I have a test stand that is used for testing hydraulic pumps. We are adding a pump that we have never tested before and we are getting low flow readings. Will increasing piping to one size bigger than the pump outlet on our test stand increase the flow? My thought is it would reduce the pressure drop across the test stand piping system allowing a higher flow rate.
[Physics] Will flow rate always increase if the pressure drop across piping system is decreased
flowfluid dynamicspressure
Best Answer
In a straight pipe, the Darcy-Weisbach equation gives you less pressure drop for larger diameter, but if you want to increase flowrate by enlarging pipe while keeping power consumption constant, you have to understand where most of the pressure drop happens, and that depends on specifics. The connection between large and small diameter pipes has a lot of pressure drop, but if your pipe is very long this might not be significant. So you have to do the math because there is no straight answer.