INSTRUCTIONAL MANUAL
FLUID FRICTION APPARATUS
#-3, Pooja Vihar, Opposite Industrial Estate, Ambala Cantt-133006
Contact:-90345-76033
Email: - finitetechno@gmail.com
Introduction
The apparatus permits experimental flow and pressure measurement as well as the determination of
system losses and pressure profiles at pipes and special piping elements.
Learning objectives / Experiments
• Pressure loss in pipes and fittings
• Effect of flow velocity on the pressure loss
• Opening characteristics for shut-off devices
• Determination of loss coefficients
• Different flow rate measurement methods
• Comparison of calculation and experiment
Unit description
Design and components
The unit consists of a square tubular steel frame with a painted back wall. On the back wall a pipe
system is mounted with sections which can be individually shut off. The back wall also features two
level-tube pressure gauges attached using star-type nuts. The gauges can be fitted in two positions on
the back wall. Various measurement objects can be accommodated in an adjustable measuring section.
Water is supplied either by way of the HD 150 Basic Hydraulics Bench or via the laboratory mains. The
HD 150 permits construction of a closed water circuit.
Measuring section Description material
I Pipe section with PVC
- discontinuous expansion 20 x 1.5 to 32 x 1.8
- discontinuous constriction 32 x 1.8 to 20 x 1.5
II Pipe section straight, measurement length 800mm PVC
20 x 1.5
III/IV Pipe section with PVC
- 2 x Y piece 45°
- 2 x T piece 20 x 1.5
V Pipe section with PVC
- 2 x 90° angle
- 2 x 90° bend
- 2 x 45° angle 20 x 1.5
VI Adjustable measuring section for installation of PVC
various measurement objects 20 x 1.5
The double pressure gauge is suitable for measuring both differential
pressures and gauge pressures in mm water column (wc).
• The measuring range is 0 mmWc – 1000 mmWc.
• The gauge consists of two level tubes backed by an mm scale.
• The two level tubes are interconnected at the top and have a joint
vent valve
• Differential pressure is measured with the vent valve closed, gauge
pressure is measured with the vent valve open.
• The measurement points are connected to the lower ends of the
level tubes using rapid-action hose couplings with automatic shut-off.
• A drain valve is provided at the bottom of each level tube.
Differential pressure measurement
The vent valve is closed for this purpose. An air cushion with a pressure PL forms above the two water
columns. This results in the following for the pressures P1 and P2 to be measured.
P1 = PL + h1. . g …………………….. 1.1
P2 = pL + h2 . . g ……………………..1.2
Hence the differential pressure is
p = P1 – P2 = PL + h1 . . g – PL – h2 . . g ……………………..1.3
The pressure PL cancels out, resulting in
p = h . . g ……………………………………………………………….1.4
Where h = h1 – h2 ……………………………………………………….1.5
The zero point for the differential pressure measurement can be set by way of the pressure PL.
For a maximum span it is appropriate to set the zero point / mean value (h1 + h2)/2 to centre scale
hmax/2.
(h1 + h2)/2 = hmax/2. = (P1 – PL + P2 – PL)/2 . . g ………… 1.6
The pressure of the air cushion is thus
PL = (P1 + P2 – hmax . . g)/2 ………………………………………….1.7
For measuring the absolute pressure, the vent valve is opened and the gauge pressure measured. The
pressure PL corresponds to the atmospheric pressure P0. Allowance must also be made for the height hm
between the measurement point and the zero point of the pressure gauge.
Aim of experiment
The aims of the experiments are flow and pressure measurement, determination of flow losses and
pressure progression in pipes and special pipe components. Specifically, the following phenomena can
be investigated:
• Investigation of pressure losses in pipes and fittings
• Influence of flow speed on pressure loss
• Pressure losses and opening characteristics of shut-off devices
• Determination of coefficients of resistance
• Function and principle of different methods of flow rate measurement
• Comparison of calculated and experimental values.
Experiment 1: Pipe flow with friction
Aim of experiment
In this experiment, the pressure loss Pv or the head loss hv for a flow subject to friction will be
determined experimentally.
Basics
With turbulent pipe flow, where the flow is considered steady at Reynolds’ numbers of Re >
2320, pressure loss is proportional to the
• Length l of the pipe
• Coefficient of pipe friction
• Density of flowing medium
• Square of the flow speed v. In addition, the pressure loss increases as the pipe diameter
reduces. It is calculated as follows
……………………2.1
The associated head loss hv is calculated as follows.
……………………………2.2
For turbulent pipe flow (Re > 2320) the pipe friction coefficient depends on the pipe roughness
k and the Reynolds ‘number Re. The pipe roughness k specifies the height of the wall elevations
in mm. The relationship between Re, and k is shown in the Colebrook and Nikuradse diagram.
