Pipe Flow Investigation Report

Quang Dinh Nguyen (Isaac)

CID: 02665925
Time: 20 hrs
 ABSTRACT
In this report, the five different pipes of internal diameter 4.5mm, 8mm, 11mm,
15mm, 17mm are investigated to check for increased friction factor, which causes
abnormal pressure drops in the pipe. Roughness, which is the degree of
irregularities in the pipe, directly affects the friction factor, with higher roughness
leading to higher friction factor. The standard roughness for the pipes as per
company specifications is 0.1mm, this will be compared with calculated roughness of
the provided test pipes. Measurements of temperature, pressure drops and fluid
velocities were carried out and are used to calculate the roughness of the pipes.
Through the test, four of the five pipes performed within acceptable limits, meaning
their internal surfaces are in good condition. However, the 15mm pipe showed much
higher roughness than company expectations, suggesting that it is faulty and
damaged. The 15mm pipes should be recalled from our clients and investigations in
the manufacturing process for those pipes should be carried out.

i
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract.....................................................................................................................i
Nomenclature..............................................................................................................1
1. Introduction.......................................................................................................2
2. Materials and Methods.....................................................................................2
1.2.1 Measurements.......................................................................................2
1.2.2 Data Processing....................................................................................3
1.2.3 Sources and effects of errors and mitigation.........................................3
3. Results............................................................................................................. 4
4. Discussion........................................................................................................5
5. Conclusions......................................................................................................6
6. References.......................................................................................................6
7. Appendices.......................................................................................................8
1.7.1 Appendix A: Raw Data...........................................................................8
1.7.2 Appendix B: Data Processing..............................................................12
1.7.3 Appendix C: Uncertainty Calculations.................................................16

ii
 NOMENCLATURE
A Cross-sectional area
d Diameter of pipe
f Friction factor
L Length pipe straight section
P Pressure
t Time
T Temperature
u Velocity
V Volume
ρ Density
µ Dynamic viscosity
Re Reynolds Number
ID Internal Diameter

iii
1. INTRODUCTION
A client company claims that some of the pipes produced are causing excess
pressure drops and limiting the flow rates in their systems. The five pipes that will be
tested are of 4.5mm, 8mm, 11mm, 15mm and 17mm internal diameters, they will be
assessed for signs of abnormal internal roughness that could lead to abnormal
pressure losses. Measurements of water temperature, flow rate, pressure drops
between pipe outlet and inlet should be carried out under a range of conditions.
These results will be used to compute the Reynolds Number, which indicates the
turbulence of the water flow, and the Friction Factor, which quantifies how much
resistance the water experiences when flowing through the pipe. These two values
are used to plot points on the Moody Chart, which is used to help assess the
performance of the pipes. Roughness values, which indicate the level of irregularities
on the pipe’s internal surface, are also calculated using Reynold Number and
Friction Factor. By comparing each pipe’s roughness values to the company
roughness specification, it is possible to determine which pipe is producing
excessive pressure losses and should be recalled for inspection.

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

1.2.1 Measurements
Firstly, cross-sectional area (A) of each pipe can be calculated using:
2
πd
A=
4
( 1)
We will need to measure the pressure drop (∆ P) across a 1-meter straight section of
every pipe, between the inlet and outlet port using a digital manometer.
Volume (V) of the water output can be measure in two different ways, using a 2L jug
if the flow rate of the water is low or reading off the 40L tank if the flow rate is high.
Time (t) will be measured simultaneously with the change in volume using a
stopwatch. After that, temperature (T) of the water should be measured using a
digital thermometer. As the length (L) of the straight section and the diameter (d) of
the pipes were already specified, we will not need to take measurements of these
values. Each of these measurements (P, V, t, T) should be repeated three times to
assess repeatability and increase accuracy.
The steps above will be repeated for each variation in velocity of the water, which
can be varied by turning the valve of the tank until the flow of water visually changes.
Table 1 below shows the uncertainties of the mentioned measurement equipments
and values (also accounting for human error in reaction time for the stopwatch).

