1.

4 Pressure loss behaviour of piping components

Pipe components including pumps, control valves, shut-off valves, elbows, joints andthe pipe itself have their own typical
pressure loss versus flow rate behaviour.

The pump pressure head is typically strongly dependent on the flow rate so that the pressure head decreases when the flow
rate increases. Pump manufacturers usually give this dependence in their manuals. In fluid transport systems, the pump is
normally sized to operate at maximum efficiency in normal flow conditions. In minimum flow conditions the pump pressure head
is higher, and in maximum flow conditions the pressure head is lower than the optimum. This variation is seen in an increase in
the pressure at control valve inlet as the flow rate decreases.

In a straight pipe pressure losses are the result of pipe-wall roughness. Pressure loss is proportional to the square of the
velocity, as indicated in equation (5), which means that it is also proportional to the flow rate squared if the pipe diameter is
constant.

where ph = pressure loss

= pipe friction factor
= fluid density
L = pipe length
d = pipe inlet diameter
v = fluidvelocity

Piping loss increases rapidly as the flow rate increases. Almost all pipe components exhibit a strong dependence of pressure
loss on the square of the velocity. For tank inlets and exits, elbows, shut-off valves, orifices etc. pressure loss characteristics
can be expressed in the form of equation (6)

where = pressure head loss coefficient

In fluid transport systems, the differential pressure across a flow control valve is strongly dependent on the flow rate. Under
normal flow conditions the control valve typically accounts roughly one third of the total pressure loss of the system. In the
future, due to energy saving requirements, this will change so that control valves take smaller portion of the total pressure drop.