Question

Derive the equation of velocity distribution in a circular pipe for laminar steady low, incompressible fluid

Answer 1

In fully developed laminar flow, each fluid particle moves at a constant axial velocity along a streamline and the velocity profile u(r) remains unchanged in the flow direction. There is no motion in the radial direction, and thus the velocity component in the direction normal to flow is everywhere zero. There is no acceleration since the flow is steady and fully developed. Now consider a ring-shaped differential volume element of radius r, thickness dr, and length dx oriented coaxially with the pipe, as shown in Fig. 8–11. The volume element involves only pressure and viscous effects and thus the pressure and shear forces must balance each other. The pressure force acting on a submerged plane surface is the product of the pressure at the centroid of the surface and the surface area.