College Fluid Mechanics - An Open Courseware

Module 11: Viscous Flow in Pipes

In Modules 5, 6 and 7, we applied the Reynold's Transport Equation to Conservation of Mass, Momentum, and Energy, respectively.

In Modules 8 and 9, we studied differential analysis of fluid flow, applied the fundamentals to obtain Conservation of Mass and Momentum equations, respectively

In Module 11, we will apply these basic principles to a specific and very important real-life application - the incompressible and compressible flow of viscous fluid in pipes and ducts. You can imagine the wide application space of this module to the mechanical engineering discipline. I would like to bring to your attention that this is the first module, where we discuss compressible flow, viscous flow, and Laminar, Transitional and Turbulent flow regimes.

Student Learning Outcomes: After completing this module, you should be able to:

* Identify and explain various characteristics of the flow in pipes

* Discuss the main characteristics of laminar and turbulent pipe flows and appreciate their differences

* Calculate losses in straight portions of the pipes (major losses), as well as those in various pipe system components (minor losses)

* Apply appropriate equations and principles to analyze a variety of pipe flow situations

Lecture Videos:

Link to Module 11 Playlist Link to Module 11 Lecture Videos

Links to Individual Module 11 Videos:

Lecture 1 - Viscous Flow in Pipes - Turbulent, Laminar, Transitional - Entrance, and Fully Developed Regions: In this segment, we introduce viscous flow in pipes, including Turbulent, Laminar, Transitional flows, Entrance Region, Fully-Developed Regions.

Lecture 2 - Laminar Viscous Flow in a Pipe: In this segment, we derive the viscous laminar flow equation from dimensional analysis.

Lecture 3 - Non-Circular Ducts and Hydraulic Diameter: In this segment, we go over how to approach non-circular cross-section ducts and introduce the concept of hydraulic diameter.

Lecture 4 - Turbulent Viscous Flow in a Pipe - Major Losses: In this segment, we obtain the major losses for a turbulent viscous flow.

Lecture 5 - Friction Factor - Moodys Chart - Colebrook and Haaland Formula: In this segment, we discuss how to obtain the friction factor. We show two methods: one based on reading the moody's diagram or chart; second by using two alternative analytical equations (Colebrook and Haaland Formula)

Lecture 6 - How to read the Moody's Chart - An Example: In this segment, we go over how to read Moody's Chart or Diagram for a given Reynolds number and equivalent roughness.

Lecture 7 - Major Losses in Pipes - An Example: In this segment, we go over a piping system design for a tall residential building.

Lecture 8 - Minor Losses due to Pipe Components: In this segment, we discuss the minor losses due to various pipe components.

Lecture 9 - Minor and Major Losses - An Example: In this segment, we apply the principles of major and minor losses to calculate pump power

Lecture 10 - Module 11 Recap

Additional Videos (Short FE Exam type questions)

Lecture 11 - In this segment, we solve an FE practice problem involving Reynolds number, laminar and turbulent regime topics of the Fluid Mechanics FE Exam

Lecture 12 - In this segment, we solve an FE practice problem involving extended Bernoulli's Equation and head loss due to flow topics of the Fluid Mechanics FE Exam

Lecture 13 - In this segment, we solve an FE practice problem involving Darcy Friction Factor, Moody Chart (or Diagram), and head loss due to flow topics of the Fluid Mechanics FE Exam.

Lecture 14 - In this segment, we solve an FE practice problem involving Darcy Friction Factor, and head loss due to flow topics of the Fluid Mechanics FE Exam.

Lecture 15 - In this segment, we solve an FE practice problem involving Hydraulic Diameter for Semicircular Open Channel and Noncircular Conduits (or Ducts) of the Fluid Mechanics FE Exam.

Lecture 16 - In this segment, we solve an FE practice problem involving Hydraulic Diameter for the Equilateral Triangular Pipe and Noncircular Conduits (or Ducts) of the Fluid Mechanics FE Exam.