Loss Of Head In Bends

The loss of head, due to bends in a pipe, depends upon three factors. First, loss due to change of
direction of the water in the pipe; second, loss from friction as in an ordinary straight length of pipe; third,
loss due to enlargements or contractions in the bend, such as are formed when the unreamed ends of
pipe are screwed into ordinary elbows.

The second and third losses also apply to couplings and tees, and the loss is about the same as for
bends of equal diameters. The loss of head for change of direction differs with the angle and with the
radius of the bend. That is, there is less loss for change of direction in a 45 degree bend than in a 90
degree bend, and the loss is greater in a bend of one diameter radius than in one with a radius of two
diameters. The loss in a 90 degree bend with a radius of five or more diameters and uniform smooth
interior bore is no greater than in an equal length of straight pipe. In other words, there is practically no
loss for change of direction in a bend of greater radius than 5 diameters.

The head lost in a 90 degree bend of less than 5 inch diameter and of the radius commonly found in
practice (Radius=Diameter) with square unreamed ends of pipe screwed into the fitting, Fig. 64, is found
by experiment to equal the head lost in a length of pipe of about 100 times the diameter of the fitting.* The
loss of head is divided into:

Fig. 64

*Thus 100 diameters of 2-inch pipe=200 inches of straight 2-inch pipe.

Loss of head due to change of direction . . . . . . 38 diameters

Loss of head for entry with ordinary unreamed ends . . 58 diameters
Loss of head from friction due to length. . . . . . 4 diameters
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 diameters

In pipes of larger diameter than 5 inches, these values would hold true only for the loss of head due to
change of direction, as the pipes are not relatively as thick, nor the enlargements of the elbows relatively
as great.

The loss of head when the ends of the pipe screwed into the fitting are reamed, as shown in Fig. 65, is
found by experiment to be equal to the loss of head in a pipe equal in length to about 50 diameters of the
fitting. This loss of head is divided into:
Fie. 65

Loss of head due to change in direction.....38 diameters

Loss of head due to enlargement of the bend ... 8 diameters

Loss of head from friction due to length of fitting . . 4 diameters

Total................50 diameters

The loss of head in a bend of five or more diameter radius, with flush interior joints, Fig. 66, is equal to the
loss of head in a length of pipe four diameters of the fitting. This is comparatively shown as follows:

Loss of head due to change of direction . . . . . . . . . . 0 diameters

Loss of head due to enlargements of the bend . . . . . . . . 0 diameters
Loss of head from friction due to length of pipe . . . . . . . 4 diameters
Total....... 4

From the foregoing it will be seen that the least possible head is consumed by using fittings of large
radius with flush joints. That when common fittings are used the loss can be reduced to one-half by
reaming the ends of the pipe with a triangular-shaped reamer, the length of which is just double the base.

Table XXV - Values Of Coefficient n

r R = R=r R=1.12r R=1.25r R=1.4r R=1.6r R=2r R=2.5 r R=3.3r R=5r

n 1.98 141 .98 .66 .44 .29 .21 .16 .14
Fig. 66

The loss of head due to bends can be calculated by the formula:

v2 h=n 2g

In which h=head lost in feet v=velocity in feet per second g=32.16 acceleration due to gravity n=a
coefficient for the bend.

The value of coefficient n depends upon the ratio between the radius r of the pipe and the radius R of the
bend. Table XXV gives values of n corresponding to various values of the ratio r .
Hydraulics Flow Of Water Through Pipes - Friction In Pipes

The flow of water through pipes is accelerated by gravity and retarded by friction. If it were not for the
frictional resistance in pipes water would flow through them with a velocity equal to eight times the square
root of the head. As it is, the roughness of the interior walls, the bends and branch fittings in a system of
piping offer so much frictional resistance that the actual mean velocity is but a fraction of the theoretical
velocity.

The pressure head at any point is less than that due to the hydrostatic head. This difference between the
hydrostatic head and the pressure head is known as loss of head, and is greater the smaller the pipe or
the greater the velocity of flow. The loss of head is due to three causes - loss of head due to entry, loss of
head due to bends, and loss of head due to the length and area of the pipe.

Loss Of Head Due To Entry

The Contracted Vein

The flow of water through a circular aperture in a thin plate, Fig. 61, is contracted in size a short distance
outside of the plate to .615 the area of the aperture, but expands again to the full size of the opening. The
point of greatest contraction is at a distance from the plate equal to about one-half the diameter of the
aperture. In consequence of this contraction, the velocity of flow is slightly reduced from the theoretical
velocity and the quantity discharged is greatly reduced. This contraction is known as the contracted vein.

When the aperture is through a plate of considerable thickness or through a tube the length of which is
not less than twice the diameter of the pipe, the contraction is still found to occur but to a lesser extent
than in the former case; the vein being contracted, as shown in Fig.

Fig. 61
Fig. 62

62, to only .8 of the theoretical area due to head and aperture.

Loss due to the contracted entrance of water from a tank or cylinder into the end of a pipe, as commonly
found in practice, must be taken then as .2 the quantity that should pass. This loss is known as loss of
head due to entry and is considered separate from the loss due to friction in long pipes, loss for bends,
branches, etc., and should be added thereto.

The actual loss of head due to entry can be reduced to a quantity too small to be considered by enlarging
the entrance to the pipe and making it cone shaped as in Fig.

63. The cone should have a length a, equal to one-half the diameter of the pipe, and a radius b equal to
1.22 diameters of the pipe. Any greater enlargement of the opening will deduct but little from the loss of
head. If the ends of thick pipes or pipes of small diameter which are relatively thick are reamed with a
reamer, the length of which is just twice the base, enough metal will be removed to give almost the best
form of contracted vein.

When an unreamed pipe projects a short distance inside of a tank the loss of head due to entry is greater
than when the pipe finishes flush with the inside of the tank. This loss of head has been found by
experiment to be over .3 of the whole flow, thus decreasing it one-tenth more than a pipe that finishes
flush with the inside of a tank.

Loss of head due to entry can be determined by the formula: l=c v2.

2g

When l=loss of head in feet; v=velocity of flow in feet per second g=32.16, acceleration due to gravity
c=coefficient depending on shape of the pipe inlet.

For ordinary calculations the value of c may be taken as .5.

Fig. 63