Calculating Length and Equivalent Length in a Pipe: Summary
The answer to the ConcepTest is given below and will open in a separate window.
Key points from this module:
- There are two types of head losses.
- Major head losses consist of straight pipe while the minor losses take into account changes in the pipe, including bends and turns as well as valves, pumps, etc.
- Minor head losses can be transformed to an equivalent length.
- An equivalent length is the length of straight pipe that would cause the same amount of head loss as the total minor head loss.
From studying this module, you should now be able to:
- Calculate the pipe length that produces a certain amount of major head loss.
- Relate equivalent length to minor head loss.
- Calculate equivalent length for a simple system.
Prepared by Janet deGrazia, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder