273.0 6.35 260.30 41.73 7.80 257.40 50.96 9.27 254.46 60.24
12 323.9 6.35 311.20 49.68 8.38 307.14 65.14 10.31 303.28 79.71
14 355.6 7.92 339.76 67.96 9.52 336.56 81.21 11.13 333.34 94.31
16 406.4 7.92 390.56 77.92 9.52 387.36 93.13 12.70 381.00 123.18
18 457.2 7.92 441.36 87.85 11.13 434.94 122.12 14.27 428.66 155.90
20 508.0 9.52 488.96 116.97 12.70 482.60 154.97 15.09 477.82 183.14
22 558.8 9.52 539.76 128.89 12.70 533.40 170.86 -- -- --
24 609.6 9.52 590.56 140.81 14.27 581.06 209.54 17.48 574.64 254.74
26 650.4 12.70 625.00 202.65 -- -- -- -- -- --
28 711.2 12.70 685.80 218.54 15.68 679.84 271.94 -- -- --
30 762.0 12.70 736.60 234.44 15.68 730.64 291.81 -- -- --
32 812.8 12.70 787.40 250.33 15.68 781.44 311.67 17.48 777.84 342.17
34 863.6 12.70 838.20 266.22 15.68 832.24 331.54 17.48 828.64 364.01
36 914.4 12.70 889.00 282.12 15.68 883.04 351.41 19.05 876.30 420.21
 Ductile Iron Pipes
Inside C ement M ortar L ining, outside zinc protection & bituminous coating

Nomlinal
Thickness [mm] Weight [kg/m]
ND OD [mm] ID [mm] pressure
IRON CML [bar] IRON CML
80 98.0 6.00 3.00 89.00 40.00 12.20 1.7
100 118.0 6.00 3.00 109.00 40.00 14.90 2.1
125 144.0 6.00 3.00 135.00 40.00 18.30 2.7
150 170.0 6.00 3.00 161.00 40.00 21.80 3.2
200 222.0 6.30 3.00 212.70 40.00 30.10 4.2
250 274.0 6.80 3.00 264.20 32.00 40.20 5.2
300 326.0 7.20 3.00 315.80 32.00 50.80 6.3
350 378.0 7.70 5.00 365.30 32.00 63.20 12.3
400 429.0 8.10 5.00 415.90 25.00 75.50 14.0
500 532.0 9.00 5.00 518.00 25.00 104.30 17.5
600 635.0 9.90 5.00 620.10 25.00 137.10 20.9
700 738.0 10.80 6.00 721.20 25.00 173.90 29.3
800 842.0 11.70 6.00 824.30 25.00 215.20 33.4
900 945.0 12.60 6.00 926.40 20.00 260.20 37.6
1000 1048.0 13.50 6.00 1028.50 20.00 309.30 41.7
PVC pipes
Poly Vinyl Cloride
16 bar 10 bar 6 bar
D t ID t ID t ID
mm mm mm mm mm mm
20 1.5 17.0
25 1.9 21.2 1.5 22.0
32 2.4 27.2 1.8 28.4
40 3.0 34.0 1.9 36.2 1.8 36.4
50 3.7 42.6 2.4 45.2 1.8 46.4
63 4.7 53.6 3.0 57.0 1.9 59.2
75 5.6 63.8 3.6 67.8 2.2 70.6
90 6.7 76.6 4.3 81.4 2.7 84.6
110 8.2 93.6 5.3 99.4 3.2 103.6
125 9.3 106.4 6.0 113.0 3.7 117.6
160 11.9 136.2 7.7 144.6 4.7 150.6
200 14.9 170.2 9.6 180.8 5.9 188.2
225 16.7 191.6 10.8 203.4 6.6 211.8
250 18.6 212.8 11.9 226.2 7.3 235.4
