Calculating required pressure to maintain flowrate

In summary: If you wanted to do a more accurate calculation, you would need to use the Navier-Stokes equations. But even then, you're still likely to find that a very large pressure pump would be required to achieve the required flow rate.
  • #1
bugatti79
794
1
Folks,

I seek just a very rudimentary idea of what pressure is required to pump oil through a very small hole of 1mm diameter to maintain a flow rate of 0.5L/min. See attached.

I would imagine that under gravity that the flow rate would be very low because of the viscosity of the oil thus to maintain a this flow rate significant pressure would be required to push it through. Let's assume the oil container bore is 10mm diameter.

Any thoughts?

Regards
 

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  • #2
Can treat it like a restriction orifice. It will consider the discharge coefficients depending on thickness, viscosity, temperatures, diameters, reynolds #, etc. to give more accurate #'s

The head pressure required might make your container quite high?
 
  • #3
darkside00 said:
Can treat it like a restriction orifice. It will consider the discharge coefficients depending on thickness, viscosity, temperatures, diameters, reynolds #, etc. to give more accurate #'s

The head pressure required might make your container quite high?

Well I have come across this link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orifice_plate#Incompressible_flow_through_an_orifice

but it is only for inviscid flow, I am interested in viscous flow like oil. I guess a simple hand calculation is not possible...?
Basically I would like to argue the point that a very large pressure pump would be required to pump oil through a 1mm diameter at a rateof 500ml/min...
 
  • #4
I think you're confusing what is involved in the viscous and invicsous flow assumptions. Any value of viscocity is going to make a contribution to the shear forces at the wall due to viscosity of the fluid. Making the assumption of inviscid flow depends on what area of the flow you are interested in. If you're after a value inside the boundary layer, close to the wall, then you might need equations to describe viscid flow. Otherwise their contributions to the flow somewhere else is usually negligible in problems like this one.

It really depends on the Reynolds number of the flow. For example, Air at high speeds is going to have more of an effect on the flow than oil at low speeds, even though oil has a much higher value than air.
 
  • #5
bugatti79 said:
Folks,

I seek just a very rudimentary idea of what pressure is required to pump oil through a very small hole of 1mm diameter to maintain a flow rate of 0.5L/min. See attached.

I would imagine that under gravity that the flow rate would be very low because of the viscosity of the oil thus to maintain a this flow rate significant pressure would be required to push it through. Let's assume the oil container bore is 10mm diameter.

Any thoughts?

Regards

Vadar2012 said:
I think you're confusing what is involved in the viscous and invicsous flow assumptions. Any value of viscocity is going to make a contribution to the shear forces at the wall due to viscosity of the fluid. Making the assumption of inviscid flow depends on what area of the flow you are interested in. If you're after a value inside the boundary layer, close to the wall, then you might need equations to describe viscid flow. Otherwise their contributions to the flow somewhere else is usually negligible in problems like this one.

It really depends on the Reynolds number of the flow. For example, Air at high speeds is going to have more of an effect on the flow than oil at low speeds, even though oil has a much higher value than air.

Well I would be interested in low speeds,so it looks like a simple hand calculation is not possible?
 
  • #6
For a simple/rough and incompressible calculation using bernoullis principle:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernoulli's_principle

E.g. (v1^2)/2 + g*z1 + P1/p = (v2^2)/2 + g*z2 + P2/p

This obviously ignores the losses but gives an idea. Also, assuming your pouring to atmosphere and using conservation of energy to get the initial velocity (pVA)in=(pVA)out
 

1. How do you calculate the required pressure to maintain a specific flowrate?

The required pressure to maintain a flowrate can be calculated using the Bernoulli's equation, which takes into account the fluid's density, velocity, and height difference between two points. The equation is P1 + 1/2ρv1^2 + ρgh1 = P2 + 1/2ρv2^2 + ρgh2, where P is pressure, ρ is density, v is velocity, and h is height. By rearranging the equation, the required pressure (P1) can be solved for.

2. What factors affect the required pressure to maintain flowrate?

Several factors affect the required pressure to maintain flowrate, including the density and viscosity of the fluid, the pipe diameter and length, and the presence of obstacles or bends in the pipe. Additionally, the flowrate and desired velocity also play a role in determining the required pressure.

3. How does temperature affect the required pressure for flowrate maintenance?

Temperature has a significant impact on the required pressure to maintain flowrate. As temperature increases, the density of the fluid decreases, resulting in a decrease in required pressure. This is because the fluid particles have more energy and move faster, reducing the pressure needed to push them through the pipe.

4. Can the required pressure to maintain flowrate be calculated for any type of fluid?

Yes, the required pressure can be calculated for any type of fluid as long as its properties, such as density and viscosity, are known. However, the equations used to calculate the required pressure may vary depending on the type of fluid, such as incompressible or compressible.

5. How can the required pressure to maintain flowrate be adjusted?

The required pressure to maintain flowrate can be adjusted by changing the flow rate, pipe diameter, or fluid properties such as viscosity. Additionally, installing pumps or valves in the system can also help in regulating and adjusting the required pressure. It is essential to carefully consider these adjustments to ensure the system operates efficiently and safely.

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