iv
 Table 1. Summary of relevant uncertainties
Absolute Uncertainties Units
Diameter 0 mm
Stopwatch 0.01 s
Human error in reaction time 0.3 s
Thermometer 0.5 ° C
Digital manometer 414 Pa
Jug precision (2L) 0.001 L
40L Tank 0.5 L
Density 0.005 kg/m^3
Viscosity 0.0000005 kg/m.s
Length 0 m

1.2.2 Data Processing

Using the values obtained for V, t and A, we can calculate the fluid velocity u in m/s
of the water using:
V
u=
t×A
(2 )

Based on the T measured using a digital thermometer, we can determine the density
ρ and the dynamic viscosity of the water µ based on the table provided in Appendix
A. The Reynolds Number (Re), a dimensionless quantity used to predict the flow
regime of a fluid (i.e. whether the flow is laminar, turbulent or in transition), can be
calculated using ρ , u, d, µ in the formulae:
ρud
ℜ=
μ
( 3)
The Friction Factor (f), a dimensionless parameter that quantifies how much
resistance a fluid experiences when flowing through a pipe, can be calculated using:
2d ∆P
f= 2
ρu L
(4 )
Re and f should be calculated for each repeated measurements in the test to obtain
averages.
Moody curves in the turbulence flow region should be plotted for each pipe diameter
using standard roughness of ε=0.1mm, using the empirical Colebrook-White
equation (Johnson, 2018):
1
√f
=−2 log 10
( ϵ
+
2.51
3.7 D ℜ √ f )
(5 )
Roughness values for each data point can be calculated using the implicit Haaland
equation with their respective Re, f, D values

v
 1
=−1.8 log ⁡10 ¿ (6)
√f

1.2.3 Sources and effects of errors and mitigation

When measuring time using a stopwatch, there will be significant human errors in
reaction time at high flow rates (i.e. the 2L jug fills up too quickly), so the 40L tank
should be used to collect a larger volume of water at an increased amount of time,
minimizing the percentage uncertainty of time measurements. Temperature of water
may increase over time due to constant flow and friction with pipe, this can affect the
accuracy of the readings for density and dynamic viscosity of the water, so
temperature should be monitored, dynamic viscosity and density should be altered
accordingly. When initially opening the supply valve, the water flow rate will be
unstable, creating inaccuracies for the volume measurements. Allow the water flow
rate to stabilize and measure under steady conditions. After each volume
measurement, the tank may contain water from previous measurements, creating
zero error in the volume readings, so ensure that the tank is fully emptied before
taking new measurements.
Uncertainties of f and Re can be obtained using error propagation methods. The
uncertainties from digital manometer readings (∆ P ) affect f directly, as well as the
uncertainties from velocity u, which is obtained by combining percentage
uncertainties in the measurements of V and t. It should be noted that the percentage
uncertainty for u in the calculation of f should be doubled and summed
correspondingly with ρ and ∆ P .
Uncertainties in readings of T can affect the accuracies of ρ and μ, which propagates
directly into the uncertainty of Re. Percentage uncertainties of ρ and μ should be
added with that of u.

3. RESULTS
From the test, a range of Re values were calculated along with their respective
uncertainties (Appendix A). This information is summarized in Table 2 below.
Table 2. Re range and uncertainties
Pipe diameter/mm Re range Re Max Re Min
4.5 8931-28279 28279±1977 8931±747
83825±1370
8 3316-83825 1 3316±238
11 27876-83454 83454±3107 27876±869
15 14030-59483 59483±5307 14030±1667
17 41672-76782 76782±4429 41672±3329

These values can then be plotted on the Moody Chart with their respective error bars
in Figure 1 below.

vi
 Figure 1. Moody Chart with relevant points and curves
The Moody curves are plotted using the Colebrook-White equation using the
company standard roughness of ε=0.1mm. The axis for Reynolds number (x-axis) is
in log scale as well as the Friction factor axis (y-axis). The 8mm pipe had eight
readings with varying velocities, while the other pipes had three readings each. The
points for each reading can be seen on the Moody chart, and their respective
uncertainties can be seen using error bars (see Appendix B). The roughness for
each point can be calculated using the Haaland equation and is compared with the
company standard roughness as a percentage, summarized in Table 3 below.

