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Flow between reservoirs (20 cm and 30 cm pipe)

Short answer

With coefficient of friction f=0.01, friction loss is 4fLV²/2gd. Summing all loss coefficients gives 2.533 equated to 6 m yields V₁=6.82 m/s, discharge Q=0.214 m³/s, and individual losses as tabulated.

Two reservoirs are connected by a pipe line which is 20 cm in diameter for the first 5 m and 30 cm in diameter for the remaining 20 m. The entrance and exit are sharp and change of section is sudden. If the water surface in the upper reservoir is 6 m above that in the lower reservoir, calculate head losses and rate of flow. Take f = 0.01 for all cases.

The total difference in water level (6 m) is used up by all the losses in the pipe: entry loss, friction in both pipes, sudden enlargement loss and exit loss. Since f=0.01f = 0.01 is a coefficient of friction (R.K. Bansal convention), friction loss is hf=4fLV22gdh_f = \dfrac{4fLV^2}{2gd}.

Data

  • Pipe 1: d1=0.20d_1 = 0.20 m, L1=5L_1 = 5 m; Pipe 2: d2=0.30d_2 = 0.30 m, L2=20L_2 = 20 m
  • H=6H = 6 m, f=0.01f = 0.01, g=9.81g = 9.81 m/s²
 Upper res.
 ~~~~~~~~~|                       H = 6 m
          |==== 20 cm ====|=========== 30 cm ==========|
          |     5 m       |            20 m            |~~~~~
                                               Lower res.

Velocity relation

By continuity, V2=V1(d1d2)2=V1(0.20.3)2=0.4444 V1V_2 = V_1\left(\dfrac{d_1}{d_2}\right)^2 = V_1\left(\dfrac{0.2}{0.3}\right)^2 = 0.4444\,V_1

Losses in terms of V12/2gV_1^2/2g

LossFormulaCoefficient of V12/2gV_1^2/2g
Entrance (sharp)0.5V12/2g0.5V_1^2/2g0.5
Friction, pipe 14fL1V12/(2gd1)4fL_1V_1^2/(2g d_1)4(0.01)(5)/0.2=1.04(0.01)(5)/0.2 = 1.0
Sudden enlargement(V1−V2)2/2g(V_1-V_2)^2/2g(1−0.4444)2=0.3086(1-0.4444)^2 = 0.3086
Friction, pipe 24fL2V22/(2gd2)4fL_2V_2^2/(2g d_2)4(0.01)(20)0.3(0.4444)2=0.5267\frac{4(0.01)(20)}{0.3}(0.4444)^2 = 0.5267
ExitV22/2gV_2^2/2g(0.4444)2=0.1975(0.4444)^2 = 0.1975
Total2.5329

Velocity and discharge

6=2.5329 V122gV1=2×9.81×62.5329=6.817 m/sV2=0.4444×6.817=3.030 m/sQ=π4(0.2)2×6.817=0.2142 m3/s\begin{aligned} 6 &= 2.5329\,\frac{V_1^2}{2g} \\ V_1 &= \sqrt{\frac{2 \times 9.81 \times 6}{2.5329}} = 6.817\ \text{m/s} \\ V_2 &= 0.4444 \times 6.817 = 3.030\ \text{m/s} \\ Q &= \frac{\pi}{4}(0.2)^2 \times 6.817 = 0.2142\ \text{m}^3/\text{s} \end{aligned}

Individual head losses

LossValue (m)
Entrance1.184
Friction in 20 cm pipe2.369
Sudden enlargement0.731
Friction in 30 cm pipe1.248
Exit0.468
Total6.000

Answer: Discharge Q≈0.214Q \approx 0.214 m³/s (214 L/s); the losses are as tabulated, adding up to the 6 m head difference.

(If f=0.01f = 0.01 were taken as the Darcy factor, hf=fLV2/2gdh_f = fLV^2/2gd, the friction terms would be four times smaller and Q would be larger; the coefficient-of-friction reading is the usual one for f=0.01f = 0.01.)

✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)

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