Experimental investigations of Poiseuille number laminar flow of water and air in minichannels

This paper presents the results of experiential investigations of pressure drop in minichannels, with use of water and air as the working fluids. The test section was made from stainless steel pipes with internal diameters of 0.55, 0.64 and 1.10 mm, respectively. A pressure drop was presented per a length unit as the function of Reynolds number. A comparison of the experimental friction factor with the results obtained from theoretical equations of Hagen-Poiseuille was presented. The experiments were conducted in range of Reynolds number Re = 30 up to transition to the turbulent flow. Contradictory reports concerning a sooner transition to the turbulent flow, or the friction factor values which diverge from those occurring in conventional channels, were not confirmed here. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.