A low-cost experiment to understand hydraulic head losses and their effect on flowrates in a network

Abstract

Understanding how head losses affect the flow configuration in hydraulic networks is essential for analyzing both natural and human-made systems, including physiological systems, biomedical devices, and urban infrastructure. In this study, a low-cost experimental system was designed and implemented to visualize and quantify the impact of both major and minor head losses on the flow distribution within a bifurcated network, using a submersible pump, ball valves, flowrate sensors, and components introducing geometric variations. Experimental results were compared with a theoretical model based on mass conservation, mechanical energy conservation, the performance curve of the pump, and correlations obtained from bibliographic data of head loss coefficients, showing good agreement. The proposed low-cost experimental setup is presented as an effective educational tool for introducing key concepts in fluid mechanics to undergraduate students, and shows how in-classroom topics are applied to a simple but real-life hydraulic configuration.