YOUR ROAD TO Colebrook-White Equation

COLEBROOK EQUATION - SOME FACTS

2010-11-03T23:05:00.001-07:00

Turbulent fluid flows in pipes and open channels play an important role in hydraulics, chemical engineering, transportation of hydrocarbon, air duct design, etc.

These flows induce a significant loss of energy depending on the flow regime and the friction on the rigid boundaries. When fluid flows through a pipe, friction between the pipe wall and the fluid works against the flow and is one of the most important parameters in determining a pipeline's capacity

The head loss (hf) due to friction undergone by a fluid motion in a pipe is usually calculated through the Darcy-Weisbach relation.

h_loss = f (L/D) u²/2g

Where f = friction factor or friction coefficient.

The term u²/2g is known as "Velocity Head" where

u = flow velocity and

g = acceleration of gravity.

L= length of duct/pipe

D is hydraulic diameter of the duct.

The friction factor (f ) is a measure of the shear stress (or shear force per unit area) that the turbulent flow exerts on the wall of a pipe and expressed in dimensionless form as f = τ/ρū², where, τ is the shear stress, ρ is the density of the liquid that flows in the pipe and ū the mean velocity of the flow.

For laminar flow (Reynolds number, R ≤ 2100), the friction factor is linearly dependent on R, and calculated from the well-known Hagen-Poiseuille equation:

λ = 64 /R

Where, R, the Reynolds number, is defined as ū D/ ν where ν is the kinematic viscosity = m/r, the ratio of viscosity and density.

Flow in offshore gas pipelines is characterized by high Reynolds numbers, typically highest, in the order of 10⁷, due to the low viscosity and the relative high density of natural gas at typical operating pressures (100-180 bar). For normal liquid lines, the Reynolds number is normally in the range of 5x10⁴ to 1x10⁶

In turbulent flow (R≥ 4000), the friction factor, f depends upon the Reynolds number (R) and on the relative roughness of the pipe, e/D, where, e is the average roughness height of the pipe

When k is very small compared to the pipe diameter D i.e. e/D→0, and f depends only on R.

SMOOTH LAMINAR FLOW REGIME: When k/D is of a significant value, at low R, the flow can be considered as in smooth regime (there is no effect of roughness). In a smooth pipe flow, the viscous sub layer completely submerges the effect of e

on the flow. In this case, the friction factor f is a function of R and is independent of the effect of e on the flow.

CRITICAL ZONE: Fluids with a Reynolds number between 2000 and 4000 are considered unstable and can exhibit either laminar or turbulent behavior. This region is commonly referred to as the critical zone and the friction factor can be difficult to accurately predict. Judgment should be used if accurate predictions of fluid loss are required in this region. Colebrook equation can be examined to get a rough estimate of friction in this region.

If the Reynolds number is beyond 4000, the fluid is considered turbulent and the friction factor is dependent on the Reynolds number and relative roughness

TRANSITION REGIME: As R increases, the flow becomes transitionally rough, called as transition regime in which the friction factor rises above the smooth value and is a function of both k and R.

ROUGH TURBULENT REGIME: As R increases more and more, the flow eventually reaches a fully rough regime in which f is independent of R.

In this zones the friction factor f is calculated by Colebrook’s equation (Colebrook 1938-39)

Nikuradse (1933) verified the Prandtl’s mixing length theory and proposed the following universal resistance equation for fully developed turbulent flow in smooth pipe;

1/= 2 log (R ) - 0.8

In case of rough pipe flow, the viscous sub layer thickness is very small when compared to roughness height and thus the flow is dominated by the roughness of the pipe wall and f is the function only of k/D and is independent of R. The following form of the equation is first derived by Von Karman (Schlichting, 1979) and later supported by Nikuradse’s experiments

1/= 2 log (D/e ) + 1.74

COLEBROOK EQUATION: The Colebrook–White equation estimates the (dimensionless) Darcy–Weisbach friction factor f for fluid flows in filled pipes. For transition regime of flow, in which the friction factor varies with both R and e/D, the equation universally adopted is due to Colebrook and White (1937) proposed the following equation

e is relative roughness

f is the friction factor

Re is Reynolds numbers.

The Colebrook equation can be used to calculate the friction coefficients in different kinds of fluid flows - air ventilation ducts, pipes and tubes with water or oil, compressed air and much more.

Colebrook Equation covers not only the transition region but also the fully developed smooth and rough pipes. By putting e → 0, this reduces to equation for smooth pipes and as R→∞, it forms equation for rough pipes.

Colebrook’s transition curve merges asymptotically into the curves representing laminar and completely turbulent flow.