Table 3. Range of ε and comparison to company standard

Pipe ε Max ε Min ε Max relative to ε Min relative to
diameter/mm company standard company standard
(0.1mm) (0.1mm)
0.0047±0.001 0.0032±0.000
5% 3%
4.5 8 8
0.2912±0.021 0.0017±0.000
291% 2%
8 1 9
0.0121±0.000 0.0022±0.000
12% 2%
11 7 5
3.1609±0.251 2.5237±0.136
3161% 2524%
15 3 2
0.0109±0.001 0.0067±0.000
11% 7%
17 2 6

4. DISCUSSION
From the Moody Chart in Figure 1, all the plotted points generally lie below the
company standard Moody curves for relative roughness, with the sole exception of

vii
the readings for the 15mm pipe, which implies that the roughness (ε) for the 4.5mm,
8mm, 11mm and 17mm pipes all vary below the maximum company standard
roughness of 0.1mm (<0.1mm), which means that the 15mm pipe produces
abnormal pressure drops due to it having an elevated friction factor because it has
higher ε values relative to company standards. This is further reinforced by the data
obtained in Table 3, where the calculated roughness values for the 15mm pipe lie
within 2500%-3161% of the company standard while all other pipes generally have
roughness lying within under 60% of the company standard.
It should be noted that the maximum reading for ε of the 8mm pipe has a value that
is 291% relative to company standard, which initially could imply that this pipe could
be faulty and produce abnormal pressure drops. However, it can be observed on the
Moody Chart in Figure 1, the point associated with that value lies within the transition
region even though all points were measured with turbulent flow conditions, thus we
can invalidate it as an anomaly. The maximum ε associated with the point in the
turbulent flow region lie under 60% of the company standard (56%) (See Appendix C)
This error can be attributed to mistakes made in the test where the flow rate was
decreased dramatically by turning the valve, increasing Friction Factor and
decreasing Reynolds Number significantly. In the transition region, roughness does
affect fluid behavior but not in a predictable manner, friction factor cannot be fully
described by neither the laminar flow equation or the empirical Colebrook-White
equation for turbulent flow, therefore roughness values calculated from this region
should not be recorded.
By observation, the uncertainties for pipe roughness can seem quite large, however,
the percentage uncertainties are all within ±70% (See Appendix C), which is the
recommended standard for commercial ducts of various materials (Muzzo, Matoba &
Frölén Ribeiro, 2021)

5. CONCLUSIONS
From the pipe tests, we can conclude that the new 15mm insulated pipe produces
abnormal pressure drops due to elevated friction factor. This can be attributed to the
inner pipe surface having higher roughness, meaning more irregularities impeding
water flow. Conversely, the other lines of pipes (ID 4.5, 8, 11, 17) all had values of
roughness that complied or rather outperformed the company standard of 0.1mm.
However, further investigation should be conducted on the 8mm ID pipe as one of
the roughness values had a Safety Factor of 56%, compared to the safety factors of
the 4.5, 11, 17 ID pipes ranging from 2%-12% relative to the 0.1mm criteria.
The pipes of the 15mm ID specification should be recalled and put through quality
control procedures, investigations should be carried out to find the source of high
roughness, most likely occurring during the manufacturing process. Changes should
be made to the 8mm line of pipes to improve its Safety Factor down to the 2%-12%
range, this can be done by checking for bumps and dents on the inner surfaces of
the pipes and putting them through remanufacturing before shipping.

6. REFERENCES
Johnson, P. (2018) ME1-hPEN Professional Engineering Skills Fluid Mechanics
Laboratory Pipe Flow Background Reading.

viii
Moody Chart Calculator (2025) Moody Chart Calculator. 2025. [Link].
[Link] [Accessed: 2 March 2026].

