Fundamentals of Thermal-Fluid Sciences, 3rd Edition

Yunus A. Cengel, Robert H. Turner, John M. Cimbala

McGraw-Hill, 2008

Chapter 14
INTERNAL FLOW

Mehmet Kanoglu

Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
 Objectives
• Have a deeper understanding of laminar and
turbulent flow in pipes and the analysis of fully
developed flow
• Calculate the major and minor losses associated
with pipe flow in piping networks and determine
the pumping power requirements

2
 INTRODUCTION
• Liquid or gas flow through pipes or ducts is commonly used in heating and
cooling applications and fluid distribution networks.
• The fluid in such applications is usually forced to flow by a fan or pump
through a flow section.
• We pay particular attention to friction, which is directly related to the pressure
drop and head loss during flow through pipes and ducts.
• The pressure drop is then used to determine the pumping power requirement.

Circular pipes can withstand large pressure differences

between the inside and the outside without undergoing any
significant distortion, but noncircular pipes cannot. 3
Theoretical solutions are obtained only for a few simple cases such as fully
developed laminar flow in a circular pipe.
Therefore, we must rely on experimental results and empirical relations for
most fluid flow problems rather than closed-form analytical solutions.

The value of the average velocity Vavg at

some streamwise cross-section is
determined from the requirement that the
conservation of mass principle be satisfied

The average velocity

for incompressible
flow in a circular pipe
of radius R

Average velocity Vavg is defined

as the average speed through a
cross section. For fully developed
laminar pipe flow, Vavg is half of
the maximum velocity. 4
For flow through noncircular
pipes, the Reynolds number
is based on the hydraulic
diameter
For flow in a circular pipe:

The hydraulic diameter

In the transitional flow region of 2300  Re Dh = 4Ac/p is defined such that
 10,000, the flow switches between it reduces to ordinary diameter
laminar and turbulent seemingly randomly. 5
for circular tubes.
LAMINAR AND Laminar flow is encountered when
highly viscous fluids such as oils flow
TURBULENT FLOWS in small pipes or narrow passages.

Laminar: Smooth
streamlines and highly
ordered motion.
Turbulent: Velocity
fluctuations and highly
disordered motion.
Transition: The flow
fluctuates between
laminar and turbulent
flows.
Most flows encountered
in practice are turbulent.

The behavior of
colored fluid
Laminar and injected into the
turbulent flow flow in laminar
regimes of and turbulent
candle smoke. flows in a pipe. 6
Reynolds Number At large Reynolds numbers, the inertial
forces, which are proportional to the
The transition from laminar to turbulent fluid density and the square of the fluid
flow depends on the geometry, surface velocity, are large relative to the viscous
roughness, flow velocity, surface forces, and thus the viscous forces
temperature, and type of fluid. cannot prevent the random and rapid
The flow regime depends mainly on the fluctuations of the fluid (turbulent).
ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces At small or moderate Reynolds
(Reynolds number). numbers, the viscous forces are large
enough to suppress these fluctuations
and to keep the fluid “in line” (laminar).

Critical Reynolds number, Recr:

The Reynolds number at which the
flow becomes turbulent.
The value of the critical Reynolds
number is different for different
geometries and flow conditions.

The Reynolds number can be

viewed as the ratio of inertial
forces to viscous forces
7
acting on a fluid element.
THE ENTRANCE REGION
Velocity boundary layer: The region of the flow in which the effects of the
viscous shearing forces caused by fluid viscosity are felt.
Boundary layer region: The viscous effects and the velocity changes are
significant.
Irrotational (core) flow region: The frictional effects are negligible and the
velocity remains essentially constant in the radial direction.

The development of the velocity boundary layer in a pipe. The developed

average velocity profile is parabolic in laminar flow, but somewhat
8 flatter or
fuller in turbulent flow.
Hydrodynamic entrance region: The region from the pipe inlet to the point
at which the boundary layer merges at the centerline.
Hydrodynamic entry length Lh: The length of this region.
Hydrodynamically developing flow: Flow in the entrance region. This is the
region where the velocity profile develops.
Hydrodynamically fully developed region: The region beyond the entrance
region in which the velocity profile is fully developed and remains unchanged.
Fully developed: When both the velocity profile the normalized temperature
profile remain unchanged.
Hydrodynamically fully developed

In the fully developed flow

region of a pipe, the velocity
profile does not change
downstream, and thus the
wall shear stress remains
constant as well. 9
 The pressure drop is higher in the entrance regions of a pipe, and
the effect of the entrance region is always to increase the average
friction factor for the entire pipe.

