Water
Pipe Fittings Head Loss Calculator
Calculate minor head loss and pressure loss through pipe fittings, valves, entrances and exits.
K values are representative defaults. Use manufacturer or project-specific coefficients where available.
Minor Head Loss
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Combined minor loss caused by the fittings and valves added above.
Head loss
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Head loss
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Pressure loss
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Pressure loss
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Pressure loss
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Flow velocity
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Total K coefficient
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Total fittings
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Method:
Minor losses through valves, bends, tees and other fittings are calculated using:
hL = K × V² ÷ (2g)
For multiple fittings:
Ktotal = Σ(K × quantity)
and therefore:
hL,total =
Ktotal × V² ÷ (2g)
Flow velocity is calculated from:
V = Q ÷ A
where A is the internal cross-sectional area of the pipe.
Pressure loss is calculated from the resulting water head.
Loss coefficients depend on fitting geometry, diameter ratio, valve design, degree of opening, flow direction and manufacturer. The built-in coefficients are representative values for preliminary calculations and should be replaced with project-specific data when available.
This calculator covers minor losses only. Straight-pipe friction should be calculated separately using Darcy-Weisbach or another applicable pipe-friction method.