Head Loss non-Circular Ducts

ME 322 Lecture Slides, Winter 2007

Gerald Recktenwald
January 25, 2007

Associate Professor, Mechanical and Materials Engineering Department Portland State University, Portland, Oregon,
gerry@me.pdx.edu

Head Loss in a Horizontal Pipe (1)

Consider fully-developed flow (laminar or turbulent) in a horizontal duct with non-circular
cross section.
wLP

perimeter = P

(p p)A

pA
x

L
y

Apply a momentum balance

pA (p p)A w LP = 0

(1)

where w is the average wall shear stress around the perimeter, and P is the perimeter
Head Loss in Pipe Flow: January 25, 2007

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Head Loss in a Horizontal Pipe (2)

Rearrange Equation (1)

p
P
= w
L
A

(2)

Consider the ratio A/P for a round pipe:

A
(/4)D 2
=
P
D

D=

4A
P

for a round pipe

We define the Hydraulic Diameter as

4A
Dh =
P

Head Loss in Pipe Flow: January 25, 2007

(3)

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Head Loss in a Horizontal Pipe (3)

Rectangle

Dh for duct with rectangular cross section

Dh =

4A
4W H
2W H
=
=
P
2(W + H)
W +H

Dh for parallel plates is obtained in the limit as W

"
#

2W H
2H
lim Dh = lim
= lim
= 2H
W
W W + H
W 1 + H

Annulus
R2
R1

Head Loss in Pipe Flow: January 25, 2007

Dh for flow through an annulus

2
2
4
4 (D2 D1 )

D22 D12
Dh =
=
= D2 D1
D1 + D2
D2 + D1

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Head Loss in a Horizontal Pipe (4)

Back to momentum equation: Use Dh = 4A/P

p
P
= w
L
A

p
4
= w
L
Dh

(4)

Compare to the solution for fully-developed flow in a pipe

p
P
= w
L
A

p
4
= w
L
D

(5)

So if we take w w and DH D then the two solutions are identical. This suggest
that for non-circular ducts we can the same design data.

Head Loss in Pipe Flow: January 25, 2007

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Head Loss in a Horizontal Pipe (5)

Engineering calculations for non-circular ducts
1. Use Dh to compute ReDh and /Dh
2. Use Colebrook Equation or Moody chart to find f = F (ReDh , /Dh)
3. All remaining analysis is the same
Note: The average velocity is

V =

Head Loss in Pipe Flow: January 25, 2007

Q
A

V 6=

Q
!

2
4 Dh

page 5

Three types of pipe flow problems (1)

1. Head loss problem

Given L, D Q (or V ), and pipe roughness
Compute f , hL, p, etc.
2. Flow rate problem
Given L, D , hL and
Compute V , (or Q)
Requires iteration
3. Pipe sizing problem
Given L, Q (or V ), and hL
Compute D required to provide the desired flow

Head Loss in Pipe Flow: January 25, 2007

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Basic Head Loss Problem No Minor Losses

Given L, D , Q (or V ), and pipe roughness
1. Look up fluid properties ,
2. Compute ReD to determine whether the flow is laminar or turbulent
3. If turbulent, look up for the pipe material
4. Use the Colebrook equation or the Moody chart to find f
5. Use the Darcy-Weisbach equation to compute hL
6. Use the steady-flow energy equation to find other terms, e.g. pressure drop

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Basic Flow Rate Problem No Minor Losses

Given L, D , hL and
1. Solve the energy equation for hL
2. Guess f : use the wholly turbulent range to find f for the known value of /D .
3. Solve for V with the Darcy-Weisbach equation

hL = f

LV
D 2g

V =

2ghLD
fL

4. Compute ReD
5. With new ReD , use the Colebrook equation or the Moody chart to find f
6. If f new fold stop, otherwise return to step 3

Head Loss in Pipe Flow: January 25, 2007

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Basic Pipe Sizing Problem No Minor Losses

Given L, Q (or V ), hL and compute D for a round pipe
1. Solve energy equation for hL
2. Guess D
3. Compute /D , ReD
4. Find f (Colebrook equation or Moody chart)
5. Solve for D by combining Darcy-Weisbach equation and energy equation
2

hL = f

"

LV
L 1
Q
8LQ 1
=f
=
f
=
2
4
2
5
D 2g
D 2g (/4) D
g D

D=

8LQ f
2ghL

#1/5

6. If Dnew Dold, stop, otherwise return to step 3

Note: Choose next larger standard pipe size
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