Muzzo, L.E., Matoba, G.K. & Frölén Ribeiro, L. (2021) Uncertainty of Pipe Flow
Friction Factor Equations. Mechanics Research Communications. 116, 103764.
doi:[Link]

ThermExcel (2014) Water, Density, Specific enthalpy, Viscosity. 2014.

[Link]. [Link]
[Accessed: 3 March 2026].

ix
 7. APPENDICES
1.7.1 Appendix A: Raw Data
Relevant temperature ranges of water and their associated density and dynamic
viscosity (ThermExcel, 2014) can be found in Table 4 below.
Table 4. Temperature of water and associated density and dynamic viscosity
(website cited)
Temperatur Densit Dynamic
e y viscosity
°C kg/m3 kg/m.s
0.00100
20 998.29
3
0.00097
21 998.08
9
0.00095
22 997.86
5
0.00093
23 997.62
3
0.00091
24 997.38
1
0.00089
25 997.13
1
0.00087
26 996.86
1
0.00085
27 996.59
2
0.00083
28 996.31
3
0.00081
29 996.02
5
0.00079
30 995.71
8

Density and Dynamic viscosity values are obtained from reading Table 4, based on
their respective temperatures. This information is shown in Table 5 below.

Table 5. Density and Dynamic Viscosity readings and uncertainties

Density
Pipe diameter/mm #1 #2 #3 Average Uncertainty %Uncertainty
4.5 997.62 997.62 997.62 997.62 0.005 0.00%
4.5 996.86 996.59 996.59 996.68 0.090 0.01%
4.5 996.59 996.59 996.59 996.59 0.005 0.00%
8 997.86 997.86 997.86 997.86 0.005 0.00%
8 997.62 997.62 997.38 997.54 0.080 0.01%
8 997.38 997.38 997.38 997.38 0.005 0.00%
8 997.38 997.38 997.38 997.38 0.005 0.00%
8 997.13 997.13 997.13 997.13 0.005 0.00%
8 997.13 996.86 996.86 996.95 0.090 0.01%
8 997.13 997.13 996.86 997.04 0.090 0.01%
8 997.13 997.13 997.13 997.13 0.005 0.00%

x
 11 997.86 997.62 997.62 997.7 0.080 0.01%
11 997.13 997.13 997.13 997.13 0.005 0.00%
11 997.13 996.86 997.13 997.04 0.090 0.01%
15 997.62 997.62 997.62 997.62 0.005 0.00%
15 997.13 997.13 996.86 997.04 0.090 0.01%
15 997.13 997.13 996.86 997.04 0.090 0.01%
17 997.62 997.62 997.62 997.62 0.005 0.00%
17 997.13 996.86 996.86 996.95 0.090 0.01%
17 997.13 996.86 996.86 996.95 0.090 0.01%

Viscocity (kg/m3)
Pipe diameter/mm #1 #2 #3 Average Uncertainty %Uncertainty
4.5 0.000933 0.000933 0.000933 0.000933 0.00000050 0.05%
4.5 0.000871 0.000852 0.000852 0.00085833 0.00000635 0.74%
4.5 0.000852 0.000852 0.000852 0.000852 0.00000050 0.06%
8 0.000955 0.000955 0.000955 0.000955 0.00000050 0.05%
8 0.000933 0.000933 0.000911 0.00092567 0.00000735 0.79%
8 0.000911 0.000911 0.000911 0.000911 0.00000050 0.05%
8 0.000911 0.000911 0.000911 0.000911 0.00000050 0.05%
8 0.000891 0.000891 0.000891 0.000891 0.00000050 0.06%
8 0.000891 0.000871 0.000871 0.00087767 0.00000669 0.76%
8 0.000891 0.000891 0.000871 0.00088433 0.00000669 0.76%
8 0.000891 0.000891 0.000891 0.000891 0.00000050 0.06%
11 0.000955 0.000933 0.000933 0.00094033 0.00000735 0.78%
11 0.000891 0.000891 0.000891 0.000891 0.00000050 0.06%
11 0.000891 0.000871 0.000891 0.00088433 0.00000669 0.76%
15 0.000933 0.000933 0.000933 0.000933 0.00000050 0.05%
15 0.000891 0.000891 0.000871 0.00088433 0.00000669 0.76%
15 0.000891 0.000891 0.000871 0.00088433 0.00000669 0.76%
17 0.000933 0.000933 0.000933 0.000933 0.00000050 0.05%
17 0.000891 0.000871 0.000871 0.00087767 0.00000669 0.76%
17 0.000891 0.000871 0.000871 0.00087767 0.00000669 0.76%

Temperature measurements are shown in Table 6 below.

