Comparative Hydraulic Performance of Pipe Materials Based on Equivalent Roughness and Energy Losses in a High-Flow Penstock System
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20527/bpi.v9i2.317Keywords:
equivalent roughness, friction factor, head loss , penstock, turbine powerAbstract
This study evaluates the influence of material-dependent equivalent roughness on the hydraulic performance of a high-flow penstock system in an existing mini-hydropower installation in West Java. Eight representative pipe-material roughness scenarios were analysed under identical operating conditions using the Reynolds number, Swamee–Jain equation, Darcy–Weisbach equation, and local-loss coefficients. The penstock has a diameter of 1.90 m, a length of 1,870.403 m, a discharge of 8.26 m³/s, and a gross head of 138.077 m. The calculated Reynolds number of approximately 6.22 × 10⁶ confirmed fully turbulent flow. The commercial steel/wrought iron reference scenario produced a major head loss of 4.315 m and turbine power of approximately 8.98 MW. Among the evaluated scenarios, riveted steel generated the highest major head loss, 12.73 m, and the lowest power output, 8.41 MW, whereas Plastic/Glass produced the lowest major head loss, 3.71 m, and the highest power output, approximately 9.02 MW. However, the difference between Plastic/Glass and drawn tubing was marginal, indicating diminishing hydraulic benefits as the surface approaches the hydraulically smooth regime. The LINGO-based hydraulic selection model confirmed the Plastic/Glass scenario as the hydraulic optimum under the specified conditions. Overall, equivalent roughness influences penstock energy transmission, but local losses and pipeline geometry should also be considered in hydraulic performance evaluation.References
Abdulameer, L. S., Dzhumagulova, N., Algretawee, H., Zhuravleva, L., & Alshammari, M. H. (2022). Comparison between Hazen-Williams and Darcy-Weisbach equations to calculate head loss through conveyancing treated wastewater in Kerbala City, Iraq. Eastern-European Journal of Enterprise Technologies, 1(1–115), 36–43. DOI: 10.15587/1729-4061.2022.251385.
Animashaun, L. A., Rabiu, T. O., Sogunro, O., & Lamidi, S. B. (2022). Determination of energy losses in fluid flow through pipes and bends. International Journal of Sciences, Engineering & Environmental Technology, 7(13), 117–124.
Arumugam, A., Kibrom, H., Gebreamlak, M., Teame, M., & Mengstu, M. (2022). Comparative analysis and validation of selected explicit equation models for determination of Darcy friction factor to estimate major head loss for a pressurized flow system. Science & Technology Asia, 27(3), 216–235. DOI: 10.14456/scitechasia.2022.57.
de Souza Mendes, P. R. (2024). A note on the Moody diagram. Fluids, 9(4), 98. DOI: 10.3390/fluids9040098.
Ferreri, G. B. (2024). A new approach for explicit approximation of the Colebrook–White formula for pipe flows. Journal of Hydroinformatics, 26(7), 1558–1571. DOI: 10.2166/hydro.2024.280.
Fiorillo, F., Esposito, L., Ginolfi, M., & Leone, G. (2024). New insights into turbulent and laminar flow relationships using Darcy–Weisbach and Poiseuille laws. Water, 16(10), 1452. DOI: 10.3390/w16101452.
Firdaus, A., Hartono, B., & Kindi, A. (2023). Analisa pressure drop pada prototype instalasi pipa industri. Jurnal ALMIKANIKA, 5(1).
Haktanir, T., & Ardıçlıoğlu, M. (2004). Numerical modeling of Darcy-Weisbach friction factor and branching pipes problem. Advances in Engineering Software, 35(12), 773–779. DOI: 10.1016/j.advengsoft.2004.07.005.
Herwig, H., Gloss, D., & Wenterodt, T. (2008). A new approach to understanding and modelling the influence of wall roughness on friction factors for pipe and channel flows. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 613, 35–53. DOI: 10.1017/S0022112008003534.
Islam, A. K. (2024). Hydropower coupled with hydrogen production from wastewater: Integration of micro-hydropower plant (MHP) and microbial electrolysis cell (MEC). International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 49, 1–14. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2023.06.179.
Madeira, A. A. (2020). Major and minor head losses in a hydraulic flow circuit: Experimental measurements and a Moody’s diagram application. Eclética Química, 45(3), 47–56. DOI: 10.26850/1678-4618eqj.v45.3.2020.p47-56.
Munson, B. R., Young, D. F., Okiishi, T. H., & Huebsch, W. W. (2009). Fundamentals of fluid mechanics (6th ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Muteba, M. C., Foster, S. N., Raheem, D., & Agwu, A. E. (2023). Micro-hydropower systems for smallholder farmers in rural communities of Taraba State, Nigeria: Feasibility study, system analysis, design and performance evaluation (Part II). Energy Nexus, 11, 100228. DOI: 10.1016/j.nexus.2023.100228.
Pizzo, H. S., Dantas, C. A. S., & Ribeiro, C. B. M. (2022). Fitting Hazen-Williams roughness coefficient to the head loss obtained by Darcy-Weisbach equation in PVC pipes. Advance Researches in Civil Engineering, 4(1), 1–13. DOI: 10.30469/arce.2022.150292.
Sammartano, V., Aricò, C., Sinagra, M., & Tucciarelli, T. (2015). Cross-flow turbine design for energy production and discharge regulation. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 141(3), 04014083. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)HY.1943-7900.0000977.
Tan, K., Mahajan, D., & Venkatesh, T. A. (2024). Computational fluid dynamic modeling of methane-hydrogen mixture transportation in pipelines: Understanding the effects of pipe roughness, pipe diameter and pipe bends. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 49, 1028–1042. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2023.06.195.
Tchawe Moukam, T. T., Nkontchou Ngongang, F., Tientcheu Nsiewe, M.-W., Djiako, T., Tcheukam-Toko, D., & Kenmeugne, B. (2024). Determination of the coefficient of friction in the penstock of a hydro-electric dam: Application of two approaches. Hydrology Research, 55(10), 1030–1042. DOI: 10.2166/nh.2024.054.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Vania Agustin Rousallen, Rakhmat Yusuf, Mardiani
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
