UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



1 BULLETIN No. 376 ,„, 



Contribution from Office of Public Roads and Rural Engineering •jM 

 .^^^^U LOGAN WALLER PAGE. Director ^^^"^JTU 



Washington, D. C. 



PROFESSIONAL PAPER 



November 25, 1916 



THE FLOW OF WATER IN WOOD-STAVE PIPE. 



By Fred. C. Scobey, Irrigation Engineer. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction 1 



Nomenclature 3 



Formulas for Flow of Water in Wood-Stave 

 Pipe 4 



Trend of Engineering Thought Regarding 

 the Carrying Capacity of Wood-Stave 

 Pipes 7 



Necessary Field Data for Determination of 

 Retarding Elements of Various Formulas. . 14 



Equipment and Methods Employed for 

 Collecting and Interpreting Field Data 16 



Elements of Field Tests to Determine Fric- 

 tion Losses and Comparison of Observed 

 Velocities with Velocities Computed from 

 Various Formulas 26 



Description of Pipes 40 



A New Set of Formulas for the Flow of Water 



in Wood-Stave Pipe 48 



Comparison of the Various Formulas 55 



Kutter's Formula as Applied to Wood-Stave 



Pipe 56 



Effect of Age upon the Carrying Capacity 



of Wood-Stave Pipe 58 



Capacity of Wood-Stave Pipes 58 



Estimate Diagrams and Table 66 



Capacity of Wood-Stave Pipe Compared 



with that of Cast Iron and Riveted Steel. . 72 



Conclusions 73 



Acknowledgments 74 



Appendix 74 



Discussion 81 



INTRODUCTION. 



During the past 10 or 15 years the use of wood pipe for the con- 

 veyance of water has been greatly increased. Such pipe is now quite 

 (iommonly used to convey water for the irrigation of land, the domes- 

 tic needs of towns and cities, and the development of power. So 

 long as wood pipe consisted of bored logs its carrying capacity was 

 limited to a small flow and its adaptation to a limited set of condi- 

 tions, but the conversion of clear, sound lumber into staves and the 

 making of stave pipe into sizes from 12 to 72 inches in diameter led 

 to a great expansion in both carrying capacities and uses. More 

 recently it has been found that stave pipe can be successfully built 



Note. — This bulletin treats of the subject of flowing water in wood-stave pipes. It is based on field 

 tests made on pipes in commercial operation. New formulas are developed that more accurately fit all 

 known data than any others now used. This publication is offered for use of engineers designing and 

 measuring wood-stave pipes for irrigation, power, municipal, mining, or other purposes and for courts 

 and attorneys at law interested in cases invol iing the carrying capacities of wood-stave pipes. 

 42463°— BuU. 376-16 1 