Table 6. Temperature measurements and uncertainties

Temperature (°C)
Pipe Averag Uncertaint %Uncertaint
diameter/mm #1 #2 #3 e y y
22. 22. 22.
4.5 6 6 6 22.60 0.50 2.21%
26. 26. 26.
4.5 4 6 7 26.57 0.51 1.92%
26. 26. 26.
4.5 9 6 6 26.70 0.51 1.91%
22. 22. 22.
8 3 3 3 22.30 0.50 2.24%
23. 23. 23.
8 3 5 6 23.47 0.51 2.17%

xi
 23. 23.
8 8 9 24 23.90 0.50 2.11%
24. 24. 24.
8 3 3 3 24.30 0.50 2.06%
24. 24.
8 7 7 25 24.80 0.51 2.06%
25. 25. 25.
8 5 7 7 25.63 0.50 1.97%
25. 25. 26.
8 4 5 2 25.70 0.57 2.20%
25. 25. 25.
8 2 4 2 25.27 0.50 2.00%
22. 22. 22.
11 3 6 7 22.53 0.52 2.30%
25. 25. 25.
11 2 4 5 25.37 0.51 2.01%
25. 25. 25.
11 4 6 2 25.40 0.52 2.04%
23.
15 23 23 1 23.03 0.50 2.18%
25. 25. 25.
15 5 5 7 25.57 0.50 1.97%
25. 25. 25.
15 5 5 9 25.63 0.52 2.02%
22. 22. 22.
17 8 9 8 22.83 0.50 2.19%
25. 25. 25.
17 3 8 7 25.60 0.53 2.06%
25. 25. 25.
17 5 6 6 25.57 0.50 1.96%

Volume changes and their respective time measurements are shown in Table 7
below.
Table 7. Volume and Time measurements and uncertainties

Volume/ L
Pipe diameter/mm #1 #2 #3 Average Uncertainty %Uncertainty
4.5 1.2 1.12 1.22 1.180 0.033 2.83%
4.5 1.06 1.04 1.06 1.367 0.047 3.42%
4.5 0.4 0.38 0.38 15.000 0.500 3.33%
8 1.3 1.44 1.36 10.000 0.500 5.00%
8 1.3 1.6 1.54 15.000 0.500 3.33%
8 5 5 5 1.480 0.100 6.76%
8 10 10 10 5.000 0.500 10.00%
8 10 10 10 10.000 0.500 5.00%
8 1.04 1.02 1.06 10.000 0.500 5.00%
8 0.42 0.38 0.4 1.040 0.013 1.29%
8 10 10 10 0.400 0.013 3.34%
11 15 15 15 10.000 0.500 5.00%
11 10 10 10 10.000 0.001 0.01%
11 5 5 5 5.000 0.001 0.02%
15 10 10 10 10.000 0.500 5.00%
15 10 10 10 5.000 0.500 10.00%

xii
 15 5 5 5 10.000 0.500 5.00%
17 15 15 15 10.000 0.500 5.00%
17 10 10 10 1.053 0.007 0.64%
17 10 10 10 0.387 0.007 1.74%

