Can Changing Hole Diameters Result in Equal Volume Flow Rate in a Pipe?

[oydvoid]

Here's my situation:

I have a long pipe with n amount of openings along the top, that have an equal distance apart. At one end of the pipe a constant pressure is applied by a pump, and the pipe has a constant diameter all the way to downstream. I’m trying to find a mass flow rate by changing the hole diameters by a delta, where we assume d_n(hole diameter) = d_initial + (n-1)*delta. Is it possible to find a delta such that I can get the same volume flow rate out of each hole?

-JC

 

[Chestermiller]

Yes, this can be done, depending on the details of what is happening. If the fluid is highly viscous, then viscous friction will determine the pressure variation along the header, and the appropriate hole sizes can be determined. However, if the fluid is inviscid (or nearly so), for equal sized holes, the flows should be uniform. Intermediate cases might require the use of computational fluid dynamics to get an answer.