Estimate Friction Factor for Polypropylene Pipes

The major losses of fluid flow in plastic pipes due to friction are usually few or negligible in some cases, and this is due to the assumption that the value of the friction factor is small (small roughness). This work aimed to estimate the friction factor vs Reynolds number and to compared against previous data, the friction factor was estimated using an experimental model consisting of a polypropylene pipe with a nominal outside diameter 16mm and length of 8.5 meter and eighteen elbows connect to it, the results showed that the practical coefficient of friction factor is less than the value using the Basilius equation for smooth pipes which indicates that polypropylene pipes are smoother and that the numerical formula similar to the Basilius equation was . Finally, the amount of energy lost due to the friction factor in PPR pipes is small compared to other types of pipes and this is due to the extrusion process that makes the inner wall smooth, but it cannot be neglected in fluid flow.