Here, the wall roughness k is related to the pipe diameter d. The Reynolds ‘number Re is
calculated with the pipe diameter d, flow speed v and kinematic viscosity .
………………………………………………..2.3
The flow speed v is calculated from the volumetric flow V and the pipe cross-section.
……………………………………………….2.4
For hydraulically smooth pipes (Re < 65d/k) and a Reynolds’ number in the range of 2320 < Re <
105000, the pipe friction coefficient is determined using the Blasius formula.
0.3164
= …………………………………………2.5
∜𝑅𝑒
For pipes in the transition range to rough pipes (65d/k < Re < 1300d/k, the range below the
limit curve in the diagram) the pipe friction coefficient is calculated according to Colebro
………….2.6
It is an implicit formula that has to be iteratively resolved. First of all estimate , place it in the
formula and calculate an initial approximation. This approximation is re-used in the equation to
calculate a second approximation. If the estimated value is taken from the Colebrook and
Nikuradse diagram, the initial approximation is generally sufficiently accurate and the values
only differ after the 3rd decimal place.
Experimental procedure
In the following experiment, the pipe is investigated in measuring section II. The measuring
section is l = 800mm. The series of measurements is carried out based on the head loss hv, i.e.
the ball cock before the measuring section is used to set certain heights on the pressure gauge
and determine the relevant volumetric flow.
Head Volumetric Volumetric Flow Reynolds Pipe Calculated Variance
loss hv flow rate in flow rate in speed in number friction head hv %
in m l/min m3/s m/s Re coefficient
according
to blasius
Experiments 2, 3 and 4: Coefficients of resistance for special pipe components
Aim of experiment
This experiment is designed to investigate the influence of special pipe components and fittings
on the pressure loss. These can be: pipe bends or elbows, pipe branches, changes in cross-
section or valves and flaps.
Basics, general
For changes in cross-section and the associated changes in speed, the proportion of the total
pressure lossmade up of Bernoulli’s pressure loss (dyn. pressure) needs to be taken into
account. Bernoulli’s equation with loss element is
……………………………………..2.7
Assuming that the heights Z1 and Z2 are equal, this gives the measurable total pressure loss
………………………………………………………..2.8
Correspondingly, the head loss is then
………………………………………………………………………..2.9
Unlike the wall friction losses investigated in the previous section, apart from a few special
cases the additional flow resistance cannot be calculated exactly. For the various elements, the
literature specifies empirically obtained coefficients of resistance. They can be used to easily
calculate the additional pressure losses.
……………………………………………………………………………………….2.10
This means that for the total head loss, we can state that
……………..2.11
The pipe friction resistance must be determined separately for the sections before and after the
change of cross-section. By contrast, the coefficient of resistance is only related to the speed v 2
after the change of cross-section. If the speeds are equal, there is no dynamic pressure
component and a combined pipe friction component is used.
The measured total head loss and the known pipe friction can be used to determine the
coefficient of resistance .
………….2.12
With no change in cross-section (d1/d2=1) the expression is simplified
……………………………………………………………………….2.13
Experiment 2: Pipe elbow
For pipe elbows, the coefficient of resistance depends on the angle of deviation of the flow and the ratio
of the elbow radius to the pipe diameter. In addition, the coefficient of resistance is influenced by the
shape of the elbow.
For pipe angles, i.e. elbow radii less than the pipe diameter (R/d < 1) the coefficients of resistance for
knee pieces are approximately applicable.
For example, for a 90° knee piece / kink, with a smooth pipe, the is 1.13, and for rough pipes the is 1.68,
while for a 45° piece, smooth = 0.24 and rough= 0.36. The flow resistance of elbows with bend angles
less than 90° can be calculated linear proportionally:
………………………………………………………2.14
For fittings made up of several individual components, the total resistance is greater than the sum of the
individual resistances, as the subsequent disturbance builds on the not yet smoothed disturbance from
the first bend. Reference values from the literature:
Double bend (180°):
Space bend (a):
Swan-neck bend (b):
Experimental procedure
In this experiment, the pipe components are investigated in measuring section V. All
measurements are over two equal components, which means that any subsequent comparison
calculation needs to include this condition.
Observation table
Pipe elbow Volumetric flow Head loss hvtotal
V in l/min in mm
Angle 90° PVC
20 x 1.5
Bend 90° PVC
20 x 1.5
Angle 45° PVC
20 x 1.5
The measured values will be used to determine the coefficients of resistance for the pipe angle and
bend. As no change of cross-section occurs in this case, the simplified formula for can be used for the
calculation of ζ
…………………………………………2.15
For l, the pipe length between the measuring connections related to the pipe centre line is
used.
