Distribution of Energy Losses at Conduit Trifurcations

An equation for the estimation of energy losses occurring in individual branches of a trifurcation is presented. Experiments were conducted for division of flow on nine trifurcations with branches of varying diameters (1 in. to 2 in.) and takeoff angles (0○ to 90○). The coefficients for the theoretical equations are determined from the experiments, and are expressed in the form of empirical equations. The Reynolds number influence on the energy loss in the range 1 × 10⁵ to 4 × 10⁵ was negligible. The influence of the kinetic energy coefficient, α, on the energy loss coefficient in the main pipe was investigated. The energy losses at trifurcations were compared with those at bifurcations available in literature and were found to be generally larger in magnitude.