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Hydraulic Diameter

physics fluid dynamics
Table of Contents

The hydraulic diameter is a characteristic length scale for fluid flow in non-circular pipes. It replaces the diameter of a circular pipe with an equivalent diameter based on the cross-sectional area and wetted perimeter of the non-circular pipe. It is defined as:

$$ D_h = \frac{4A_c}{P} $$

Where:

  • \( \small D_h\ \) is the hydraulic diameter,
  • \( \small A_c\ \) is the cross-sectional area of the flow, and
  • \( \small P\ \) is the wetted perimeter of the cross-section.

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