Friction factor — turbulent flow

A correct value of friction factor is required for the estimation of pressure drop. The value of the friction factor depends upon the flow characteristics. For laminar flow less than 2100), the friction factor varies inversely with the Re5molds number, whereas for turbulent flow, the friction factor has a complex relationship with the pipe diameter, roughness of the pipe, and the Reynolds number. 

The Fanning friction factor for laminar flow (Reynolds number less than 2100) is defined as [7]  

For turbulent flow, the friction factor is estimated by using the well-known Moody diagram. This can also be calculated by using the Colebrook equation, which is the basis of the Moody diagram [3]  

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Trial and error are required to solve the Colebrook equation however, the trial-and-error method does converge very rapidly. 

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With turbulent flows we normally have to resort to the correlation of experimental data. Friction between fluids and surfaces are normally characterised by friction factors. Different flow situations give rise to different friction factors. 

The transition from laminar to turbulent flow occurs at Reynolds numbers varying from ca 2000 for n > 1 to ca 5000 for n = 0.2. In the laminar region the Fanning friction factor (Fig. 2) is identical to that for Newtonian fluids. In the turbulent region the friction factor drops significantly with decreasing values of producing a family of curves. 

The convective heat-transfer coefficient and friction factor for laminar flow in noncircular ducts can be calculated from empirically or analytically determined Nusselt numbers, as given in Table 5. For turbulent flow, the circular duct data with the use of the hydrauhc diameter, defined in equation 10, may be used. 

Fig. 5. Moody diagram for Darcy friction factor (13) (-----), smooth flow (----), whoUy turbulent flow ( ), laminar flow.

For laminar flow (Re < 2000), generally found only in circuits handling heavy oils or other viscous fluids, / = 16/Re. For turbulent flow, the friction factor is dependent on the relative roughness of the pipe and on the Reynolds number. An approximation of the Fanning friction factor for turbulent flow in smooth pipes, reasonably good up to Re = 150,000, is given by / = (0.079)/(4i e ). 

In laminar flow,/is independent of /D. In turbulent flow, the friction factor for rough pipe follows the smooth tube curve for a range of Reynolds numbers (hydrauhcaUy smooth flow). For greater Reynolds numbers,/deviates from the smooth pipe cui ve, eventually becoming independent of Re. This region, often called complete turbulence, is frequently encountered in commercial pipe flows. The Reynolds number above which / becomes essentially independent of Re is (Davies, Turbulence Phenomena, Academic, New York, 1972, p. 37) 20[3.2-2.46ln( /D) ... 

Noncircular Channels Calciilation of fric tional pressure drop in noncircular channels depends on whether the flow is laminar or tumu-lent, and on whether the channel is full or open. For turbulent flow in ducts running full, the hydraulic diameter shoiild be substituted for D in the friction factor and Reynolds number definitions, Eqs. (6-32) and (6-33). The hydraiilic diameter is defined as four times the channel cross-sectional area divided by the wetted perimeter. For example, the hydraiilic diameter for a circiilar pipe is = D, for an annulus of inner diameter d and outer diameter D, = D — d, for a rectangiilar duct of sides 7, h, Dij = ah/[2(a + h)].T ie hydraulic radius Rii is defined as one-fourth of the hydraiilic diameter. 

For turbulent flow, with roughly uniform distribution, assuming a constant fricdion factor, the combined effect of friction and inerrtal (momentum) pressure recovery is given by... 

Figure 6-40 shows power number vs. impeller Reynolds number for a typical configuration. The similarity to the friction factor vs. Reynolds number behavior for pipe flow is significant. In laminar flow, the power number is inversely proportional to Reynolds number, reflecting the dominance of viscous forces over inertial forces. In turbulent flow, where inertial forces dominate, the power number is nearly constant. 

For turbulent flow through shallow tube banks, the average friction factor per row will be somewhat greater than indicated by Figs. 6-42 and 6-43, which are based on 10 or more rows depth. A 30 percent increase per row for 2 rows, 15 percent per row lor 3 rows and 7 percent per row for 4 rows can be taken as the maximum likely to be encountered (Boucher and Lapple, Chem. Eng. Prog., 44, 117—134 [1948]). 

A good approximation to the friction factor in the turbulent flow range is... 

Laminar flow after transition usually turns into turbulent flow when Re > 2000. It has been shown that the pressure loss of a turbulent flow is caused by a friction factor with the magnitude of... 

