Lecture 8

Internal Flow
Part 1

1
Objectives

• Understand laminar and turbulent flow in pipes and the

analysis of fully developed flow
• Calculate pressure drop in laminar & turbulent flows
• Understanding Moody Chart
 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.
 Laminar & turbulent flows
Laminar flow: smooth
streamlines & highly ordered
motion
Turbulent flow: velocity
fluctuations & highly disordered
motion.
Intense mixing momentum
transfer frictional forces on
the wall pumping power
Transition: The flow fluctuates
between laminar and turbulent
flows.
Transition from laminar to turbulent Depending
on geometry, surface roughness, flow velocity,
surface temperature, type of fluids… 4
 Reynolds Number

The transition from laminar to turbulent flow depends on the geometry,

surface roughness, flow velocity, surface temperature, and type of fluid.
The flow regime depends mainly on the ratio of inertial forces to viscous
forces (Reynolds number).
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.

Under most practical conditions for

flow in circular pipes,
▪ Re  2,300 Laminar flow
▪ 2,300  Re  4,000 Transitional
flow
The Reynolds number can be viewed as ▪ Re  4,000 Turbulent flow
the ratio of inertial forces to viscous
forces acting on a fluid element.
 Reynolds number
Viscous forces suppress
Ratio of inertial forces to fluctuations and keep the
fluid in line
viscous forces in the fluid

𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑉𝑎𝑣𝑔 𝐷 𝜌𝑉𝑎𝑣𝑔 𝐷ℎ

Re = = =
𝑉𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑣 𝜇

4 Ac
Dh =
p

Ac: cross-section area

p: wetted perimeter

The hydraulic diameter is defined such that it

reduces to ordinary diameter for circular tubes.

6
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.
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.
 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

Lh , laminar usually several times the
hydrodynamic entry
 0.05Re length for laminar flow length of the entrance region,
D and thus the flow through the
pipes is often assumed to be
fully developed for the entire
Lh , turbulent hydrodynamic entry length of the pipe.
= 1.359Re 1/4
length for turbulent flow
D This simplistic approach gives
reasonable results for long
hydrodynamic entry pipes but sometimes poor
Lh , turbulent
 10 length for turbulent flow, results for short ones since it
D an approximation underpredicts the wall shear
stress and thus the friction
factor.
 Entrance region: Variation of wall shear stress
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. 9
 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.

r2 Velocity profile
u (r ) = 2Vavg (1 − 2 )
R

Maximim velocity
umax = 2Vavg at centerline
 Pressure Drop and Head Loss
dP P2 − P1 8 LVavg 32 LVavg
= Laminar flow: P = P1 − P2 = 2
=
dx L R D2
A pressure drop due to viscous effects represents an irreversible
pressure loss, and it is called pressure loss PL.
2
𝐿 𝜌𝑉avg
𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠: Δ𝑃𝐿 = 𝑓
𝐷 2 In laminar flow, the friction
factor is a function of the
Reynolds number only and is
64𝜇 64 independent of the
𝐶𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑝𝑖𝑝𝑒, 𝑙𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑟: 𝑓 = =
𝜌𝐷𝑉avg Re roughness of the pipe
surface.
Δ𝑃𝐿 𝐿 𝑉avg
2
The head loss represents
𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠: ℎ𝐿 = =𝑓 the additional height that
𝜌𝑔 𝐷 2𝑔
the fluid needs to be raised
8 w by a pump in order to
Darcy friction f = overcome the frictional
factor Vavg
2
losses in the pipe.

