This simulator models distributed pipe friction loss with the Darcy–Weisbach equation. Inspect a straight test spool with five pressure taps, a magnified rough-wall cutaway and a differential-pressure instrument, and change flow, bore, length, wall roughness, viscosity and inlet pressure to see how the pressure gradient and dissipated hydraulic power respond.
• A real-time 3D cutaway workbench of the inlet conditioning spool, straight pipe test section, magnified wall-roughness coupon, five static-pressure taps, differential-pressure transmitter, outlet flange and a friction-factor/energy console, with home view, focus-selected-part, full-enclosure toggle, exploded view, auto-rotate, expand and show/hide labels controls. • Six laboratory controls: imposed volume flow (0–5 L/s), internal pipe bore (20–100 mm), straight-pipe length (1–80 m), equivalent wall roughness ε (0–1 mm), dynamic viscosity (0.5–20 mPa·s) and inlet gauge pressure (50–400 kPa). • Playback controls: pause/resume, 0.1 s and 1 s step advances, and four speeds (10× slow motion, real time, 10× faster, 1 minute per second). • A Curves & measurements tab with a pressure-vs-path-distance chart, a head-loss/friction history chart, the full model equation set (Q=VA, Reynolds number, Darcy f, Darcy–Weisbach head loss, Δp, hydraulic power) and snapshot measurement readouts. • An Experiments tab with four guided fixtures (nominal turbulent pipe, double test length, rough wall, laminar independence from roughness) and a Model verification bench that runs independent deterministic checks against a fresh model, plus a timestamped event log and a copyable trial report. • A Learn & assess tab with guided lessons, a knowledge-check quiz with reset, and a written model-scope statement with a reference link.
As fluid moves through a straight pipe, wall shear continuously converts pressure energy into heat. The Darcy–Weisbach equation captures this as head loss proportional to a dimensionless friction factor f, the length-to-diameter ratio and the velocity head: h = f(L/D)V²/(2g). The friction factor itself depends on the Reynolds number and relative roughness ε/D — below Re = 2300 the model uses the laminar relation f = 64/Re, independent of roughness, and above Re = 4000 it solves the turbulent Colebrook relation iteratively, interpolating linearly across the uncertain transition band.
Because the pipe has uniform bore, mean velocity — and therefore friction factor — stays constant along its length, so the simulator's five pressure taps show pressure declining in a straight line from inlet to outlet.
The simulator reports hydraulic power dissipated as the product of volume flow and pressure drop, distinct from any pump's electrical input power. Doubling the pipe length doubles both head loss and dissipated power at unchanged flow and bore, since the loss scales linearly with L.
This is a steady, incompressible, single-phase Newtonian-liquid model at constant density (1000 kg/m³) with an imposed flow and inlet pressure — it does not compute a pump operating point, and it excludes entrance effects, temperature dependence, water hammer and cavitation dynamics. Below 2.34 kPa absolute at standard atmosphere the ideal single-phase calculation is flagged rather than silently extrapolated.
It calculates head loss due to friction in a pipe as h = f(L/D)V²/(2g), where f is the Darcy friction factor, L is pipe length, D is diameter and V is mean velocity. The simulator uses it to compute distributed pipe head loss along the modeled straight test section.
Below a Reynolds number of 2300, the simulator uses the laminar relation f = 64/Re, which has no roughness term. Only in turbulent flow (Re above 4000, via the iterative Colebrook relation) does equivalent wall roughness ε affect the friction factor.
Yes, at unchanged flow, bore and roughness. Darcy–Weisbach head loss scales linearly with length, so the simulator's "Double test length" experiment shows loss and dissipated power doubling relative to the 30 m default.
No. It is a steady, incompressible, single-phase teaching model with imposed flow and inlet pressure — there is no pump operating-point calculation, entrance effects, temperature dependence, water hammer or cavitation. Geometry is representative, not manufacturer CAD.