This is the basis for establishing the condition or type of fluid flow in a pipe. Reynolds numbers below 2000 to 2100 are usually considered to define laminar or thscous flow numbers from 2000 to 3000-4000 to define a transition region of peculiar flow, and numbers above 4000 to define a state of turbulent flow. Reference to Figure 2-3 and Figure 2-11 will identify these regions, and the friction factors associated with them [2]. 

Figure 2-31 is useful in sohing the usual steam or any vapor flow problem for turbulent flow based on the modified Darcy relation with fixed friction factors. At low vapor velocities the results may be low then use Figure 2-30. For steel pipe the limitations listed in (A) above apply.

If the Reynolds number is greater than 4,000, the flow will generally be turbulent and the friction factor can be calculated from the Colebrook equation ... 

As indicated earlier, non-Newtonian characteristics have a much stronger influence on flow in the streamline flow region where viscous effects dominate than in turbulent flow where inertial forces are of prime importance. Furthermore, there is substantial evidence to the effect that for shear-thinning fluids, the standard friction chart tends to over-predict pressure drop if the Metzner and Reed Reynolds number Re R is used. Furthermore, laminar flow can persist for slightly higher Reynolds numbers than for Newtonian fluids. Overall, therefore, there is a factor of safety involved in treating the fluid as Newtonian when flow is expected to be turbulent. 

Yooi24) has proposed a simple modification to the Blasius equation for turbulent flow in a pipe, which gives values of the friction factor accurate to within about 10 per cent. The friction factor is expressed in terms of the Metzner and Reed(I8) generalised Reynolds number ReMR and the power-law index n. 

The left-hand side of equation 10.224 is referred to as the y-factor for heat transfer ( //,). Chilton and Colburn found that a plot of against Re gave approximately the same curve as the friction chart (0 versus Re) for turbulent flow of a fluid in a pipe. 

The right-hand side of equation 10.224 gives numerical values which are very close to those obtained from the Blasius equation for the friction factor (j> for the turbulent flow of a fluid through a smooth pipe at Reynolds numbers up to about 106. 

The Blasius relation between friction factor and Reynolds number for turbulent flow is ... 

Equation 12.37 can be used in order to calculate the friction factor

turbulent flow of fluid in a pipe, It is first necessary to obtain an expression for the mean velocity u of the fluid from the relation ... 

For flow in a smooth pipe, the friction factor for turbulent flow is given approximately by the Blasius equation and is proportional to the Reynolds number (and hence the velocity) raised to a power of -2. From equations 12.102 and 12.103, therefore, the heat and mass transfer coefficients are both proportional to w 75. 

Water is pumped at 1.4 m3/s from a tank at a treatment plant to a tank at a local works through two parallel pipes, 0.3 m and 0.6 m diameter respectively. What is the velocity in each pipe and, if a single pipe is used, what diameter will be needed if this flow of water is to be transported, the pressure drop being the same Assume turbulent flow, with the friction factor inversely proportional to the one quarter power of the Reynolds number. 

The ratio of Ihe mixing length to the distance from the pipe wall has a constant value of 0.4 for the turbulent flow of a fluid in a pipe. What is the value of the pipe friction factor if the ratio of the mean velocity to the... 

Transition from laminar to turbulent flow occurs when the friction factor exceeds the low ARe range. In Fig. 2.20a the results obtained for a mbe of diameter 705 pm by Maynes and Webb (2002) are compared against the value accepted for laminar flow A = 64/Re. Based on the above data, one can conclude that the transition occurs at Tie >2,100. 

Fig. 2.20 (a) Dependence of the friction factor on Reynolds number for tube of diameter 705 pm. Reprinted from Maynes and Webb (2002) with permission, (b) Turbulent flow friction correlations. Reprinted from Sobhan and Garimella (2001) with permission... 

Glass and silicon tubes with diameters of 79.9-166.3 iim, and 100.25-205.3 am, respectively, were employed by Li et al. (2003) to study the characteristics of friction factors for de-ionized water flow in micro-tubes in the Re range of 350 to 2,300. Figure 3.1 shows that for fully developed water flow in smooth glass and silicon micro-tubes, the Poiseuille number remained approximately 64, which is consistent with the results in macro-tubes. The Reynolds number corresponding to the transition from laminar to turbulent flow was Re = 1,700—2,000. 

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