Pressure Drop and Friction Factor in Flow of Gases

Review:
The following pressure drop equations and methods derived are for laminar and turbulent
flow of incompressible liquids.
Pressure drop (loss) due to skin friction in laminar flow:

(eqn 1)

Where: p1 = upstream (entrance) pressure (N/m2)

P2 = downstream (exit) pressure (N/m2)
= average velocity (m/s)
L2-L1 = L = length of straight tube (m)
Pressure drop (loss) due to skin friction in laminar or turbulent flow:

(eqn 2)

Friction loss due to pressure drop in laminar or turbulent flow:

Where:

(eqn 3)

for laminar flow

estimated using a Moody diagram

I. Incompressible gases in laminar flow

When the fluid is a gas instead of a liquid, the Hagen-Poiseulle equation (equation relating pressure drop
and average velocity for laminar flow in a horizontal pipe):

; can be

written for gases in laminar flow as:

Where:

= mass flowrate (kg/s)

M = molecular weight (kg/kmol)
T = Tabs (K)
R = 8314.34 (N m/(kmol K))
R = 1545.3 (ft lbf/(lbmol R))

(eqn 4)
(eqn 5)

II. Incompressible gases in laminar or turbulent flow

For incompressible gases in turbulent flow in pipes with density or pressure changes of less than 10%,
the equation 2 can be written as:

Where:

= average density at

(eqn 6)

, (kg/m3)

estimated using a Moody diagram

G = mas flowrate per unit area (kg/m2s)

The above equation can be derived from equation 2 using the relation:

Equation 6 can also be written for gases as:

4

(eqn 7)

which can be derived using the relation:

(Note: this equation is the ideal gas equation; hence, the gas is assumed to be ideal in this formula)
Equations 6 and 7 can only be used for gases where relative pressure changes is small enough
that large changes in velocity dont occur
If exit velocity becomes large, the omitted kinetic energy term (
) becomes important
When the pressure change is already greater than 10%, the case becomes compressible flow
E.g. Nitrogen gas is flowing through a 4-in schedule 40 commercial steel pipe at
298.15K. The total flow rate is 7.4 x 10-2 kg/s and the flow can be assumed as
isothermal. The pipe is 3000m long and the inlet pressure is 200kPa. Calculate the
outlet pressure.

Answer: 188.5 kPa

Friction factor (f) for nonisothermal flow of liquids and gases

Take note that the friction factor (f) used in the preceding equations are for isothermal flow, that is, no
heat transfer. When the fluid is being heated or cooled, the temperature change will cause changes on
the physical properties of the fluid, especially the viscosity. The following correction by Sieder and Tate
can be used to predict friction factor for nonisothermal flow of liquids and gases.
Step 1: Calculate the mean bulk temperature (ta) as average of inlet and outlet bulk fluid temperatures
Step 2: Calculate NRe using the viscosity (a) obtained using ta.
Step 3: Using NRe and /D obtain the friction factor (f) from the Moody diagram
Step 4: Use wall temperature (tw) to determine viscosity (w)
Step 5: Compute the correction factor

NRe>2100 (Turbulent)

NRe<2100 (Laminar)

Heating

Cooling

Step 6: Corrected friction factor is computed by dividing the friction factor from step 3 the correction
factor from step 5
Note that when the liquid is heated, > 1.0 and the friction factor (f) decreases

III. Compressible flow of gases

When the pressure change is already greater than 10%, the case becomes compressible flow. The
solution for the energy balance becomes more complicated because density and specific volume
changes with pressure
For a differential length dL and the assumptions of turbulent flow (=1) and no shaft work (Ws=0), the
mechanical energy balance can be written as:

For a horizontal pipe, dz=0. Also,

and

(from equation 3). Substituting:

(eqn 8)

4
Assuming steady state, G is constant:

(eqn 9)

(eqn 10)
Substituting equations 9 and 10 into equation 8:
(eqn 11)

4
Equation 11 is the basic differential equation which is to be integrated.
Note that we need to find a relationship between V and dp for

to be evaluated.

This relationship will depend on the nature of flow which can be either isothermal or adiabatic.
A. Isothermal flow
For isothermal flow, the gas is assumed to be ideal and ideal gas equation shall be used to relate
V to p.

Substituting this into the general equation (equation 11) and integrating from point 1 (entrance)
to point 2 (exit):

( )

Isolating

and substituting

:
4

Substituting

( )

(eqn 12)

, equation 12 can be written as:

4

( )

(eqn 13)

The 1st term of equations 12 and 13 represents frictional losses, while the 2nd term becomes
negligible in ducts of appreciable length unless pressure drop is very large.
Also, notice that equations 12 and 13 reduce to equations 6 and 7 when the 2nd term becomes
negligible
When the upstream pressure p1 remains constant, G changes as downstream pressure p2 is
varied
Observe in equation 12 that when
p1=p2, G=0
P2=0, G=0
This shows that at some intermediate value of p2, G is maximum, and this happens when

Performing implicit differentiation on equation 12, we get:

4

Isolating

and equating it to zero, we get:

To obtain an equation for the maximum velocity, introduce the following relations
and

Note that the maximum velocity is the velocity of sound (sonic velocity) in the fluid at conditions
of isothermal flow

E.g. Methane gas is being pumped through a 1.016-m-ID commercial steel pipeline for
a distance of 1.609x105m at a rate of 2.077 kmol/s. It can be assumed that the line is
isothermal at 288.8K. The pressure (p2) at the discharge end of the line is 170.3x103Pa
absolute. Calculate the pressure p1 at the inlet of the line, the maximum velocity that
can be obtained and the actual velocity at the exit pressure p2.
The viscosity of methane at 288.8K is 1.04x10-5 Pa.s
Clue: Use solver function of your calculator to compute for p1
Answer: p1=679 Pa, vmax=387.39 m/s, vactual=36.19 m/s

B. Adiabatic compressible flow

This happens when heat transfer through the wall of a straight pipe with constant cross-section
is negligible.
For long pipelines: results for adiabatic flow deviate very little from isothermal flow
For short pipelines (and large pressure drops): adiabatic flow rate > isothermal flow rate, with
maximum possible difference of 20%
For pipes of length about 1000 or longer: difference between adiabatic and isothermal flow is
<5%
The following isothermal compressible flow equation can be used for small temperature
changes in the conduit:
( )
Where: T = arithmetic average temperature
Just like in isothermal compressible flow, the maximum flow occurs when the velocity at the
downstream end of the pipe is the sonic velocity for adiabatic flow:

Where:

ratio of heat capacities

4

Mach number (NMa)

Ratio of the speed of the fluid in the conduit to the speed of sound in the fluid at the actual flow
conditions:

: Sonic flow
: Subsonic flow
: Supersonic flow