Gas Piping Minor Loss Factor

Calculate typical gas and liquid pipe fitting friction factor and flow coefficients for converging or diverging circular nozzles.

The flow factors are applicable for liquid flow, and low velocity gas flow. At high gas velocity compressible gas behaviour affects the flowrate. The friction factor K and discharge coefficient are calculated for both the small diameter, and the large diameter. The nozzle can be either tapered with a transition, or abrupt with no transition. The taper angle is equal to half the cone angle.

Note : The calculated values are typical. Manufacturers data should be used if it is available.

Reference : Crane Technical Paper 410M Metric Version : Flow Of Fluids Through Valves, Fittings And Pipe

Tool Input

• schdtypea : Pipe Schedule A Type
• diamtypea : Diameter A Type
  • ODau : User Defined Outside Diameter A
  • IDau : User Defined Inside Diameter A
• wtntypea : Wall Thickness A Type
  • tnau : User Defined Wall Thickness A
• schdtypeb : Pipe Schedule B Type
• diamtypeb : Diameter B Type
  • ODbu : User Defined Outside Diameter B
  • IDbu : User Defined Inside Diameter B
• wtntypeb : Wall Thickness B Type
  • tnbu : User Defined Wall Thickness B
• angtype : Transition Type
  • Θu : User Defined Transition Cone Angle
  • Ltu : User Defined Transition Length
• flowtype : Fluid Flow Type
• factype : Flow Factor Type

Tool Output

• Β : Small Diameter Over Large Diameter Ratio
• Θ : Transition Cone Angle
• Av : SI Flow Coefficient
• Cd : Discharge Coefficient
• Cv* : Dimensionless US Flow Coefficient (Cv-us / IDin^2)
• Cv-met : Metric Flow Coefficient
• Cv-uk : UK Flow Coefficient
• Cv-us : US Flow Coefficient
• ID : Calculation Inside Diameter
• ID1 : Small Inside Diameter
• ID2 : Large Inside Diameter
• IDin : Calculation Inside Diameter (inches)
• K : K Friction Factor Or Resistance Factor
• Kv : EU Flow Coefficient
• Lt : Transition Length

Calculate typical gas check valve friction factor, flow coefficients and minimum flowrate.

The minimum flowrate is the flowrate required to keep the check valve fully open. For full port valves the valve port cross section area equals the nominal internal cross section area. For reduced port valves the valve port cross section area is less than the nominal internal cross section area. For circular valve ports the diameter ratio is equal to the valve port diameter over the nominal inside diameter. For non circular valve ports, use the square root of the internal area ratio (the square root of the valve port area over the nominal internal area).

The dimensionless flow coefficient Cv* equals Cv-us / IDin^2, where IDin is the valve inside diameter in inches. The flow factors are applicable for low velocity gas flow. At high gas velocity compressible gas behaviour affects the flowrate and choking can occur. The calculated values are typical. Manufacturers data should be used if it is available.

Reference : Crane Technical Paper 410M Metric Version : Flow Of Fluids Through Valves, Fittings And Pipe

Tool Input

• schdtype : Pipe Schedule Type
• diamtype : Pipe Diameter Type
  • ODu : User Defined Outside Diameter
  • IDu : User Defined Inside Diameter
• wtntype : Wall Thickness Type
  • tnu : User Defined Wall Thickness
• rfactype : Pipe Roughness Type
  • εu : User Defined Surface Roughness
  • rru : User Defined Relative Roughness
• fluidtype : Gas Type
  • SGu : User Defined Gas Specific Gravity
• vktype : Valve Type (Fully Open Valve)
• angtype : Transition Angle Type (Gate Ball Butterfly And Disk Check Valves Only)
  • Φu : User Defined Transition Cone Angle
• factype : Friction Factor Type
  • D1/D2 : User Defined Valve Port Diameter Over Valve Diameter Ratio
• P : Gas Pressure
• T : Gas Temperature
• Z : Compressibility Factor

