Pressure drop

The main determinants of resistance to fluid flow are fluid velocity through the pipe and fluid viscosity. Pressure drop increases proportionally to the frictional shear forces within the piping network. A piping network containing a high relative roughness rating as well as many pipe fittings and joints, tube convergence, divergence, turns, surface roughness, and other physical properties will affect the pressure drop. High flow velocities or high fluid viscosities result in a larger pressure drop across a pipe section, valve, or elbow joint. Low velocity will result in less (or no) pressure drop. The fluid may also be biphasic as in pneumatic conveying with a gas and a solid; in this case, the friction of the solid must also be taken into consideration for calculating the pressure drop.

Applications

Fluid in a system will always flow from a region of higher pressure to a region of lower pressure, assuming it has a path to do so. All things being equal, a higher pressure drop will lead to a higher flow (except in cases of choked flow).

The pressure drop of a given system will determine the amount of energy needed to convey fluid through that system. For example, a larger pump could be required to move a set amount of water through smaller-diameter pipes (with higher velocity and thus higher pressure drop) as compared to a system with larger-diameter pipes (with lower velocity and thus lower pressure drop).