dynamic
pressure
Vavg
2
/2
 𝑊ሶ pump, 𝐿 = Vሶ Δ𝑃𝐿 = V𝜌𝑔ℎ
ሶ 𝐿 = 𝑚𝑔ℎ
ሶ 𝐿

( P1 − P2 ) R 2 ( P1 − P2 ) D 2 PD 2
Horizontal pipe: Vavg = = =
8 L 32 L 32 L

( P1 − P2 ) R 2 ( P1 − P2 ) D 4 P D 4 Poiseuille’s law

V = Vavg Ac = R =
2
=
8 L 128 L 128 L

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 pumping power requirement for a laminar flow piping system can be
reduced by a factor of 16 by doubling the pipe diameter.
 Laminar flow: pressure drop & head loss
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
P1 V12 P2 V22
+ 1 + z1 + hpump,u = + 2 + z2 + hturbine,e + hL
g 2g g 2g

( ) 
P1 − P2 =   2V22 − 1V12 2 + g (z2 − z1 ) + hturbine,e − hpump,u + hL 
The pressure drop P=P1-P2 and the pressure loss PL=ghL for a given
flow section are equivalent if:
1. Flow section is horizontal, No hydrostatic or gravity effects
2. No work devices involved, (e.g pump and turbine)
3. The cross-sectional area is constant, so the average flow velocity
is constant
4. The velocity profiles are the same shape at all sections so 𝛼1 = 𝛼2. 13
Effect of Gravity on Velocity and Flow Rate in Laminar Flow

The relations developed for fully developed

laminar flow through horizontal pipes can also
be used for inclined pipes by replacing ΔP
with ΔP − 𝜌gL sin 𝜃.

(P −  gL sin ) D 2
Vavg =
32 L

(P −  gL sin ) D 4
V=
128 L
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.
Laminar Flow in
Noncircular Pipes
The friction factor f
relations are given in
Table 8–1 for fully
developed laminar flow in
pipes of various cross
sections. The Reynolds
number for flow in these
pipes is based on the
hydraulic diameter Dh =
4Ac /p, where Ac is the
cross-sectional area of
the pipe and p is its
wetted perimeter
 TURBULENT FLOW IN PIPES
Most flows encountered in engineering practice are turbulent.
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
The intense mixing in turbulent flow enhancing mass, momentum, and heat
brings fluid particles at different transfer.
momentums into close contact and As a result, turbulent flow is associated
thus enhances momentum transfer. with much higher values of friction, heat
transfer, and mass transfer coefficients
Turbulent Shear Stress and Velocity Profile

The laminar component: accounts for the

average value u friction between layers in the flow direction
u = u + u fluctuating component u The turbulent component: accounts for the
friction between the fluctuating fluid
 =  +  , P = P + P  particles and the fluid body (related to the
fluctuation components of velocity).

T = T +T

Fluctuations of the velocity The velocity profile and the variation

component u with time at a specified of shear stress with radial distance
location in turbulent flow. for turbulent flow in a pipe.
 Turbulent Shear Stress

 turb = − u   turbulent shear stress

Terms such as − u   or − u  2 are called Reynolds stresses or

turbulent stresses.
u Turbulent shear stress
 turb = − u   = t
y
t eddy viscosity or turbulent viscosity:
accounts for momentum transport by
turbulent eddies

 total =  lam +  turb

u u Total shear
 total = (  + t ) =  ( + t ) stress
y y
Fluid particle moving upward kinematic eddy viscosity or
kinematic turbulent viscosity (also
through a differential area dA  t =  t / called the eddy diffusivity of
as a result of the velocity momentum).
fluctuation 𝜐′.
 Turbulent Velocity Profile
The very thin layer next to the wall
where 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.
The velocity profile in fully developed
pipe flow is parabolic in laminar flow, Above that is the outer (or turbulent)
but much fuller in turbulent flow. layer in the remaining part of the flow in
Note that u(r) in the turbulent case which turbulent effects dominate over
is the time-averaged velocity molecular diffusion (viscous) effects.
component in the axial direction (the
overbar on u has been dropped for
simplicity).
 u u w u
w =  =  or =
y y  y

u* =  w / friction velocity

𝑢 𝑦𝑢 ∗
𝑉𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑦𝑒𝑟: = law of the wall (Eq 8-42)
𝑢∗ 𝜈

5𝜈 25𝜈
𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑦𝑒𝑟: 𝑦 = 𝛿sublayer = =
𝑢∗ 𝑢𝛿

The thickness of the viscous sublayer is proportional to the kinematic viscosity and
inversely proportional to the average flow velocity.