The variation of wall shear stress in the flow direction for flow in a pipe
from the entrance region into the fully developed region. 10
Entry Lengths
The hydrodynamic entry length is usually taken to be the distance from the
pipe entrance to where the wall shear stress (and thus the friction factor)
reaches within about 2 percent of the fully developed value.

The pipes used in practice are

hydrodynamic usually several times the
entry length for length of the entrance region,
laminar flow and thus the flow through the
pipes is often assumed to be
hydrodynamic fully developed for the entire
entry length for length of the pipe.
turbulent flow
This simplistic approach gives
hydrodynamic entry reasonable results for long
length for turbulent flow, pipes but sometimes poor
an approximation results for short ones since it
underpredicts the wall shear
stress and thus the friction
factor.

11
LAMINAR FLOW IN PIPES
We consider steady, laminar, incompressible flow of a fluid with constant
properties in the fully developed region of a straight circular pipe.
In fully developed laminar flow, each fluid particle moves at a constant axial
velocity along a streamline and the velocity profile u(r) remains unchanged in
the flow direction. There is no motion in the radial direction, and thus the
velocity component in the direction normal to the pipe axis is everywhere
zero.There is no acceleration since the flow is steady and fully developed.

Free-body diagram of a ring-shaped

differential fluid element of radius r,
thickness dr, and length dx oriented
coaxially with a horizontal pipe in fully
developed laminar flow. 12
 Boundary
conditions

Average velocity

Velocity
profile

Maximim velocity
Free-body diagram of a fluid disk element at centerline
of radius R and length dx in fully developed
laminar flow in a horizontal pipe. 13
Pressure Drop and Head Loss

A pressure drop due to viscous effects represents an irreversible pressure

loss, and it is called pressure loss PL.
pressure loss for all
Circular pipe,
types of fully developed
laminar
internal flows
dynamic Darcy
Head
pressure friction
loss
factor

In laminar flow, the friction factor is a function of the Reynolds number

only and is independent of the roughness of the pipe surface.
The head loss represents the additional height that the fluid needs to be
raised by a pump in order to overcome the frictional losses in14 the pipe.
 Horizontal
pipe

Poiseuille’s
law
For a specified flow rate, the pressure drop and
thus the required pumping power is proportional
to the length of the pipe and the viscosity of the
fluid, but it is inversely proportional to the fourth
power of the diameter of the pipe.

The relation for pressure loss (and

head loss) is one of the most general
relations in fluid mechanics, and it is
valid for laminar or turbulent flows, The pumping power requirement for a laminar
circular or noncircular pipes, and pipes flow piping system can be reduced by a factor
with smooth or rough surfaces. 15 diameter.
of 16 by doubling the pipe
The pressure drop P equals the pressure loss PL in the case of a
horizontal pipe, but this is not the case for inclined pipes or pipes with
variable cross-sectional area.
This can be demonstrated by writing the energy equation for steady,
incompressible one-dimensional flow in terms of heads as

16
Inclined Pipes

Free-body diagram of a ring-shaped

differential fluid element of radius r,
thickness dr, and length dx oriented
coaxially with an inclined pipe in fully
developed laminar flow.

