Development Length for Non-Newtonian Laminar Flow in Circular Pipe

This paper consists of the research that had been done based on this chosen topic,
Development Length for Non-Newtonian Laminar Flow in Circular Pipe. The
application of the information gained from this research can benefit various industries
handling and utilizing Non-Newtonian Fluid. The objective of this project is to study the
development length requirement of a non-Newtonian fluid via experimental
measurements. The requirement for this experiment is that, the literature reviews for
development length of non-Newtonian fluid through a circular pipe was mostly on
analytical and numerical analysis. With that the scope for the experiment will only be
within laminar regime with non-Newtonian fluid in order to investigate the development
length. In the early stages a flow loop design was proposed for the project in order to
carry out the experiments. The design of the flow loop was proposed and adapted from
Dr. Azuraien bt Jaafar flow loop in Liverpool, UK which was used for her degree of
Doctor in Philosophy. The test section for the flow loop however was designed using
ASME 831.3 standard taking into account the operating pressure, possible erosion by
designing the appropriate thickness. The pressure tapping part at the test section design
was taken from an already available design at the block IS-laboratory. Experiment was
designed with pre-set conditions in accordance to the available pump at our disposal.
Certain parameters like pressure and volume flow rate are fixed. Using the completed
flow loop, the experiment was done using 5 different samples (UTP Tap water, Xanthan
Gum solution 0.02wt %, 0.03wt %, 0.04wt% and 0.05wt %) in which the results have
been analyzed. The findings from the experiments were that the development length for
non-Newtonian is slightly shorter than Newtonian fluids.