In a smooth pipe flow, the viscous sub layer completely submerges the effect of k on the flow. In this case, the friction factor f is a function of R and is independent of the effect of k on the flow.

The Colebrook equation has two terms. The first term, (e/D)/3.7, is dominant for gas flow where the Re is high. The second term, 2.51/Re, is dominant for fluid flow where the relative roughness lines converge (smooth pipes).

Moody (1944) presented a friction diagram for commercial pipe friction factors based on the Colebrook–White equation, which has been extensively used for practical applications. This is known as Moody's Chart or Diagram.

In the “Complete Turbulence” region, these lines are “flat”, meaning that they are independent of the Reynolds Number. In the “transition Zone”, the lines are dependent on Re and . When the lines converge in the “smooth zone” the fluid is independent of relative roughness.

Recently it has come to know that Moody diagram is only +/-15% accurate. Glenn O. Brown (professor, Oklahoma State University, OK) recently in his published on internet wondered why, for more than 6 decades, the Moody diagram was used unmodified and still in use same way.

The traditional Moody diagram is still a much widely used method to determine f, even though some major limitations apply to it: It over-estimates the ‘smooth pipe’-friction for Re > 10⁶, and it is very inaccurate around Re = 10⁴

Because of Moody’s work and the demonstrated applicability of Colebrook-White equation over a wide range of Reynolds numbers and relative roughness value e/D, COLEBROOK equation has become the universally accepted standard for calculating the friction factors for rough pipes.

Since the mid-1970s, many alternative explicit equations have been developed to avoid the iterative process that is inherent in Colebrook- White equation. These equations give a reasonable approximation; however, they tend to be less universally accepted.

One of the major draw back of Colebrook equation is that it is implicit! However, implicit equations can be solved in Excel, which has been discussed in this book in great detail.

Some researchers have found that the Colebrook–White equation is inadequate for pipes smaller than 2.5 mm

Zagarola (1996) has indicated that the Prandtl’s law of flow in smooth pipes was not accurate for high Reynolds numbers and the Colebrook-White correlation (which was based on the Prandtl’s law of flow) is not accurate at high Reynolds numbers¹.

The major cost of piping and pumping system is always thought to be the capital investment on the piping and pumping units. However, the recurrence expenditure on the power consumption has to be given due consideration because generally the recurrence expenditure over the years far outweigh the capital investment. Hence the major length of the pipeline is designed with a view to minimize both the power requirement and pipe material simultaneously².

Idelchik summarizes roughness factors for 80 materials including metal tubes, conduits made from concrete and cement; and wood, plywood, and glass tubes.

Idelchik, I.E., M.O. Steinberg, G.R. Malyavskaya, and O.G. Martynenko.

1994. Handbook of hydraulic resistance, 3rd ed. CRC Press

Typical values of absolute roughness are 0.0015 mm for PVC, drawn tubing, glass and 0.045 mm for commercial steel/welded steel and wrought iron

Fast, accurate and robust resolution of the Colebrook equation is necessary to design computations and flow simulations. A fast and simple computational method to find out solution for Colebrook as presented in this book, is expected to effectively contribute to such optimizations.

Notwithstanding certain shortcomings as reported by certain researchers, the Colebrook equation is currently the most accepted equation for calculating the friction factors in most of the industrial flow calculations.

1 Zagarola, M. V., ‘‘Mean-flow Scaling of Turbulent Pipe Flow,’’ Ph.D.thesis, Princeton University, USA, 1996.

2 “Energy Efficient Pipe Sizing and Piping Optimization”– A book by the same author. Visit www.ColebrookEquation.com for more details

THE ABOVE MATERIAL IS PUBLISHED HERE FROM THE BELOW BOOK WITH PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR

(DETAILS OF THIS BOOK)

Applications of Colebrook Equation

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Applications of Colebrook Equation

Introduction

Turbulent fluid flows in pipes, tubes and open channels play an important role in hydraulics, duct design, chemical engineering, and transportation of hydrocarbons, for example. Fluid flows induce a significant loss of energy due to the dissipation due to turbulence and wall friction depending on the flow regime and the friction on the rigid boundaries. In this paper, we examine how exactly the Colebrook White equation is employed for calculations.

Flow Regimes:

The flow regimes

Laminar flow
Transition between laminar and turbulent flow
Fully turbulent flow in smooth conduits
Fully turbulent flow in rough conduits
Free surface flow

Fully turbulent flow in rough conduits
Most of the industrial applications (like transportation of fluids) requires moderate velocity and volume of flow rate. As the pipe used are kept moderately small diameters due to economy and space considerations, the industrial flow of liquid will be often in the turbulent regime. Air flow through exhaust ducts system should have sufficient velocity to capture and carry dust particles and thus the condition is turbulent.

