INTER-AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO
BAYAMON CAMPUS
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Fluid Mechanics Laboratory: MECN 3110
Experimen t No 6
A. Title:
Losses in Piping Systems
B. Equipment:
TecQuipment HI6 Losses. in Piping System. TecQuipment
Hydraulic Bench HI. Rotameter. Thermometer.
C. Main Goal:
To study and evaluate pressure losses due to viscous (frictional)
effects in fluid flows through pipes, valves and other fittings
following these tasks:
1. To determine and plot the values of head loss as a function of volume flow rate.
2. Plot the values of friction factor as a function of Reynolds Number.
D. Prior Requirements:
1. Understand how the equipment operates as well as which are its parts.
2. Discuss with your instructor how you plan to achieve the proposed goals, indicate
which measurements and instruments are needed. Design a data sheet with a
simplified calculation sequence for later use.
E. Procedure:
The following procedure assumes that pressure loss measurements
are to be made on all the circuit components.
1. Fully open the water control valve on the hydraulic bench to allow the flow of water.
2. With the globe valve closed, fully open the gate valve to obtain maximum flow
through the dark blue circuit.
3. Record the manometers readings of each component in the circuit. Also record the
water temperature in the sump tank of the bench.
4. Repeat the above procedure for ten different flow rates, obtained by closing the gate
valve, equally over the full flow range.
5. Close the gate valve and fully open the globe valve to repeat the experimental
procedure with the light blue circuit.
6. Compute the volumetric flow, the Reynolds Number, the head loss of each
component of the circuits, and the friction factor of each component.
7. Plot values of head loss as a function of volume flow rate and values of friction
factor as a function of Reynolds Number for each component.
8. Write a formal laboratory report; submit it to your instructor. For your
computations use S.I. units.
F. References:
1. Janna, W.S.: "Introduction to Fluid Mechanics", 2nd Edition. PWS-KENT Publishing
Co., 1987.
2. Munson, B.R., Young, D.F., and Okiishi T.H.: "Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics", 3rd
Edition. John Wiley & Sons, 1998.
4. TecQuipment Limited Manual "H16 Losses in Piping Systems", England.