Time/s
Pipe Averag Uncertaint %Uncertaint
diameter/mm #1 #2 #3 e y y
13.0 11.8 13.0
4.5 6 1 2 12.63 0.52 4.11%
15.8 15.5 15.3
4.5 3 9 9 15.60 0.34 2.20%
12.7 15.2 15.4
4.5 5 2 4 14.47 0.95 6.56%
8 2.81 3.12 3.14 3.02 0.33 10.88%
8 2.97 3.87 3.64 3.49 0.43 12.35%
10.9 11.0
8 5 9.34 8 10.46 0.66 6.29%
22.4 21.1
8 23.9 5 5 22.50 0.97 4.30%
27.7 26.4 27.3
8 1 4 4 27.16 0.52 1.93%
13.2 13.3
8 7 12.9 4 13.17 0.34 2.60%
22.3 20.5 22.0
8 4 7 2 21.64 0.67 3.08%
8 65 66 66 65.67 0.46 0.69%
25.1 23.0
11 9 24 2 24.07 0.79 3.27%
15.0 15.0
11 7 16.5 8 15.55 0.57 3.66%
24.2 23.1
11 5 3 22.9 23.43 0.55 2.33%
14.5 15.2 16.0
15 6 2 7 15.28 0.59 3.87%
19.3 20.7
15 5 19.5 2 19.86 0.55 2.78%
34.0 34.4
15 6 33.8 7 34.11 0.38 1.12%
15.8 15.2 15.8
17 1 6 8 15.65 0.37 2.38%
15.4 15.2 16.1
17 6 7 3 15.62 0.42 2.70%
20.0 20.2
17 1 6 21 20.42 0.45 2.22%

Table 8. Pressure difference readings from digital manometer

Pressure / Pa
Pipe
diameter/mm P1 Uncertainty %Uncertainty P2 Uncertainty %Uncertainty P3 Uncertainty %Uncertainty

xiii
4.5 99998 414 0.4% 99750 414 0.4% 99720 414 0.4%
4.5 53240 414 0.8% 53040 414 0.8% 53030 414 0.8%
4.5 9570 414 4.3% 9150 414 4.5% 9370 414 4.4%
8 111800 414 0.4% 111600 414 0.4% 111400 414 0.4%
8 110800 414 0.4% 110200 414 0.4% 110000 414 0.4%
8 109300 414 0.4% 109000 414 0.4% 109100 414 0.4%
8 108800 414 0.4% 109100 414 0.4% 108700 414 0.4%
8 83650 414 0.5% 84150 414 0.5% 83900 414 0.5%
8 6160 414 6.7% 5800 414 7.1% 5860 414 7.1%
8 630 414 65.7% 600 414 69.0% 570 414 72.6%
8 18280 414 2.3% 18090 414 2.3% 18150 414 2.3%
11 38460 414 1.1% 38200 414 1.1% 38450 414 1.1%
11 26170 414 1.6% 26120 414 1.6% 26120 414 1.6%
11 6070 414 6.8% 5950 414 7.0% 6060 414 6.8%
15 72430 414 0.6% 72480 414 0.6% 72350 414 0.6%
15 38000 414 1.1% 38300 414 1.1% 38490 414 1.1%
15 3760 414 11.0% 3800 414 10.9% 3820 414 10.8%
17 8540 414 4.8% 8790 414 4.7% 8550 414 4.8%
17 5190 414 8.0% 5220 414 7.9% 5280 414 7.8%
17 2460 414 16.8% 2632 414 15.7% 2670 414 15.5%

1.7.2 Appendix B: Data Processing

Calculations for cross sectional area can be shown below in Table 10.

Table 9. Cross-sectional area of pipes

Pipe
diameter/mm Area/m^2
4.5 0.0000159
4.5 0.0000159
4.5 0.0000159
8 0.0000503
8 0.0000503
8 0.0000503
8 0.0000503

xiv
 8 0.0000503
8 0.0000503
8 0.0000503
8 0.0000503
11 0.0000950
11 0.0000950
11 0.0000950
15 0.0001767
15 0.0001767
15 0.0001767
17 0.0002270
17 0.0002270
17 0.0002270

2
πd
Example Calculations: A=
4
A 4.5 mm=π ׿ ¿

Calculations for fluid velocity u can be shown below along with summary in Table 11
below.