Measuring Internal Length Volumteric flow Flow Reynolds’ d/K
section diameter in mm speed in number
d in mm V in l/min V in m3/s m/s
V angle 90°
V bend 90°
V angle 45°
Measuring Calculation Pipe Head Coefficient of
section in friction loss resistance
accordance coefficient hvtotal in
with m
V angle 90°
V bend 90°
V angle 45°
Experiment 3: Cross-section change
Basics
The changes in cross-section available on the experimental unit take the form of discontinuous
expansion or constriction.
For a discontinuous change in cross-section, the coefficient of resistance can be derived from
Bernoulli’s equation and the principle of linear momentum.
For expansion
For constriction
Here, A0 and d0 respectively represent the constricted
cross-section. As this is normally unknown, the coefficient
of resistance for constriction is taken from the following
diagram.
Observation table
Cross-section expansion 20-32mm continuous, d1 Cross-section constriction 32-20mm continuous,
= 17mm, d2 = 28.4mm d1 = 28.4mm, d2 = 17mm,
Volumetric flow rate Head loss hvtotal in Volumetric flow rate Head loss hvtotal in
in l/min mm in l/min mm
Experiment 4: Pipe branch
Basics
When separating a flow or combining two partial flows, a significant pressure drop occurs at
the branching point due to the change of direction and separation. The resulting flow losses
depend on various parameters, in particular the geometry of the branch piece and the
magnitude of the individual volumetric flows. The reference speed is always the speed of the
not yet separated or already combined volumetric flow and is calculated using the familiar
equation:
Under certain conditions, there may even be a pressure gain in one of the two branch flows, if
the fluid pressure of the other flow, reduced by flow processes, causes an injector effect. For
reasons of continuity, the total volumetric flow V is equal to the sum of the outgoing or
incoming volumetric flow Va and the continuous volumetric flow Vd.
Observation table for section III/IV
Y piece di = 17mm, l = 150mm T piece di = 17mm, l = 150mm
Separation Combination Separation Combination
V in Head loss V in Head loss V in l/min Head V in Head
l/min in mm l/min in mm loss in l/min loss in
mm mm
hva hvd hva hvd hva hvd hva hvd
Experiment 5: Opening characteristics of shut-off devices
Aim of experiment
In this experiment, the throttling behavior of shut-off gate valve shut-off devices are
investigated.
Basics
If shut-off devices are used to set particular volumetric flows in pipe systems, at low opening
levels and volumetric flows, considerable attention needs to be paid to good dosing capability.
A progressive characteristic curve is optimal, where the opening level rises slowly at first then
increasingly quickly. Adjustment of the shut-off device by a particular absolute amount results
in a corresponding percentage change in the volumetric flow.
Example: If a valve with a maximum opening of 10
revolutions is opened from 1 to 2 revolutions, i.e. by
10% absolute, and the volumetric flow will show a
relative increase of 100%, e.g. from 1l/min to 2l/min.
This so-called “equal percentage” characteristic
curve is designated as linear in the adjacent diagram.
Plotted next to it are a progressive and a degressive
characteristic curve, as occur on typical shut-off
devices
Opening characteristics of valves
Observation Table
Revolutions Volumetric flow rate in l/min.
0
½
¾
1
1¼
1½
1¾
2
2½
3
Experiment 6: Volumetric flow measurement with orifice
Aim of experiment
The aim of the experiment is to determine the volumetric flow measurement using orifice.
Basics
The volumetric flow cannot be determined from the
dynamic pressure alone. In technical fluid mechanics,
orifices or nozzles are frequently used to determine
the volumetric flow. Using a constant, the volumetric
flow to DIN 1952 can be calculated as follows:
orifice
To calculate the volumetric flow, the relevant aperture cross-section is first determined
To determine the flow coefficient the aperture ratio m is required.
D: Pipe diameter before device
Observation table
Volumetric flow rate in Head loss hvtotal in mm Differential pressure p in
l/min mbar
Experiment 7: Volumetric flow measurement with Venturi tube
Aim of experiment
The aim of the experiment is to carry out volumetric flow measurement using a Venturi tube.
Basics
Like a nozzle and orifice, a Venturi tube can be used to carry out volumetric flow measurement.
The volumetric flow is then calculated using the familiar formula:
To determine the flow coefficient for the experiment, the aperture ratio m is required.
Density of water as a function of temperature
Observation table
Volumetric flow rate in Head loss hvtotal in mm Differential pressure p in
l/min mbar