17
TURBULENT FLOW IN PIPES
Most flows encountered in engineering practice are turbulent, and thus it is
important to understand how turbulence affects wall shear stress.
Turbulent flow is a complex mechanism dominated by fluctuations, and it is still
not fully understood.
We must rely on experiments and the empirical or semi-empirical correlations
developed for various situations.
Turbulent flow is characterized by
disorderly and rapid fluctuations of swirling
regions of fluid, called eddies, throughout
the flow.
These fluctuations provide an additional
mechanism for momentum and energy
transfer.
In turbulent flow, the swirling eddies
transport mass, momentum, and energy to
other regions of flow much more rapidly
than molecular diffusion, greatly enhancing
The intense mixing in turbulent flow
mass, momentum, and heat transfer.
brings fluid particles at different
momentums into close contact and As a result, turbulent flow is associated
thus enhances momentum transfer. with much higher values of friction, heat
19
transfer, and mass transfer coefficients
 The very thin layer next to the wall where
Turbulent Velocity Profile
viscous effects are dominant is the
viscous (or laminar or linear or wall)
sublayer.
The velocity profile in this layer is very
nearly linear, and the flow is streamlined.
Next to the viscous sublayer is the buffer
layer, in which turbulent effects are
becoming significant, but the flow is still
dominated by viscous effects.
Above the buffer layer is the overlap (or
transition) layer, also called the inertial
sublayer, in which the turbulent effects are
much more significant, but still not
dominant.
Above that is the outer (or turbulent)
layer in the remaining part of the flow in
which turbulent effects dominate over
molecular diffusion (viscous) effects.
The velocity profile in fully developed pipe flow is
parabolic in laminar flow, but much fuller in turbulent flow. 20
The Moody The friction factor in fully developed turbulent pipe flow depends
Chart on the Reynolds number and the relative roughness  /D.

Colebrook equation (for smooth and rough pipes)

Explicit Haaland
equation

The friction
factor is
minimum for a
smooth pipe
and increases
21
with roughness.
Nominal Pipe Sizes

22
Nominal Pipe Size (NPS) standard
The Moody Chart
23
 Observations from the Moody chart
• For laminar flow, the friction factor decreases with increasing Reynolds
number, and it is independent of surface roughness.
• The friction factor is a minimum for a smooth pipe and increases with
roughness. The Colebrook equation in this case ( = 0) reduces to the
Prandtl equation.

• The transition region from the laminar to turbulent regime is indicated

by the shaded area in the Moody chart. At small relative roughnesses,
the friction factor increases in the transition region and approaches the
value for smooth pipes.
• At very large Reynolds numbers (to the right of the dashed line on the
Moody chart) the friction factor curves corresponding to specified
relative roughness curves are nearly horizontal, and thus the friction
factors are independent of the Reynolds number. The flow in that region
is called fully rough turbulent flow or just fully rough flow because the
thicknessof the viscous sublayer decreases with increasing Reynolds
number, andit becomes so thin that it is negligibly small compared to
the surfaceroughness height.The Colebrook equation in the fully rough
zone reduces to the von Kármán equation.
24
 Types of Fluid Flow Problems
1. Determining the pressure drop (or head
loss) when the pipe length and diameter
are given for a specified flow rate (or
velocity)
2. Determining the flow rate when the pipe
length and diameter are given for a
specified pressure drop (or head loss)
The three types of problems
3. Determining the pipe diameter when the encountered in pipe flow.
pipe length and flow rate are given for a
specified pressure drop (or head loss)

To avoid tedious
iterations in head
loss, flow rate, and
diameter calculations,
these explicit relations
that are accurate to
within 2 percent of the
Moody chart may be
used.
25
 Types of Fluid Flow Problems
1. Determining the pressure drop (or head
loss) when the pipe length and diameter
are given for a specified flow rate (or
velocity)
2. Determining the flow rate when the pipe
length and diameter are given for a
specified pressure drop (or head loss)
The three types of problems
3. Determining the pipe diameter when the encountered in pipe flow.
pipe length and flow rate are given for a
specified pressure drop (or head loss)

26
MINOR LOSSES
The fluid in a typical piping system passes
through various fittings, valves, bends,
elbows, tees, inlets, exits, enlargements,
and contractions in addition to the pipes.
These components interrupt the smooth
flow of the fluid and cause additional
losses because of the flow separation and
mixing they induce.
In a typical system with long pipes, these
losses are minor compared to the total
head loss in the pipes (the major losses)
and are called minor losses.
Minor losses are usually expressed in For a constant-diameter section of a pipe
terms of the loss coefficient KL. with a minor loss component, the loss
coefficient of the component (such as the
gate valve shown) is determined by
measuring the additional pressure loss it
Head loss due
causes and dividing it by the dynamic
to component
pressure in the pipe.27
When the inlet diameter equals outlet
diameter, the loss coefficient of a
component can also be determined by
measuring the pressure loss across the
component and dividing it by the dynamic
pressure:
KL = PL /(V2/2).
When the loss coefficient for a component
is available, the head loss for that
component is
Minor
loss

Minor losses are also expressed in terms The head loss caused by a
of the equivalent length Lequiv. component (such as the angle
valve shown) is equivalent to the
head loss caused by a section of
the pipe whose length is the
equivalent length.