Tool Output

• ε : Pipe Internal Roughness
• ε/ID : Pipe Relative Rougness
• ρ : Gas Density
• Av : SI Flow Coefficient
• Cd : Discharge Coefficient
• Cv* : Dimensionless US Flow Coefficient (Cv-us / IDin^2)
• Cv-met : Metric Flow Coefficient
• Cv-uk : UK Flow Coefficient
• Cv-us : US Flow Coefficient
• ID : Pipe Inside Diameter
• IDin : Valve Inside Diameter (inches)
• K : Friction Factor Or Resistance Factor
• Kv : EU Flow Coefficient
• Mmin : Minimum Gas Mass Flow Rate
• Nmin : Minimum Gas Mole Flowrate
• SG : Gas Specific Gravity
• Vmin : Minimum Gas Velocity
• fr : Pipe Roughness Factor
• mmg : Gas Molar Mass
• vg : Gas Mole Volume
• vm : Gas Specific Volume

Calculate typical gas and liquid bend friction factor and flow coefficients.

Friction factors can be calculated for miter bends (single miter and multiple miter), formed bends, close return bends, and standard elbows. The calculated values are typical. Manufacturers data should be used if it is available.

Reference : Crane Technical Paper 410M Metric Version : Flow Of Fluids Through Valves, Fittings And Pipe

Tool Input

• schdtype : Pipe Schedule Type
• diamtype : Pipe Diameter Type
  • ODu : User Defined Outside Diameter
  • IDu : User Defined Inside Diameter
• wtntype : Wall Thickness Type
  • tnu : User Defined Wall Thickness
• rfactype : Pipe Roughness Type
  • εu : User Defined Surface Roughness
  • rru : User Defined Relative Roughness
• bktype : Bend Type
  • Φ : User Defined Bend Angle
  • n : User Defined Miter Bend Number Of Miters
  • r/d : User Defined Formed Bend Radius Over Diameter Ratio

Tool Output

• ε : Pipe Internal Roughness
• ε/ID : Pipe Relative Rougness
• Av : SI Flow Coefficient
• Cd : Discharge Coefficient
• Cv* : Dimensionless US Flow Coefficient (Cv-us / IDin^2)
• Cv-met : Metric Flow Coefficient
• Cv-uk : UK Flow Coefficient
• Cv-us : US Flow Coefficient
• ID : Pipe Inside Diameter
• IDin : Valve Inside Diameter (inches)
• K : Friction Factor Or Resistance Factor
• Kv : EU Flow Coefficient
• fr : Pipe Roughness Factor

Calculate pipe fitting gas velocity and flow rate.

The gas specific gravity is the ratio of gas density over the density of dry air at base temperature and pressure. The compressibility factor is assumed to equal 1 at the base conditions. The gas specific gravity is proportional to the gas molar mass.

Tool Input

• schdtype : Pipe Schedule Type
• diamtype : Pipe Diameter Type
  • ODu : User Defined Outside Diameter
  • IDu : User Defined Inside Diameter
• wtntype : Wall Thickness Type
  • tnu : User Defined Wall Thickness
• fluidtype : Gas Type
  • SGu : User Defined Gas Specific Gravity
• voltype : Gas Flowrate Type
  • Qfu : User Defined Gas Volume Flow Rate
  • Mfu : User Defined Gas Mass Flow Rate
  • Ngu : User Defined Gas Mole Flow Rate
  • Vfu : User Defined Gas Velocity
• P : Gas Pressure
• T : Gas Temperature
• Z : Gas Compressibility Factor

Tool Output

• ρ : Gas Density
• ID : Inside Diameter
• M : Gas Molar Mass
• Mf : Gas Mass Flowrate
• Ng : Gas Mole Flowrate
• Qf : Gas Volume Flowrate (At T P)
• R : Gas Constant
• SG : Gas Specific Gravity
• Vf : Gas Velocity
• vg : Gas Mole Volume (At T P)

Calculate pipe fitting steam table properties from temperature and pressure.

Steam table values can be calculated for water and steam, saturated water, saturated steam, saturated water and steam, metastable water, and metastable steam. The calculations for water and steam are valid between 273.15 K and 1073.15 K (0 to 100 MPa), and between 1073.15 K and 2273.15 K (0 to 50 MPa).

