Experimental Investigation of Pressure Loss and Friction Factor in Water Flow through Pipes of Different Diameters

Authors

  • Intesar K. Atiyah Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University, Babylon 51009, Iraq. Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0503-8572
  • mustafa adnan kenger Mechanical Power Engineering Department, Mussaib Technical College, Al Furat Al Awsat Technical University, 51006, Babil, Iraq Author
  • enas aidan Abdul Zahra Bilal Mechanical Power Engineering Department, Mussaib Technical College, Al Furat Al Awsat Technical University, 51006, Babil, Iraq Author
  • jaafar firas Hassan Mechanical Power Engineering Department, Mussaib Technical College, Al Furat Al Awsat Technical University, 51006, Babil, Iraq Author
  • Zahraa Falih Hadi Mechanical Power Engineering Department, Mussaib Technical College, Al Furat Al Awsat Technical University, 51006, Babil, Iraq Author
  • Ali Emad Abdalhussin Mechanical Power Engineering Department, Mussaib Technical College, Al Furat Al Awsat Technical University, 51006, Babil, Iraq Author
  • Zainab Rasool Mohammed Mechanical Power Engineering Department, Mussaib Technical College, Al Furat Al Awsat Technical University, 51006, Babil, Iraq Author
  • Banen khalid saad Mechanical Power Engineering Department, Mussaib Technical College, Al Furat Al Awsat Technical University, 51006, Babil, Iraq Author
  • Hussein Basem Khairallah Mechanical Power Engineering Department, Mussaib Technical College, Al Furat Al Awsat Technical University, 51006, Babil, Iraq Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52262/8wnj4580

Keywords:

Keywords : Pipe Flow, Head Loss, Pressure Drop, Friction Factor, Reynolds Number, Turbulent Flow, Pipe Diameter, Darcy–Weisbach Equation

Abstract

Abstract The present experimental study concerns the hydraulic losses of water flowing in galvanized steel tubes of diameters 1, 1.5 and 2 inches. A closed-loop hydraulic circuit was built to test head loss and pressure drop for flow rates from 20 to 80 L/min. The Reynolds number ranged from about 8.35×103 to 46.68×104, which resulted in fully turbulent flow throughout the duration of all experiments conducted . The head loss increased considerably advanced flow rate as presented in the results, where The maximum head loss observed for 1-inch pipe at a flow of 80 L/min was 2.8 m and the lowest of any 2-inch pipe at the flow of 20 L/min was 0.1 m. Pressure drop (0.01 bar to 0.28 bar) also varied based on flow conditions and pipe diameter. The friction factor decreased with higher Reynolds number values from 0.035 to 0.020. The results showed a linear correlation between velocity squared and head loss (or pressure drop), therefore sufficiently confirming the application of the Darcy–Weisbach equation. Experimental results were in good agreement with theoretical predictions of scattered light intensity, deviating on average by 9–11%. These results illustrate the effects of pipe diameter and flow rate on hydraulic performance with implications for design and optimization of pipe flow systems.

 

Author Biographies

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Published

2026-06-02

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Vol. 4 No. 1 (2026): volume 4,Issu 1,May 2026

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