28
 Total
head
loss
(general)

Total head loss

(D = constant)

The head loss at the inlet of a pipe is

almost negligible for well-rounded inlets
The effect of rounding of a pipe inlet on (KL = 0.03 for r/D > 0.2) but increases to
the loss coefficient. about 0.5029 for sharp-edged inlets.
30
31
32
33
34
All the kinetic energy of the flow is “lost”
(turned into thermal energy) through friction
as the jet decelerates and mixes with ambient
fluid downstream of a submerged outlet.
sudden expansion
The losses during changes of
direction can be minimized by
making the turn “easy” on the
fluid by using circular arcs
instead of sharp turns.
The large head loss in a partially closed valve is due to
irreversible deceleration, flow separation, and mixing of high-
velocity fluid coming from the narrow valve passage. 35
A pump is to be selected that will pump water from a well
into a storage reservoir. To fill the reservoir in a timely
manner, the pump is required to deliver 5 L/s when the
water level in the reservoir is 5 m above the water level in
the well. Find the head that must be added by the pump.
The pipeline is shown in Figure. Assume that the local
loss coefficient for each of the bends is equal to 0.25 and
that the temperature of the water is 20◦C.

36
PIPING NETWORKS AND PUMP SELECTION

For pipes in series, the flow rate is the same

in each pipe, and the total head loss is the
sum of the head losses in individual pipes.
A piping network in an
industrial facility.

For pipes in parallel, the

head loss is the same in
each pipe, and the total flow
rate is the sum of the flow
rates in individual pipes. 41
The relative flow rates in parallel pipes are established from the
requirement that the head loss in each pipe be the same.

The flow rate in one of the parallel branches is proportional

to its diameter to the power 5/2 and is inversely proportional
to the square root of its length and friction factor.

The analysis of piping networks is based on two simple principles:

1. Conservation of mass throughout the system must be satisfied.
This is done by requiring the total flow into a junction to be equal to the
total flow out of the junction for all junctions in the system.
2. Pressure drop (and thus head loss) between two junctions must be
the same for all paths between the two junctions. This is because
pressure is a point function and it cannot have two values at a specified
point. In practice this rule is used by requiring that the algebraic sum of
head losses in a loop (for all loops) be equal to zero.
42
Piping Systems with Pumps and Turbines

the steady-flow
energy equation

When a pump moves a fluid from one reservoir

to another, the useful pump head requirement The efficiency of the pump–motor
is equal to the elevation difference between the combination is the product of the
two reservoirs plus the head loss. pump and the43motor efficiencies.
Characteristic pump curves for centrifugal pumps, the
system curve for a piping system, and the operating point.
44
Pipe Networks
A typical loop of a pipe network

In this loop, the loss of head in the

clockwise direction will be given by:

For a solution, the clockwise and

counterclockwise head losses have to be
equal, or
45
Pipe Networks

46
47
The three water-filled tanks shown in Fig. are
connected by pipes as indicated. If minor losses
are neglected, determine the flowrate in each pipe.

48
Five oil fields, each producing an output
of Q barrels per day, are connected to the 28-in.-diameter
“mainline pipe” (A–B–C) by 16-in.-diameter “lateral pipes”
as shown in Fig. The friction factor is the same for each of
the pipes and elevation effects are negligible. (a) For
section A–B determine the ratio of the pressure drop per
mile in the mainline pipe to that in the
lateral pipes. (b) Repeat the calculations for section B–C.

49
 Summary
• Introduction
• Laminar and Turbulent Flows
 Reynolds Number
• The Entrance Region
 Entry Lengths
• Laminar Flow in Pipes
 Pressure Drop and Head Loss
 Inclined Pipes
• Turbulent Flow in Pipes
 Turbulent Velocity Profile
 The Moody Chart
 Types of Fluid Flow Problems
• Minor Losses
• Piping Networks and Pump Selection
 Piping Systems with Pumps and Turbines

56