 / u* Viscous length; it is used to nondimensionalize the distance y from the

surface.
𝑦𝑢 ∗ 𝑢
𝑁𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑑 𝑣𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑠: 𝑦+ = 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑢+ =
𝜈 𝑢∗

𝑁𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑑 𝑙𝑎𝑤 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙: 𝑢+ = 𝑦 +

 u 1 yu *
The logarithmic law: = ln +B
u*  
𝑢 𝑦𝑢 ∗
𝑂𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑎𝑝 𝑙𝑎𝑦𝑒𝑟: = 2.5 ln + 5.0 𝑜𝑟 𝑢+ = 2.5 ln 𝑦 + + 5.0 Equ - 8-47
𝑢∗ 𝜈

The deviation of velocity from the centerline value umax - u is called the velocity
defect.
umax − u R Velocity
Outer turbulent layer: = 2.5 ln
u* R−r defect law

Numerous other empirical velocity profiles exist

for turbulent pipe flow. Among those, the simplest
and the best known is the power-law velocity
profile expressed as
𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 − 𝑙𝑎𝑤 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑒:

𝑢 𝑦 1/𝑛 𝑢
= or 1/𝑛
𝑢max 𝑅 𝑟
𝑢max 1−𝑅
The value n = 7 generally approximates many flows
in practice, giving rise to the term one-seventh
Comparison of the law of the wall and the power-law velocity profile.
logarithmic-law velocity profiles with
experimental data for fully developed turbulent
flow in a pipe.
 The Moody Chart and its Associated Equations

8 w
Darcy friction factor: f =
Vavg
2

The friction factor in fully developed turbulent pipe flow depends on the Reynolds
number and the relative roughness  /D.

  
Dimensional analysis f = f  Re, 
 D

Colebrook equation (for smooth

and rough pipes)

1  /D 2.51
= −2.0 log( + ) (turbulent flow)
f 3.7 Re f
Moody Chart

1  D 2.51 
= −2.0 log  + 
 
f  3.7 Re f 

  D 2.51 
2.0log 
1 =− + 
f  3.7 Re f 

23
 The Moody chart
1  D 2.51 
= −2.0 log  + 
 3.7 Re f 
f  
For smooth pipe [Prandtl equation
(→0)] 1/ f = 2.0 log(Re f ) − 0.8

1  D 2.51 
= −2.0 log  + 
 3.7 Re f 
For fully turbulent flow [Von Kármán f  
equation (Re→)]
1/ f = −2.0 log[( /D)/3.7]

The Moody chart are usually considered to be accurate to 15% of

experimental data
An approximate explicit form (within 2% of those obtained from the
Colebrook equation)

1  6.9   D 1.11 
 −1.8 log  +  
f  Re  3.7   24
 
 Types of Fluid Flow Problems
1. (Type one): Determining the pressure
drop (or head loss) when the pipe
length and diameter are given for a
specified flow rate (or velocity)
2. (Type two): 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. (Type three): Determining the pipe encountered in pipe flow.
diameter when the 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
were developed by
Swamee-Jain and they
are accurate to within
2 percent of the Moody 25
chart may be used.
Summary

• Introduction
• Laminar and Turbulent Flows
• Reynolds Number
• The Entrance Region
• Entry Lengths
• Laminar Flow in Pipes
• Pressure Drop and Head Loss
• Effect of Gravity on Velocity and Flow Rate in Laminar Flow
• Laminar Flow in Noncircular Pipes
• Turbulent Flow in Pipes
• Turbulent Shear Stress
• Turbulent Velocity Profile
• The Moody Chart and Its Associated Equations
• Types of Fluid Flow Problems
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