Reynolds Number and Turbulent Flow
The Reynolds number expresses the ratio of inertial (resistant to change or motion) forces to viscous (heavy and gluey) forces. It is well known from experiments now that turbulent flow occurs at Re > 4000.

Re = V D /

ν

V = velocity, D is diameter and $ν$ is Kinematic Viscosity

Kinematic Viscosity

ν = μ /

$μ = viscosity and$ ρ = density

Colebrook Equation and Reynolds Number

As already stated, most of the industrial fluid flow will be in a regime Re > 4000 and thus, the Colebrook equation can be used to calculate friction factor f for such applications.

    * f is the Darcy friction factor
    * Roughness height, e
    * Hydraulic diameter,d
    * Re is the Reynolds number.

Once friction factor f is known, Darcy Weisbach equation can be easily used to calculate head loss

    * hf is the head loss due to friction;
    * L is the length of the pipe;
    * D is the hydraulic diameter of the pipe;
    * V is the average velocity of the fluid flow, = Q/A = volumetric flow rate Q per unit cross-sectional wetted area A;
    * g is the local acceleration due to gravity;
    * f is a dimensionless coefficient called the Darcy friction factor. It can be found from a Moody diagram or Colebrook equation.

Head Loss and Pressure Loss

* the density of the fluid, r;
* g is the local acceleration due to gravity

Power and Pressure Loss

Power wasted in pressure loss is given by following formula:

Pf = Q Dp/h

Pf , friction power loss in Watt

Q , flow rate in Cubic Meter /s

Dp, friction loss in Pa

h is efficiency factor to account for the efficiency of the pump.

REFERENCES

1) Anilkumar M, Optimum Pipe Sizing Fundamentals, Optimisations India, 2010 (In Press) Now availabe from AMAZON

2) IRANIAN PETROLEUM STANDARDS IPS-E-PR- 440, Process Design of Piping Systems

3) Perry's Chemical Engineers Handbook, 8th Edition,

Mr C F Colebrook (1939)

2010-11-03T01:04:00.000-07:00

The full text of the above paper can be had from Download Colebrook-White Famous Paper at the website of Proc. R. Soc. Lond.

OTHER PAPER AUTHORED BY MR COLEBROOK

Colebrook, C.F. (1939) "Turbulent flow in pipes with particular reference to the transition region between the smooth and rough pipe laws." Proc. Institution Civil Engrs., 12, 393-422.

Efficient resolution of the Colebrook equation

2010-08-19T09:23:00.000-07:00

An "efficient method" for resolving Colebrook equation is presented. Author describes Lambert Wave Function and codes in MATHLAB and FORTRAN to solve Colebrook. Readers who wish a straight solution to Colebrook may visit www.ColebrookEquation.com

Efficient resolution of the Colebrook equation

Didier Clamond

Laboratoire J.-A. Dieudonn´e, 06108 Nice cedex 02, France.

E-Mail: didierc@unice.fr

Abstract

A robust, fast and accurate method for solving the Colebrook-like equations is presented. The algorithm is efficient for the whole range of parameters involved in the Colebrook equation. The computations are not
more demanding than simplified approximations, but they are much more accurate. The algorithm is also faster and more robust than the Colebrook solution expressed in term of the Lambert W-function. Matlab c and FORTRAN codes are provided.

An Introduction to Colebrook Equation and its solutions using MS Excel

2010-08-19T04:17:00.001-07:00

A straight forward method to solve Colebrook Equation in Excel or OpenOffice is presented in the book:

AMAZON SITE FOR THIS BOOK

The following papers appeared in web describes various alternatives of Colebrook Equation and methods existing by Thomas G. Lester, P.E., Bergmann Associates

The author sugges VBA and UDFs as the methods by which Colebrook Equation be solved!

http://www.cheresources.com/colebrook1.shtml
http://www.cheresources.com/colebrook2.shtml
http://www.cheresources.com/colebrook3.shtml

WIKI Colebrook Equation

2009-08-12T23:26:00.000-07:00

In wiki there is a nice treatment on Iterations, Colebrook , Darcy Weisbach and so on. In this post, we list some of those:

1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iteration

2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darcy_friction_factor

3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colebrook_equation

Worksheet Solving Colebrook

2009-08-12T23:15:00.001-07:00

Many books in this topic describes solving Colebrook by solvers, goalseek, macros and VB. But there exist a easiest way to solve thousands of books by iteration in your worksheet.

Congratulations!

2009-08-12T23:09:00.000-07:00

It is highly right time to start a blog on Colebrook equation. Congratulations