Use of bench and portable rugosimeters in evaluating the internal roughness of PVC pipes of different diameters

Abstract

For the dimensioning of hydraulic systems used for water distribution, it is necessary to quantify the continuous head loss along the pipes. For this, one of the variables that influences this process is the surface roughness of these pipes, which, many times, does not have updated information and exact values ??for a correct dimensioning of the systems. An alternative to this is the measurement of these roughnesses through specialized instruments that determine various parameters of amplitude of irregularities. This work aims to analyze and compare the internal surface roughness, represented by the Ra parameter, through two measuring equipment (bench rugosimeter and portable rugosimeter), measured in PVC tubes used for water distribution, in addition to verifying the possibility of use of portable and easy-to-handle equipment. It was verified that the portable rugosimeter proved to be satisfactory for determinations of the roughness of the inner surface of PVC pipes, with smaller deviations than the bench rugosimeter, regarding the calculation off, and, in addition, it will serve the manufacturers to supply information related to the quality of the internal surface of your pipes.