Table 11. Fluid velocity

Measuring Type Velocity (m/s)

Pipe
diameter/m
m 1/jug - 0/barrel #1 #2 #3 %Uncertainty
4.5 1 5.777 5.963 5.892 6.94%
4.5 1 4.210 4.194 4.331 2.84%
4.5 1 1.973 1.570 1.547 8.30%
8 1 9.204 9.182 8.617 14.30%
8 1 8.708 8.225 8.417 19.11%
8 0 9.084 10.650 8.978 16.29%
8 0 8.324 8.862 9.406 9.30%
8 0 7.179 7.524 7.277 6.93%
8 1 1.559 1.573 1.581 3.89%
8 1 0.374 0.368 0.361 6.42%
8 0 3.061 3.014 3.014 5.69%
11 0 6.266 6.577 6.857 6.60%
11 1 6.983 6.377 6.978 3.67%
11 1 2.170 2.275 2.298 2.35%
15 0 3.887 3.718 3.521 8.87%
15 0 2.924 2.902 2.731 7.78%
15 0 0.831 0.837 0.821 11.12%
17 0 4.180 4.331 4.162 5.71%
17 0 2.850 2.885 2.731 7.70%
17 0 2.202 2.175 2.098 7.22%

xv
 V
Calculations for velocity u can be made using the formula: u=
t×A
Example calculations:
−3
1.2× 10
u 4.5 mm= =5.78 m/s
13.06 × 0.0000159

Re and f were calculated from measurements and plotted on the Moody Chart. The
information is summarized in Table 5 below.
Table 5. Values of Re and f and their uncertainties.

Reynolds Number - Re
Pipe #1 #2 #3
diameter/mm

4.5 27798 28691 28348

4.5 21684 22078 22795
4.5 10383 8263 8145
8 76935 76753 72027
8 74489 70358 73719
8 79564 93279 78631
8 72906 77615 82386
8 64277 67365 65147
8 13959 14403 14474
8 3349 3290 3309
8 27402 26987 26987
11 72019 77354 80647
11 85956 78507 85899
11 26709 28637 28283
15 62336 59633 56479
15 49092 48715 46886
15 13945 14052 14092
17 75981 78719 75646
17 54216 56136 53143
17 41888 42309 40819

Friction factor
Pipe #1 #2 #3
diameter/mm

4.5 0.027 0.025 0.026

4.5 0.027 0.027 0.026
4.5 0.022 0.034 0.035
8 0.021 0.021 0.024
8 0.023 0.026 0.025
8 0.021 0.015 0.022
8 0.025 0.022 0.020
8 0.026 0.024 0.025
8 0.041 0.038 0.038
8 0.072 0.071 0.070
8 0.031 0.032 0.032
11 0.022 0.019 0.018
11 0.012 0.014 0.012

xvi
 11 0.028 0.025 0.025
15 0.144 0.158 0.175
15 0.134 0.137 0.155
15 0.164 0.163 0.171
17 0.017 0.016 0.017
17 0.022 0.021 0.024
17 0.017 0.019 0.021

Friction Factor - f Reynolds Number - Re

Pipe Total Total
Avera %Uncertai Avera %Uncertai
diameter/ uncertain uncertain
ge nty ge nty
mm ty ty
4.5 0.026 13.97% 0.004 28279 6.99% 1977
4.5 0.027 5.82% 0.002 22186 3.59% 796
4.5 0.030 18.10% 0.005 8931 8.36% 747
8 0.022 28.71% 0.006 75238 14.35% 10795
8 0.025 38.46% 0.010 72855 19.91% 14504
8 0.019 32.67% 0.006 83825 16.34% 13701
8 0.022 18.72% 0.004 77636 9.36% 7264
8 0.025 14.06% 0.004 65596 6.99% 4584
8 0.039 9.82% 0.004 14279 4.66% 665
8 0.071 16.58% 0.012 3316 7.19% 238
8 0.032 11.74% 0.004 27125 5.75% 1560
11 0.020 13.44% 0.003 76673 7.39% 5668
11 0.013 7.41% 0.001 83454 3.72% 3107
11 0.026 5.40% 0.001 27876 3.12% 869
15 0.159 17.80% 0.028 59483 8.92% 5307
15 0.142 16.00% 0.023 48231 8.54% 4121
15 0.166 22.84% 0.038 14030 11.89% 1667
17 0.016 12.40% 0.002 76782 5.77% 4429
17 0.022 16.02% 0.004 54498 8.47% 4618
17 0.019 17.18% 0.003 41672 7.99% 3329

