The effect of discharge on head loss with straight and bend flow directions in the pipeline

Abstract

Piping flow is a way of transportation to carry material from one place to another. A problem in pipelines is a head loss. This head loss can affect pipe capacity and reduce flow discharge. Structure or geometry of pipelines will affect energy due to the roughness of pipe walls, friction, bends, joints and energy decreases with the length of passed pipe. Head loss in the piping system includes major and minor energy losses. The objective of this research is to determine the magnitude of major and minor head losses and to determine the relationship between discharge and velocity, pressure height, and the influence of geometric network structure. The variation of flowed discharge is 0.5 liter/second, 2.5 liter/second, 3 liter/second and 4 liter/second. The research is experimental research conducted in the laboratory. The test design uses a pipeline with a length of 6 m, a width of 1.20 m, and a dimension of 64 mm. The results showed that an increase in flow rate (Q) followed by an increase in flow velocity (v) will increase Reynold’s (Re) number so that the head loss in the pipeline will increase. The increasing of Reynold’s (Re) number will decrease the value of the friction coefficient. Structure or geometric of the line also influences the pattern of flow. In a straight pipe, the velocity of flow is large but the pressure height is small compared to the bend pipe flow where the velocity of flow is small but the pressure height is larger.