Blog Archives
Closed Conduit Hydraulics - Friction and Minor Losses
Friction and minor losses are glossed over in the darcy-weisbach article but I want to throw in some extra notes here. Friction occurs over every bit of length of a close-conduit system and is usually a surprisingly high amount of energy loss. Friction depends on the material of the pipe and the velocity of flow. The formula for frictional head loss IS the Darcy-Weisbach equation.
Closed Conduit Hydraulics - Bernoulli Equation
The Bernoulli Equation is used to analyze flow in closed pipe systems and is one of the most used equations in hydraulics (that I can remember!).
The base form of the equation relates energy between two or more points in a system. I think it is easier to remember and use in terms of head loss(ft or m).
Closed Conduit Hydraulics - Hazen Williams Equation
Hazen-Williams can be used to determine the flow characteristics in closed conduits (pipe systems).
For Velocity
S = slope, in decimal form. This is equivalent to 
R = hydraulic radius, 
C = Roughness Coefficient, get this from a table (available in both the AIO and CERM) Click here to continue reading
Closed Conduit Hydraulics - Darcy-Weisbach Equation
The Darcy-Weisbach equation is used to determine flow characteristics in closed conduit systems (pipes). It is probably more common than the Hazen-Williams equation due to it being able to solve for systems in both laminar AND turbulent flow.
- headloss
(ft) - friction factor
, length 
- length (ft)
- diameter
(ft) - velocity
- gravity g
Friction Factor
The friction factor is either given or must be calculated using a Moody-Stanton diagram (available in both the AIO and CERM). Getting the friction factor from a Moody-Stanton chart requires the Reynolds Number 
, and relative roughness 
. Click here to continue reading
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