The saturated water and steam calculations are valid between 273.15 K and 647.096 K.

The metastable calculation is valid between 273.15 K and 647.096 K, and for pressure from the saturated vapour line to the 5% equilibium moisture line (user defined). Use the Result Plot option to plot the steam properties versus temperature and pressure.

Note : There is an anomaly in the steam calculation for region 3 between the saturated vapour line, the regions 2/3 boundary, and the critical pressure. Refer to the region 3 anomaly help page for more details (click the utility button on the data bar). IAPWS R7-97 is intended for industrial use, and is a simplified version of IAPWS R6-95 for scientific use. IAPWS R7-97 was developed as an improvement of the IFC-67 model.

Reference : IAPWS R7-97 Industrial Formulation for thermodynamic Properties of Water and Steam

Tool Input

• anomtype : Region 2/3 Anomaly Type
• proptype : Steam Phase
  • Pu : User Defined Pressure
  • Tu : User Defined Temperature
  • Xu : User Defined Saturated Steam Quality

Tool Output

• ρ : Density
• Cp : Specific Heat Constant Pressure
• Cp-Cv : Delta Specific Heat (Cp - Cv)
• Cp/Cv : Specific Heat Ratio
• Cv : Specific Heat Constant Volume
• P : Pressure
• T : Temperature
• Vc : Speed Of Sound
• Z : Compressibility Factor
• cvg : Convergence Check
• h : Enthalpy
• s : Entropy
• u : Internal Energy
• vg : Mole Specific Volume
• vm : Specific Volume
• wv : Specific Weight

Calculate gas pipe fitting dynamic viscosity kinematic viscosity and flowrate Calculate single phase gas dynamic viscosity, kinematic viscosity and flowrate for common gases.

Calculate kinematic viscosity from dynamic viscosity, or dynamic viscosity from kinematic viscosity. The kinematic viscosity is equal to the dynamic viscosity divided by the density. Change viscosity units on the setup page. The gas density is calculated from the temperature, pressure and gas constant. Gas flowrate can be defined by gas volume flowrate, gas mass flowrate, gas mole flowrate, gas velocity, or Reynolds number.

Tool Input

• schdtype : Pipe Schedule Type
• diamtype : Pipe Diameter Type
  • ODu : User Defined Outside Diameter
  • IDu : User Defined Inside Diameter
• wtntype : Wall Thickness Type
  • tnu : User Defined Wall Thickness
• fluidtype : Gas Type
  • SGu : User Defined Gas Specific Gravity
• voltype : Gas Flowrate Type
  • Qfu : User Defined Gas Volume Flow Rate
  • Mfu : User Defined Gas Mass Flow Rate
  • Ngu : User Defined Gas Mole Flow Rate
  • Vfu : User Defined Gas Velocity
  • Reu : User Defined Reynolds Number
• visctype : Viscosity Type
  • μu : User Defined Dynamic Viscosity
  • νu : User Defined Kinematic Viscosity
• P : Gas Pressure
• T : Gas Temperature
• Z : Gas Compressibility Factor

Tool Output

• μ : Fluid Dynamic Viscosity
• ν : Fluid Kinematic Viscosity
• ρ : Gas Density
• ID : Inside Diameter
• M : Gas Mass Flowrate
• N : Gas Mole Flowrate
• Q : Gas Volume Flowrate (At T P)
• R : Gas Constant
• Re : Fluid Reynolds Number
• SG : Gas Specific Gravity
• V : Gas Velocity
• mm : Gas Molar Mass
• vg : Gas Molar Volume (At T P)

Calculate the equivalent pipe fitting friction factor, discharge coefficient, dimensionless flow coefficient, and flow coefficients Av, Cv-uk, Cv-us, Cv-met and Kv from diameter ratio.

