Blog Archives
Closed Conduit Hydraulics – Friction and Minor Losses
Friction and minor losses are glossed over in the darcy-weisbach article but I want to throw in some extra notes here. Friction occurs over every bit of length of a close-conduit system and is usually a surprisingly high amount of energy loss. Friction depends on the material of the pipe and the velocity of flow. The formula for frictional head loss IS the Darcy-Weisbach equation.
$$ h_f = f \frac{L}{D}\frac{V^2}{2g} $$
Closed Conduit Hydraulics – Darcy-Weisbach Equation
The Darcy-Weisbach equation is used to determine flow characteristics in closed conduit systems (pipes). It is probably more common than the Hazen-Williams equation due to it being able to solve for systems in both laminar AND turbulent flow.
$$ h_f = f \frac{L}{D} \frac{V^2}{2g} $$
- headloss \(h_f\) (ft)
- friction factor \(f\), length \(L\)
- length \(L\) (ft)
- diameter \(D\) (ft)
- velocity \(V\) $$\frac{ft}{s}\)
- gravity g \(32.2 \frac{ft}{s^2}\)
Friction Factor
The friction factor \(f$$ is either given or must be calculated using a Moody-Stanton diagram (available in both the AIO and CERM). Getting the friction factor from a Moody-Stanton chart requires the Reynolds Number \(Re\), and relative roughness \(\frac{\epsilon}{D}\). Click here to continue reading
