A NON-ITERATIVE PROCEDURE FOR COLEBROOK-WHITE ESTIMATION OF WATER DISTRIBUTION PIPE DIAMETERS

Abstract

The most accurate of the numerous semi-empirical and fully empirical friction loss relationships for turbulent flows in pipes is the Colebrook-White formula. Unfortunately, its use in estimating the pipe size requires a number of iterations. This paper develops a relationship for computing the diameter of pipes based on the Colebrook-White Formula, which does not require any iteration but still estimates pipe diameters over the entire range of flows in the water supply industry within an error of about 2%. A comparison with existing non-iterative procedures confirms its simplicity and preferrability.