ENERGY LOSSES IN BENDS ( Fluid Mechanics for Engineers ) Lab Report

ENERGY LOSSES IN BENDS ( Fluid Mechanics for Engineers ) - Lab Report Example the results have been obtained for three different runs and this will be important in obtained different results that will be crucial for computation of the different values of K loss coefficient. The data obtained will also be used to plot a graph of head loss Versus Dynamic Head. The extent of the errors will then be computed in order to determine the accuracy of the data obtained. Finally, the values computed will be compared against the values given in the textbooks and the observations made recorded. Energy losses in pipes normally result from friction that occurs between the walls of the pipe and the fluid and the internal friction in the particles of the fluid. On the location of the pipe whereby the streamlines are not straight such as the bends, piping junctions, valves contraction and expansion joints and the inlets and outlets of the reservoirs, minor head losses are experienced (Fluid mechanics: Online). In this experiment, we are going to measure the minor head losses through a section of pipe with a number of transitions, fittings and bends as shown in the figure below: The main purpose of this experiment is to study the head losses through common fittings and valves that are commonly found in piping systems. These head losses are referred to as minor losses and can be evaluated in the form of loss coefficient KL and compared with the theoretical values given in the textbook. Where pi is the static pressure in Pascal, is the specific weight of the fluid, z1 is the elevation in meters of point i , Vi is the velocity of the fluid at point i and g is the gravitational constant and hL is head loss. gives the static head of the pipe and gives the dynamic head (Armfield Instruction Manual, 2004). The sum of the static velocity and the elevation result into what is known as the piezometric head. This is measured with a manometer aboard the apparatus of this experiment. The head loss of the piping is the summation