SIMPLIFIED ESTIMATION OF TURBULENT HEAD LOSSES IN WATER DISTRIBUTION PIPES

Abstract

Turbulent flows in pipes are difficult to treat analytically and thus numerous semi-empirical and fully empirical friction loss relationships have been developed for them. The most accurate of these is the Colebrook-White formula. Unfortunately, computation of the head loss with it requires iteration leading engineers to adopt simpler, albeit less accurate formulas which do not require iteration. This paper develops a relationship for computing head losses in pipes, which does not require iteration but still has an adequate accuracy over the entire range of flows in the water supply industry. A comparison with existing formulas confirms its significant superiority over the existing non-iterative procedures.