Improved method of determining friction factor in pipes

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present an improved computational method for determining the friction factor for turbulent flow in pipes.

Design/methodology/approach

Given that the absolute pipe roughness is generally constant in most systems, and that there are few changes to the pipe diameter, the proposed method uses a simplified equation for systems with a specific relative pipe roughness. The accuracy of the estimation of the friction factor using the proposed method is compared to the values obtained using the implicit Colebrook-White equation while the computational efficiency is determined by comparing the time taken to perform 300 million calculations.

Findings

The proposed method offers a significant improvement in computational efficiency for its accuracy and is compared 28 of the explicit equations currently in use.

Practical implications

This method enables a simplified equation to offer a significant improvement in computational efficiency for its accuracy and is easier to code, enabling engineers to more efficiently calculate frictional pressure loss for flow in pipes.

Originality/value

Due to the complexities in flow regime and pipe roughness, there is a limit to the scope for further computational efficiency through simplification of the explicit equation. This paper presents a new method and simplified equation which combined are able to deliver results with similar accuracy to less computationally efficient explicit equations.

Citation

Winning, H.K. and Coole, T. (2015), "Improved method of determining friction factor in pipes", International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, Vol. 25 No. 4, pp. 941-949. https://doi.org/10.1108/HFF-06-2014-0173