What is the relationship between pressure and flow rate in a pipe?

  • Context: Undergrad 
  • Thread starter Thread starter lluke9
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Pipe Pressure
Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The relationship between pressure and flow rate in a pipe is fundamentally described by Bernoulli's Equation, which states that P + 0.5ρv² + ρgh remains constant along a streamline. Pressure in a pipe exerts force against the pipe walls and the adjacent fluid, influencing flow dynamics. The static pressure, represented as P/ρg, relates to the pressure exerted on the pipe walls, while dynamic pressure, represented as v²/2g, pertains to the fluid's movement. Understanding these concepts is crucial for applications involving fluid mechanics and pipe design.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Bernoulli's Equation
  • Knowledge of static and dynamic pressure concepts
  • Familiarity with fluid mechanics principles
  • Basic grasp of force and area relationships in physics
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the implications of Bernoulli's Equation in various fluid flow scenarios
  • Explore the effects of turbulence on pressure and flow rate
  • Investigate the relationship between pipe diameter and flow rate
  • Learn about friction losses in pipe systems and their impact on pressure
USEFUL FOR

Engineers, fluid mechanics students, and professionals involved in pipeline design and analysis will benefit from this discussion, particularly those focused on optimizing fluid flow and pressure management in piping systems.

lluke9
Messages
27
Reaction score
0
What IS Pressure-- in a pipe?

Whaddup, guys! Sorry to bug you with another question.

So, I learned that Pressure = Force / Area. Pretty easy stuff. Water will exert a certain amount of force per area depending on how deep the object is submerged.

But... what about in a pipe?
There's Bernoulli's Equation, P + .5ρv2 + ρgh = P + .5ρv2 + ρgh, which can be used to find pressure changes in a pipe with different flow rates (the typical hourglass-shaped pipe comes to mind).

So, question:
But what is this "pressure" in this pipe? If pressure is force over area, where does the water exert this force? Like, exactly where? Does it exert it outwards against the pipe walls, or does it exert it... upon itself? What?

That my instructor managed to skip over this thing bugs me a bit. Is it not important?
 
Physics news on Phys.org


Exerts it everywhere, more or less with the same magnitude depending on the amount of turbulence. It pushes on the pipe wall as well as on the adjacent fluid which is what makes the flow dynamic.
 


Seeing your ecuation from a different point of view we had

\frac{P_{1}}{\rho g} + \frac{v_{1}^{2}}{2g}+z_{1}=\frac{P_{2}}{\rho g}+\frac{v_2^{2}}{2g}+z_{2}

The therms like \frac{P}{\rho g} is related with the static pressure and this relationship with the pressure that the fluid exerts on the walls of the pipe. like when you have a hosepipe and you open the key and the hosepipe blow up.

The therms like \frac{v^2}{2g} calls the dynamic pressure and its related with the movement of the infinite elements of fluids that make up the flow and impulse the fluid outside the hosepipe. The above ecuation neglect the losses of friction and when you want to use the formula P=\frac{F}{A} you can use the static pressure in the walls for determinate with some relations of solids mechanics, for example the minimun thickness of the walls of the pipe or some like that.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
4K
  • · Replies 20 ·
Replies
20
Views
4K
  • · Replies 73 ·
3
Replies
73
Views
17K
  • · Replies 35 ·
2
Replies
35
Views
5K
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
2K
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
5K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
7K
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
3K