Effect of Entrance Region on Laminar Startup Flow in Pipes

The ultimate effects of the entrance region on startup flow are considered by one-dimensional steady-state analysis. By roughly accounting for the entrance loss, semiempirical formulas for the average velocity and the hydrodynamic entrance length in terms of a startup flow parameter and an entrance effect coefficient are provided. The startup flow parameter M = gHD⁴/2048v²L² is identified as the fundamental parameter of the problem. While Szymanski’s solution is recovered in the long pipe limit, i.e., M → 0, the steady-state volume flux through short pipes (M > 0.05) is significantly reduced due to entrance region effects.