280 20.8 238.4 13.4 253.2 8.2 263.6
315 23.8 267.4 15.0 285.0 9.2 296.6
355 26.3 302.4 16.9 321.2 10.4 334.2
400 29.7 340.6 19.1 361.8 11.7 376.6
450 21.5 407.0 13.2 423.6
500 23.9 452.2 14.6 470.8
560 26.7 506.6 16.4 527.2
630 30.0 570.0 18.4 593.2
710 20.7 668.6
800 23.3 753.4
900 26.3 847.4
1000 29.2 941.6
PE pipes
Polyethylene pipes
10 bar 6 bar 4 bar
D t ID t ID t ID
mm mm mm mm mm mm
20 1.9 16.2 1.8 16.4
25 2.3 20.4 1.8 21.4
32 3.0 26.0 1.9 28.2
40 3.7 32.6 2.3 35.4 2.0 36
50 4.6 40.8 2.9 44.2 2.0 46
63 5.8 51.4 3.6 55.8 2.5 58
75 6.9 61.2 4.3 66.4 2.9 69.2
90 8.2 73.6 5.1 79.8 3.5 83
110 10.0 90.0 6.3 97.4 4.3 101.4
125 11.4 102.2 7.1 110.8 4.9 115.2
160 14.6 130.8 9.1 141.8 6.2 147.6
200 18.2 163.6 11.4 177.2 7.7 184.6
225 20.5 184.0 12.8 199.4 8.7 207.6
250 22.8 204.4 14.2 221.6 9.7 230.6
280 25.5 229.0 15.9 248.2 10.8 258.4
315 29.0 257.0 17.9 279.2 12.2 290.6
355 32.3 290.4 20.1 314.8 13.7 327.6
400 36.4 327.2 22.7 354.6 15.4 369.2
450 41.0 368.0 25.5 399.0 17.4 415.2
GRP Pipes
Glass Reinforced Plastic
6 bar 5000 N/m 2 10 bar 5000 N/m 2 10 bar 10000 N/m 2
ND ID t ID t ID t
[mm] [mm] [mm] [mm] [mm] [mm]
300 313.3 5.3 313.5 5.1 311.2 6.4
350 365.5 6.1 365.8 6.0 363.1 7.4
400 398.4 6.7 399.0 5.4 395.7 8.1
450 447.8 7.6 448.5 7.2 444.8 9.1
500 497.2 8.4 498.2 7.9 493.8 10.1
600 596.1 10.0 597.5 9.3 592.0 12.1
700 695.2 11.5 696.8 10.7 690.0 14.2
800 794.3 13.0 796.1 12.1 788.3 16.1
900 893.4 14.5 895.1 13.6 886.8 17.9
1000 992.5 16.0 994.3 15.0 984.9 19.9
1100 1091.6 17.5 1093.6 16.5 1083.1 21.9
1200 1190.8 18.0 1192.8 17.9 1181.5 23.8
1300 1289.6 20.6 1292.1 19.3 1279.8 25.7
1400 1388.7 22.1 1391.5 20.7 1378.1 27.6
1500 1487.6 23.7 1490.7 22.1 1476.5 29.4
1600 1586.8 25.2 1589.9 23.5 1574.7 31.4
1700 1685.8 26.7 1689.2 24.9 1673.2 33.2
1800 1784.8 28.2 1788.5 26.3 1771.4 35.2
1900 1884.0 29.7 1887.8 27.8 1869.7 37.1
2000 1983.1 31.2 1987.0 29.2 1968.2 38.9
2100 2082.2 32.7 2086.3 30.6 2066.5 40.8
2200 2181.2 34.3 2185.6 32.0 2164.8 42.7
2300 2280.4 35.7 2284.8 33.4 2263.2 44.6
2400 2379.5 37.2 2384.1 34.8 2361.6 46.5
2500 2478.4 38.8 2483.3 36.3 2459.8 48.4
2600 2577.5 40.4 2582.6 37.7 2558.2 50.4
2800 2775.8 43.5 2781.3 40.6 2755.0 54.2
3000 2974.1 46.6 2980.0 43.5 2951.8 58.1