Irrigation in the Pacific Northwest

Lateral Friction Loss


This is for a sprinkler lateral with sprinklers on a regular interval and is plugged at the end.

Learn more about the units used on this page.

 

Lateral Friction Loss model
Sprinklers per Line:
Sprinkler Head Spacing along the Line:
Sprinkler Flow Rate:
Pipe Size:
Pipe Type:
Total Flow Rate:
Total Pipe Length:
Friction Loss:

 

 

The Equations

This calculator uses this formula to determine the Total Flow Rate, Total Pipe Length, and Friction Loss.

 

Total Pipe Length


Where:

= Total Pipe Length (ft)

= Number of sprinklers per line

= Distance between sprinklers, sprinkler spacing (ft)

 

Total Flow Rate


Where:

= Total Flow Rate (gpm)

= Sprinkler flow rate (gpm)

= Number of sprinklers per line

 

Lateral Friction Loss


Where:

= Friction Loss (psi)

= Total Flow Rate (gpm)

= An arbitraty number to account for the pipe type (see table)

= Pipe Size (in)

= Total Pipe Length (ft)

= Number of sprinklers per line

Pipe Type Value
Plastic 150
Aluminum 120

 

 

 

 

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