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Head Loss due to Frictional Resistance occurs due to the effect of the fluid's viscosity near the surface of the pipe or duct. It represents the energy loss in a fluid flow system caused by friction between the fluid and the pipe walls.
The calculator uses the Darcy-Weisbach equation:
Where:
Explanation: The equation calculates the energy loss in a pipe due to friction, which is proportional to the pipe length, square of velocity, and inversely proportional to the pipe diameter.
Details: Accurate head loss calculation is crucial for designing efficient piping systems, selecting appropriate pump sizes, and ensuring proper fluid flow in various engineering applications.
Tips: Enter Darcy friction factor, pipe length in meters, mean velocity in m/s, and pipe diameter in meters. All values must be positive and valid.
Q1: What is the Darcy friction factor?
A: The Darcy friction factor is a dimensionless quantity that depends on the flow's Reynolds number and the pipe's relative roughness. It can be obtained from Moody's chart.
Q2: How does pipe roughness affect head loss?
A: Rougher pipes have higher friction factors, which results in greater head loss for the same flow conditions.
Q3: What are typical values for Darcy friction factor?
A: For laminar flow, f = 64/Re. For turbulent flow in smooth pipes, f ranges from 0.008 to 0.1 depending on Reynolds number.
Q4: How does velocity affect head loss?
A: Head loss is proportional to the square of velocity, meaning doubling the velocity quadruples the head loss.
Q5: When is this equation most accurate?
A: The Darcy-Weisbach equation is most accurate for steady, incompressible flow in pipes with constant cross-section.