Minor loses in pipe flow:

BY
GAMAL NASSER
 Additional frictional losses occur at pipe entry,
valves and fittings, sudden decrease or increase
in flow area or where direction of flow changes.
The frictional losses other than pipe friction are
called minor losses. In a pipe system design, it is
necessary to take into account all such losses.
These losses are generally expressed
as hf=Cum2/2g where C is constant, the value of
which will depend on the situation and is called
the loss coefficient. The expression is applicable
both for laminar and turbulent flows.
 (i) Loss of head at entrance: At the entrance
from the reservoir into the pipe, losses take
place due to the turbulence created
downstream of the entrance. Three types of
entrances are known

 (a) Bell mouthed: This is a smooth entrance

and turbulence is suppressed to a great
extent and C = 0.04 for this situation.
 (b) Square edged entrance: Though it is
desirable to provide a bell mouthed entrance
it will not be always practicable. Square edged
entrance is used more popularly. The loss
coefficient, C = 0.5 in this case.

 (c) Reentrant inlet: The pipe may sometimes

protrude from the wall into the liquid.Such an
arrangement is called reentrant inlet. The loss
coefficient in this case is about 0.8.
  Figure: Types of entrance

Figure: Types of entrance

 (ii) Loss of head at submerged
discharge: When a pipe with submerged
outlet discharges into a liquid which is still
(not moving) whole of the dynamic
head u2/2g will be lost. The loss coefficient is
1.0. The discharge from reaction turbines
into the tail race water is an example. The
loss is reduced by providing a diverging pipe
to reduce the exit velocity.
 (iii) Sudden contraction: When the pipe section is
suddenly reduced, loss coefficient depends on the
diameter ratio. The value is 0.33 for D2/D1 = 0.5. The
values are generally available in a tabular statement
connecting D2/D1 and loss coefficient. Gradual
contraction will reduce the loss. For gradual
contraction it varies with the angle of the transition
section from 0.05 to 0.08 for angles of 10° to 60°.

 (iv) Sudden expansion: Here the sudden expansion

creates pockets of eddying turbulence leading to
losses. The loss of head hf is given by
 where u1 and u2 are the velocities in the smaller and
larger sections. Gradual expansion will reduce the
losses.
 (v) Valves and fittings : Losses in flow
through valves and fittings is expressed in
terms of an equivalent length of straight pipe.

 For gate valves L = 8D, and for globe valves it

is 340 D. For 90° bends it is about 30 D.
 Complex connections of pipes are used in
city water supply as well as in industrial
systems. Some of these are discussed in the
para.

 Pipes in Series—Electrical Analogy

 Series flow problem can also be solved by use
of resistance network. Consider equation as
given below
 For given pipe specification the equation can
be simplified as

 Note: The dimension for R is s2/m5. For flow

in series Q is the same through all pipes. This
leads to the relation

 The R values for the pipe can be calculated.
As the total head is also known Q can be
evaluated. The length L should include minor
losses in terms of equivalent lengths. The
circuit is shown in Fig.


Figure Equivalent circuit for series flow

  Such a system is shown below

Case (i) The head drop between

locations 1 and 2 are specified: The
total flow can be determined using
 As hf and all other details except flow
rates Q1, Q2 and Q3 are specified, these flow
rates can be determined.
 Total flow :

The process can be extended to any

number of connections
 Case (ii) Total flow and pipe details specified.
One of the methods uses the following steps:
 1. Assume by proper judgement the flow rate
in pipe 1 as Q1.
 2. Determine the frictional loss.
 3. Using the value find Q2 and Q3.
 4. Divide the total Q in the proportion Q1
: Q2 : Q3 to obtain the actual flow rates.
 Major Head losses in pipe flow problem will
be calculated with the help of Darcy-
Weisbach formula as mentioned below and
this Darcy-Weisbach formula will be used to
calculate the major loss in pipe flow, it does
not matter that pipe is horizontal, vertical or
on inclined plane.
 Friction factor as mentioned above will be
determined on the basis of type of flow i.e.
Laminar flow, Transition flow and turbulent
flow. We can refer below equations in order to
determine the friction factor.

 A centrifugal pump is a mechanical device
designed to move a fluid by means of the
transfer of rotational energy from one or more
driven rotors, called impellers. Fluid enters the
rapidly rotating impeller along its axis and is cast
out by centrifugal force along its circumference
through the impeller’s vane tips. The action of
the impeller increases the fluid’s velocity and
pressure and also directs it towards the pump
outlet. The pump casing is specially designed to
constrict the fluid from the pump inlet, direct it
into the impeller and then slow and control the
fluid before discharge.
 How does a centrifugal pump work?
 The impeller is the key component of a
centrifugal pump. It consists of a series of
curved vanes. These are normally sandwiched
between two discs (an enclosed impeller). For
fluids with entrained solids, an open or semi-
open impeller (backed by a single disc) is
preferred (Figure 1).
 Fluid enters the impeller at its axis (the ‘eye’) and
exits along the circumference between the
vanes. The impeller, on the opposite side to the
eye, is connected through a drive shaft to a
motor and rotated at high speed (typically 500-
5000rpm). The rotational motion of the impeller
accelerates the fluid out through the impeller
vanes into the pump casing.
 There are two basic designs of pump
casing: volute and diffuser. The purpose in both
designs is to translate the fluid flow into a
controlled discharge at pressure.
 In a volute casing, the impeller is offset,
effectively creating a curved funnel with an
increasing cross-sectional area towards the
pump outlet. This design causes the fluid
pressure to increase towards the outlet
(Figure 2).
 The same basic principle applies to diffuser
designs. In this case, the fluid pressure increases as
fluid is expelled between a set of stationary vanes
surrounding the impeller (Figure 3). Diffuser designs
can be tailored for specific applications and can
therefore be more efficient. Volute cases are better
suited to applications involving entrained solids or
high viscosity fluids when it is advantageous to avoid
the added constrictions of diffuser vanes. The
asymmetry of the volute design can result in greater
wear on the impeller and drive shaft.
 are widely used in various industries. These
devices are quite suitable for complex
processes and have become indispensable for
some specific applications. They have been
defined in simple terms as below:
 Compressor: A compressor is a machine which reduces the
volume of gas or liquid by creating a high pressure. We
can also say that a compressor simply compresses a
substance which is usually gas.
 Fans: a Fan is a machine used to move fluid or air. It is
operated through a motor via electricity which rotates the
blades that are attached to a shaft.
 Blowers: Blower is a machine to move air at a moderate
pressure. Or simply, blowers are used for blowing air/gas.
 The basic difference between the above three devices is
the way they move or transmit air/gas and induce system
pressure. Compressors, Fans & Blowers are defined by
ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) as the
ratio of the discharge pressure over the suction pressure.
Fans have the specific ratio up to 1.11, blowers from 1.11
to 1.20 and compressors have more than 1.20.