Final Report of the Task Committee on Branching Conduits

The purposes of investigations on branches are basically to determine energy losses; pressure fluctuations including cavitation; and the relation of hydraulic losses to structural considerations in large conduits, particularly as they influence the overall economics. Generally, losses at branches are relatively minor, but they become significant under certain conditions, such as low-head cooling water systems in power plants, and in hydroelectric conduits where the value of power is considerable. In these cases individual efforts are made to reduce losses by modifying the branches. On the other hand, heating and air conditioning systems usually consist of a variety of standard ducts and bends selected and assembled to meet a particular specification. Higher losses are often tolerated in the interest of ease of manufacture or assembly. The results from the investigations and research conducted by the Task Committee have been presented in six papers published by ASCE.