
Fluid Flow 153
The first, second, and third terms in Equation 3-2 represent pressure
head, velocity head, and static differences respectively. Equation 3-2 is
used for investigating energy distributions or determining pressure dif-
ferentials between any two points in a pipeline. Incorporating the head
loss due to friction, h L, with constant pipe diameter, i.e., V~ = V 2, Equa-
tion 3-2 becomes
1 (P2 - P, ) + (Z2 - Z~ ) - h L (3-3)
P
Equation 3-3 shows that the head loss, h L, is generated at the expense
of pressure head or static head difference. The static head difference
can be either negative or positive. However, for a negative static
head difference,
AP > h L + (Z 2 - Z l)
(3-4)
In general, pressure loss due to flow is the same whether the pipe is
horizontal, vertical, or inclined. The change in pressure due to the dif-
ference in head must be considered in the pressure drop calculation.
EQUIVALENT LENGTH OF VARIOUS
FITTINGS AND VALVES
The effects of bends and fittings, such as elbow, valves, tees, and
reduction or enlargement of pipes are determined empirically through a
fictituous equivalent length of straight pipe having the same diameter
and they would develop the same pressure drop. The equivalent pipe
length is the most convenient method for determining the overall AP in
a pipe. The drawback to this approach is that, for a given fitting the
equivalent length is not constant but depends on the Reynolds number,
the pipe roughness, the pipe size, and the geometry of the fitting. The
equivalent length is added to the length of actual straight pipe to give
the total length of pipe.
L Total
--
L ~, + L
eq (3-
5)
where
LTota !
L~t
Leq
= total length of pipe, ft
= length of straight pipe, ft
- equivalent length of pipe, ft
The pressure drop equation can be expressed as: