An experimental investigation of the pressure loss in flow through helical coils

Citation

Weatherup, Robert A. (1949) An experimental investigation of the pressure loss in flow through helical coils. Engineer's thesis, California Institute of Technology. http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechETD:etd-02052009-133758

Abstract

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This thesis is a report of an experimental investigation of pressure losses in flow through helical coils of circular cross section. The investigation aimed at the determination of a multiplying factor [...] which could be applied to the friction factor for an equivalent straight pipe in order to determine the effective friction factor for flow through a helical coil.

The following conclusions were reached:

1. The multiplicative factor [...] is a function of Reynolds number and has a minimum value at a Reynolds number of approximately 8,000.

2. The factor [...] is also dependent on the ratio [...]. The general effect of this ratio is to increase [...] as the ratio [...] is decreased. At Reynolds numbers above 8,000, however, [...] was found to be rather insensitive to variation in [...] over the range from [...] with a minimum at [...].

3. The factor [...] was found to be independent of the ratios [...] and [...] over the ranges investigated.

Thesis Files