<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The calculation of the friction factor involved in the Darcy-Weisbach equation has a key role in the accurate assessment of distributed head losses. For the turbulent flow regime, this friction factor was mathematically expressed in the form of the Colebrook-White (C-W) equation, widely accepted by engineers and scientists. Nevertheless, the C-W equation is an implicit one and must be solved using numerical methods. This is a major disadvantage for the average engineer, who always prefers an explicit equation which could be easily integrated into his familiar spreadsheet environment. The present paper is investigating some of the most used explicit alternatives to the C-W equation, with respect to several case scenarios taken from typical Building Services hydraulic calculations.</p></abstract>

The calculation of the friction factor involved in the Darcy-Weisbach equation has a key role in the accurate assessment of distributed head losses. For the turbulent flow regime, this friction factor was mathematically expressed in the form of the Colebrook-White (C-W) equation, widely accepted by engineers and scientists. Nevertheless, the C-W equation is an implicit one and must be solved using numerical methods. This is a major disadvantage for the average engineer, who always prefers an explicit equation which could be easily integrated into his familiar spreadsheet environment. The present paper is investigating some of the most used explicit alternatives to the C-W equation, with respect to several case scenarios taken from typical Building Services hydraulic calculations.

The Quest for the Ideal Darcy-Weisbach Friction Factor Equation from the Perspective of a Building Services Engineer

Ovidius University Annals of Constanta - Series Civil Engineering

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The calculation of the friction factor involved in the Darcy-Weisbach equation has a key role in the accurate assessment of distributed head losses. For the...

The Quest for the Ideal Darcy-Weisbach Friction Factor Equation from the Perspective of a Building Services Engineer

Published Online: Jan 21, 2020

Page range: 65 - 73

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ouacsce-2019-0008

Keywords
Colebrook-White, explicit equations, friction factor, relative errors

© 2019 Bacoţiu Ciprian, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The Quest for the Ideal Darcy-Weisbach Friction Factor Equation from the Perspective of a Building Services Engineer

Published Online: Jan 21, 2020

Page range: 65 - 73

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ouacsce-2019-0008

KeywordsColebrook-White, explicit equations, friction factor, relative errors

© 2019 Bacoţiu Ciprian, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Colebrook-White, explicit equations, friction factor, relative errors