WETS Irrigation Technician Practice Exam

In irrigation hydraulics, which statement best describes how friction loss responds to increasing flow in a given pipe?

It increases with higher flow. It decreases with higher flow. It remains constant with flow changes. It only changes when diameter changes.

Correct Answer:

It only changes when diameter changes.

Explanation:

Friction loss in a fixed pipe rises as you push more water through it. As flow increases, the water speed (velocity) through the pipe goes up, and the energy dissipated by friction grows roughly with the square of that velocity. In standard pipe flow equations, friction loss per length is proportional to v^2, so doubling the flow roughly quadruples the friction loss. Because the diameter is held constant in this scenario, changing the flow changes velocity and therefore changes friction loss. The idea that friction loss only changes when diameter changes isn’t accurate for a fixed pipe, since increasing flow alone already modifies the losses.

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