ME – 233: Fluid Mechanics – II
Dr. Emad Uddin
Fully developed laminar flow
Fully developed: the velocity
profile is the same at any cross
section of the pipe.
Whether the flow is laminar or
turbulent,
Flow in a long, straight, constant
diameter sections of a pipe
becomes fully developed.
But the other flow properties are
different for these two types of
flow.
Fully developed laminar flow
Knowledge of the velocity profile can lead directly to
other useful information such as pressure drop, head
loss, flowrate.
We begin by developing the equation for the velocity
profile in fully developed laminar flow.
If the flow is not fully developed, a theoretical analysis
becomes much more complex
If the flow is turbulent, a rigorous theoretical analysis is as
yet not possible.
Fully developed laminar flow
There are numerous ways to derive important results
pertaining to fully developed laminar flow.
Three alternatives include:
From F = ma applied directly to a fluid element,
From the Navier –Stokes equations of motion,
&
From dimensional analysis methods.
F = ma Applied to a Fluid Element
Consider the motion of a cylindrical fluid element at time
‘t’ within a pipe.
𝜕𝜕𝑉𝑉
The local acceleration is zero because the flow is steady ( =
𝜕𝜕𝑡𝑡
0), and
The convective acceleration is zero because the flow is fully
𝜕𝜕𝑢𝑢
developed (V.ΔV= u i = 0).
𝜕𝜕𝑥𝑥
F = ma Applied to a Fluid Element
Every part of the fluid merely
flows along its streamline parallel
to the pipe walls with constant
velocity,
Velocity varies from one pathline
to another.
This velocity variation, combined
with the fluid viscosity, produces
the shear stress.
F = ma Applied to a Fluid Element
If gravitational effects are neglected, the pressure is
constant across any vertical cross section of the pipe,
although it varies along the pipe from one section to the
next.
If the pressure is P1 at section (1), it is P1- ΔP at section
(2).
A shear stress τ, acts on the surface of the cylinder of fluid
it is a function of the radius of the cylinder, τ = τ (r).
We isolate the cylinder of fluid and apply Newton’s
second law, Fx = max
F = ma Applied to a Fluid Element
The fluid is not accelerating, so that ax= 0.
Thus, fully developed horizontal pipe flow is a balance
between pressure and viscous forces
The pressure difference acting on the end of the cylinder
of area πr²
The shear stress acting on the lateral surface of the
cylinder of area 2πrl.
F = ma Applied to a Fluid Element
This force balance can be written as
which can be simplified to give
Since neither Δp nor l are functions of the radial
coordinate, r, it implies that 2π/r must also be independent
of r.
F = ma Applied to a Fluid Element
That is, τ = Cr , where C is a constant.
At the centerline of the pipe (r = 0) there is no shear stress τ =
0.
At the pipe wall (r = D/2) the shear stress is a maximum,
denoted τw the wall shear stress.
Hence, C= 2 τw /D and the shear stress distribution
throughout the pipe is a linear function of the radial
coordinate
F = ma Applied to a Fluid Element
If the viscosity were zero there would be no shear stress, and
pressure would be constant throughout the pipe
We get a relation between
pressure drop, and
wall shear stress
F = ma Applied to a Fluid Element
To carry the analysis further we must prescribe how the
shear stress is related to the velocity.
For a laminar flow of a Newtonian fluid, the shear stress is
simply proportional to the velocity gradient.
In the notation associated with our pipe flow, this becomes
F = ma Applied to a Fluid Element
The two governing laws for fully developed laminar flow
of a Newtonian fluid within a horizontal pipe
By combining these equations & integrating
where c1 is a constant.
F = ma Applied to a Fluid Element
Because the fluid is viscous it sticks to the pipe wall so
that u = 0, at r= D/2.
Vc is the centerline velocity
F = ma Applied to a Fluid Element
The volume flowrate through the pipe can be obtained by
integrating the velocity profile across the pipe.
The average velocity is the flowrate divided by the cross-
sectional area,
The above results confirm the following properties of laminar pipe flow.
For a horizontal pipe the flowrate is
A. directly proportional to the pressure drop
B. inversely proportional to the viscosity,
C. inversely proportional to the pipe length
D. proportional to the pipe diameter to the fourth power.
With all other parameters fixed, an increase in diameter by a factor of 2 will
increase the flowrate by a factor of 16
the flowrate is very strongly dependent on pipe size.
A 2% error in diameter gives an 8% error in flowrate
This flow, the properties of which were first established experimentally by two
independent workers, G. Hagen 11797–18842 in 1839 and J. Poiseuille 11799–
18692 in 1840, is termed Hagen–Poiseuille flow.
Equation 8.9 is commonly referred to as Poiseuille’s law.
Recall that all of these results are restricted to laminar flow (those with
Reynolds numbers less than approximately 2100) in a horizontal pipe
Pipe in slope
The adjustment necessary to account for non-horizontal pipes are shown in Fig. It
can be easily included by replacing the pressure drop, by the combined effect of
pressure and gravity
Note that if the flow is uphill Ɵ>0, while if the flow is downhill Ɵ<0
This can be seen from the force balance in the x direction (along the pipe axis) on
the cylinder of fluid shown n Fig.
The method is exactly analogous to that used to obtain the Bernoulli equation
when the streamline is not horizontal.
The net force in the x direction is a combination of the pressure force in that
direction, and the component of weight in that direction.
The result is a slightly modified form of Eq given by
Thus, all of the results for the horizontal pipe are valid
provided the pressure gradient is adjusted for the elevation
term so that
and
It is seen that the driving force for pipe flow can be either
a pressure drop in the flow direction, or the component of
weight in the flow direction.
If the flow is downhill, gravity helps the flow (a smaller
pressure drop is required).
If the flow is uphill gravity works against the flow (a
larger pressure drop is required)