ρud
Reynolds Number Re can be calculated using ℜ=
μ
Example calculations:
−3
997.62 ×5.777 × 4.5 ×10
R e 4.5 mm= =27797 (using rounded values)
0.000933
27798+28691+28348
R e average (4.5 mm)= =28279
3

2d ∆P
Friction factor can be calculated using f = 2
ρu L
Example calculations:
−3
2 ×4.5 × 10 ×99998
f 4.5 mm= 2
=0.027
997.62 ×5.777 ×1

0.027+0.025+ 0.026
f average (4.5 mm)= =0.026
3

xvii
1.7.3 Appendix C: Uncertainty Calculations
Summary of absolute uncertainties can be found in Table 1.

Table 1. Summary of relevant uncertainties

Absolute Uncertainties Units

Diameter 0 mm
Stopwatch 0.01 s
Human error in reaction time 0.3 s
Thermometer 0.5 °C
Digital manometer 414 Pa

xviii
 Jug precision (2L) 0.001 L
40L Tank 0.5 L
Density 0.005 kg/m^3
Viscosity 0.0000005 kg/m.s
Length 0 m

Uncertainties for Viscosity sample calculation:

0.000933−0.000933
- Type A Uncertainty: U ( A)= =0
3
- Type B Uncertainty: U (B)=0.0000005
- Absolute Uncertainty: U ( A +B)= √ ¿ ¿
0.0000005
%Δ μ= × % 100=0.05 %
0.000933

This calculation is repeated for Density, Temperature, Pressure (from Digital

manometer) and Time

Uncertainties for Volume, which is dependent on which measuring apparatus was

used (Jug or Tank). This sample calculation is for the first 4.5mm pipe measurement

1.22−1.12
- Type A Uncertainty: U ( A )= =0.033333 L
3
- Type B Uncertainty (1 so use Jug uncertainty): U (B)=0.001 L
- Absolute Uncertainty: U ( A +B)= √ ¿ ¿
0.33348
%ΔV = ×100 %=2.83 %
1.18
Uncertainties for Friction Factor (combining percentage uncertainties of ∆ P , ρ , u,
L , d ):
%Δ f 4.5 mm=0.09 %+ 0 %+2 ×6.94 %+ 0 %+0 %=13.97 %

Uncertainties for Reynolds Number (combining percentage uncertainties of ρ , u , d , μ):

%Δ R e 4.5 mm =0.0005 %+ 6.94 %+ 0 %+ 0.05 %=6.99 %

Table 3 provides information for ε ranges and comparing it to company standard

(0.1mm):

Pipe ε Max ε Min ε Max relative to ε Min relative to

diameter/mm company standard company standard
(0.1mm) (0.1mm)
0.0047±0.001 0.0032±0.000
5% 3%
4.5 8 8
0.2912±0.021 0.0017±0.000
291% 2%
8 1 9
0.0121±0.000 0.0022±0.000
12% 2%
11 7 5
3.1609±0.251 2.5237±0.136
3161% 2524%
15 3 2

xix
 0.0109±0.001 0.0067±0.000
11% 7%
17 2 6

Rearranging the explicit Haaland equation to isolate ε we have:

ϵ=3.7 D ¿

So %Uncertainty of maximum ϵ value for 4.5mm pipe:

%Δ f 18.10 %
%Δ 1 = = =9 %
10 √
2 2
−1.8 f

% Δ 6.9 =% ℜ=7.39 %
ℜ

Δ 1 =9 % ×0.000648=0.0000586
10−1.8 √f
Δ 6.9 =7.39 % × 0.000773=0.000057
ℜ

0.0000586+0.000057
Δ ϵ= ×100 % × 0.0047=0.0018
0.000283
0.0559
ϵ 8 mm relative ¿ 0.1 mm= ×100=56 %
0.1

xx