Incompressible Flow in

Pipes and Channels

By
Farhan Ahmad
farhanahmad@uet.edu.pk

Department of Chemical Engineering,

University of Engineering & Technology Lahore

Significance
Industrial processes - flow of fluids through pipes, conduits,

and processing equipment.

Circular cross-section
Non-circular cross-section

Flow of fluids in

Totally or partially filled pipes,

Layers down vertically inclined surfaces,

Through beds of solids, and

Agitated vessels.

Flow of Incompressible Fluids in Pipe

Shear-Stress Distribution
Consider the steady flow of a viscous fluid at constant

density in fully developed flow through a horizontal tube.

Visualize a disk-shaped element of fluid, concentric with the

axis of the tube.

Flow of Incompressible Fluids in Pipe

Shear-Stress Distribution

At wall

After subtraction

Relation between and r

At r =0 , = 0

Relation between Skin Friction and Wall Shear

Pressure Drop

Apply the balance

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Friction Factor
ratio of the wall shear stress to the product of the density and

the velocity head.

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Relations between Skin Friction Parameter

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Flow in Pipe

Laminar
Turbulent

Fluid may be
Newtonian
Non-Newtonian

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Laminar Flow of Newtonian Fluids

Velocity Distribution
Average velocity
Momentum and Kinetic energy correction factors

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Laminar Flow of Newtonian Fluids

Velocity Distribution

Circular cross-section
Local velocity u depends on radius r
Consider a thin ring of radius r and width dr

According to Newton's law of viscosity

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Using both equations

Integrate with boundary condition u = 0, at r = rw

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Maximum velocity

Maximum velocity is at the center of pipe i.e., at r = 0

Relation of local to maximum velocity

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Graphical representation

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Average Velocity

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Kinetic energy correction factor

For Laminar Flow = 2

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Momentum correction factor

For Laminar Flow = 4/3

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Hagen-Poiseuille Equation

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Laminar Flow for Non-Newtonian Liquids

Velocity variations with radius for power law fluids

The pressure difference for power law fluids

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Laminar Flow for Non-Newtonian Liquids

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Laminar Flow for Non-Newtonian Liquids

Bingham-plastic fluids:
The general shape of the curve of u versus r in case of

Bingham-plastic fluids is;

In the central portion - no velocity variation with the radius

the velocity gradient is confined to an annular space between

the central portion and tube wall.

The center portion is moving in plug flow.
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 The velocity distribution is;

The shear diagram is;

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Laminar Flow for Non-Newtonian Liquids

Bingham-plastic fluids:
For the velocity variation in the annular space between the
tube wall and the plug, the following equation applies;

and

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Turbulent Flow in Pipes and Closed Channels

Viscous Sublayer
Buffer layer
Turbulent core

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Velocity Distribution for Turbulent Flow

Newtonian fluid
Turbulent flow at Reynolds No 10000
Smooth pipe

Velocity gradient is zero at centerline

Turbulent core eddies large but of low intensity
Transition zone eddies small but intense

Kinetic energy
At centerline - isentropic turbulence anisotropic in turbulence core
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Velocity Distribution for Turbulent Flow

It is customary to express the velocity distribution in turbulent

flow not as velocity vs. distance but in terms of dimensionless

parameters defined by the following eqns;

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Velocity Distribution for Turbulent Flow

For the velocity distribution in the laminar sublayer;

An empirical equation for the so-called buffer layer is;

An equation proposed by Prandtl for the turbulent core is;

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Velocity Distribution for Turbulent Flow

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Flow Quantities for Turbulent Flow

Average Velocity:

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Flow Quantities for Turbulent Flow

Reynolds Number Friction Factor Law for Smooth Pipe:

Von Karman equation

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Flow Quantities for Turbulent Flow

Kinetic Energy and Momentum Correction Factors:

For turbulent flow f is of the order of 0.004, and for this value

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and
flow.

both are assumed to be unity in case of turbulent

Flow Quantities for Turbulent Flow

Relation between Maximum velocity and Average Velocity:

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Flow Quantities for Turbulent Flow

Effect of Roughness:

In turbulent flow, a rough pipe leads to a larger friction factor for

a given Reynolds number than a smooth pipe does.

If a rough pipe is smoothed, the friction factor is reduced.
When further smoothing brings about no further reduction in

friction factor for a given Reynolds number, the tube is said to be

hydraulically smooth.

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Flow Quantities for Turbulent Flow

Effect of Roughness:

Roughness parameter k
f is a function of both NRe and the relative roughness k/D,

where D is the diameter of the pipe.

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Flow Quantities for Turbulent Flow

Effect of Roughness:
All clean, new commercial pipes seem to have the same type of

roughness.
Each

material of construction has its own characteristic

roughness parameter.
Old, foul and corroded pipe can be very rough, and the character

of the roughness differs from that of clean pipe.

Roughness has no appreciable effect on the friction factor for

laminar flow unless k is so large that the measurement of the

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diameter becomes uncertain.

Friction Factor Chart

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Friction Factor Chart

For Laminar flow straight line with slope -1
For turbulent flow the lowest line represents the friction factor

for smooth tubes. A much more convenient empirical equation

for this line is the relation;

Over a range of Reynolds number from about 50,000 to 1 106

Over a range of Reynolds number from about 3000 to 3 106

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Friction Factor Chart

For Power Law Fluids

Comparing the
above two equations

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Friction Factor Chart

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Drag Reduction in Turbulent Flow

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Effect of Heat transfer / Non-isothermal flow

When the fluid is either heated or cooled by a conduit wall

hotter or colder than the fluid, the velocity gradient is changed.

The effect on the velocity gradients is especially pronounced

with liquids where viscosity is a strong function of

temperature.

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1. The Reynolds number is calculated on the assumption that the

fluid temperature equals the mean bulk temperature, which is
defined as the arithmetic average of the inlet and outlet
temperatures.
2. The friction factor corresponding to the mean bulk temperature
is divided by a factor

Effect of Heat transfer / Non-isothermal flow

<

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Flow through Channels of Non-Circular cross-sections

Equivalent Diameter:

It is four times the hydraulic radius.

Hydraulic Radius:
It is the ratio of the cross-sectional area of the channel to
the wetted perimeter of the channel.

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Friction Factor in Flow through Channels of NonCircular Cross-Sections

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Friction Factor in Flow through Channels of NonCircular Cross-Sections

For circular cross-section = 1.0

For Parallel planes = 1.5

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Friction from changes in velocity and direction

Change in velocity direction or magnitude

Additional resistance to skin friction
Boundary layer separation
Sudden expansion
Sudden contraction
Fittings and valves

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Friction loss from sudden expansion (1)

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Friction loss from sudden expansion (2)

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Friction loss from sudden contraction

Vena contracta
Kc is contraction loss coefficient
For laminar flow, this coefficient < 0.1
For turbulent flow

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Effect of fitting and valves

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Form friction losses in Bernoullis equation

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Separation from Velocity Decrease

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Minimizing Contraction Losses

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Minimizing Expansion Losses

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Couette Flow

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Layer Flow with Free Surface

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Layer Flow with Free Surface

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Layer Flow with Free Surface

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Layer Flow with Free Surface

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Reynolds Number

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