For piping systems with one or more pipe diameters, it is sometimes neccessary to calculate the equivalent friction factors, discharge coefficients and dimensionless flow coefficients from the different diameters, normalised to one of the diameters, for example to calculate pressure losses. The equivalent friction factor can be calculated by:

`Kb = Ka.((IDb) / (IDa))^4 `

where :

IDa and IDb are two pipe diameters
Ka is the K factor for IDa
Kb is the equivalent K factor normalised to IDb

The input flow factor can be either Av, Cv-uk, Cv-us, Cv-met, Kv, Cv*, K or Cd. The equivalent flow factors can either be for diameter B converted from diameter A (the input factor is assumed to be for diameter A), or for diameter A converted from diameter B (the input factor is assumed to be for diameter B). The flow factors can be displayed for either diameter A or diameter B (ie either the input flow factors, or the equivalent flow factors can be displayed).

Tool Input

• schdtypea : Schedule Type A
• diamtypea : Diameter Type A
  • ODau : User Defined Outside Diameter A
  • IDau : User Defined Inside Diameter A
• wtntypea : Wall Thickness Type A
  • tnau : User Defined Wall Thickness A
• schdtypeb : Schedule Type B
• diamtypeb : Diameter Type B
  • ODbu : User Defined Outside Diameter B
  • IDbu : User Defined Inside Diameter B
• wtntypeb : Wall Thickness Type B
  • tnbu : User Defined Wall Thickness B
• factype : Input Factor Type
  • Avu : User Defined SI Flow Coefficient
  • Cv-uku : User Defined UK Flow Coefficient
  • Cv-usu : User Defined US Flow Coefficient
  • Cv-metu : User Defined Metric Flow Coefficient
  • Kvu : User Defined EU Flow Coefficient
  • Ku : User Defined Friction Factor
  • Cdu : User Defined Discharge Coefficient
  • Cvu* : User Defined Dimensionless Flow Coefficient (Cv-us / IDin^2)
• ddtype : Conversion Type
• fftype : Display Factor Type

Tool Output

• Av : SI Flow Coefficient
• Cd : Discharge Coefficient
• Cv* : Dimensionless US Flow Coefficient (Cv-us / IDin^2)
• Cv-met : Metric Flow Coefficient
• Cv-uk : UK Flow Coefficient
• Cv-us : US Flow Coefficient
• ID : Display Inside Diameter Meters
• IDa : Inside Diameter A
• IDb : Inside Diameter B
• IDin : Display Inside Diameter Inches
• K : Friction Factor Or Resistance Factor
• Kv : EU Flow Coefficient

Calculate pipe fitting total friction factor K for parallel and series flow.

Enter the K factor and inside diameter data as comma separated data pairs (Ki,IDi), with each pair on a new line. The data can also be copied from a spreadsheet, or copied as tab separated pairs. The friction factors can either be converted to the nominal diameter, or used as entered. The total discharge coefficient Cd, total dimensionless flow coefficient Cv*, and total flow coefficients Av, Cv-uk, Cv-us and Kv are also calculated. The K factor, discharge coefficient and dimensionless flow coefficient are calculated for the nominal diameter.

Tool Input

• schdtype : Pipe Schedule Type
• diamtype : Pipe Diameter Type
  • ODu : User Defined Outside Diameter
  • IDu : User Defined Inside Diameter
• wtntype : Wall Thickness Type
  • tnu : User Defined Wall Thickness
• dtype : Internal Diameter Type
• flowtype : Flow Type
• Kdata : Friction Factor Data
• IDdata : Flow Diameter Data

Tool Output

• Av : SI Flow Coefficient
• Cd : Discharge Coefficient
• Cv* : Dimensionless US Flow Coefficient (Cv-us / IDin^2)
• Cv-met : Metric Flow Coefficient
• Cv-uk : UK Flow Coefficient
• Cv-us : US Flow Coefficient
• ID : Pipe Inside Diameter
• IDin : Inside Diameter Inches
• K : Friction Factor Or Resistance Factor
• Kv : EU Flow Coefficient

Calculate pipe fitting total friction factor K for series flow.

Enter the K factor and number of items for each fitting type. The diameter is assumed constant. Calculation details are displayed at the bottom of the page.

Tool Input

Tool Output

• ΣK : Total Friction Factor Or Resistance Factor