Correlation for the calculation of turbulent friction in pipes

Tolentino S.L.; González O. · Ingenius (2023) · DOI: 10.17163/ings.n30.2023.05

Resumen

One of the essential parameters in hydraulic systems of pipe networks is the friction factor λ. The friction factor is determined using the implicit Colebrook-White equation through iterative methods, which makes its application challenging. In this work, a correlation based on the recursive method is developed to calculate the friction factor using the Colebrook-White equation. Two empirical relationships are proposed to finalise the correlation, with coefficients and exponents calibrated in Excel 2019. The results of the two proposed relationships were compared with the Swamee-Jain and Haaland relationships for recursive increments. For the λ8 correlation, the maximum percentage error of the friction factor was 0,0000017%, for a relative roughness of 0,00001 and a Reynolds number of 4000. Additionally, the calculations yielded seven exact decimal digits for the friction factor. For Reynolds numbers greater than 4000, the percentage error decreases. As a result, it is concluded that the correlation based on the proposed explicit relationships satisfies the solution of the implicit Colebrook-White equation.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería; Universidad Nacional Hermilio Valdizán