Component with known loss coefficient

To add a new component with known loss coefficient, click the button  of Components toolbar, select the equipment type "Apparatus" (or use the corresponding item of "Insert - Component - Equipment" menu), and then in the Object Properties window, select "Component with known loss coefficient" as the hydraulic component type. Please note that the new component is added to the project tree after the currently selected element. Therefore, to add a new component after an existing one, select it in the project tree or in the graphic window and add the new component. If you need to add a new component to the beginning of a branch, select the branch in the project tree and add the new component.

Component with known loss coefficient is used to model a wide variety of elements of a piping systems (most often non-standard types of valves, fittings and other devices) for which the values of their local resistance coefficients are known or can be calculated/found in reference literature/passport characteristics.

After adding a component with known loss coefficient, its characteristics will be displayed in the Object Properties Window.

• name - by default, the name of any piping component coincides with its type, but if necessary, the name can be changed in this field. When changing the hydraulic component type (when selecting different types of equipment), its name will also change, but only if it has not been previously changed to another manually. Specify the name that you would like to see for this element in reports with calculation results. To display the name of a pipeline element on the diagram, click the corresponding button to the right of its name;

• local resistance coefficient ζ - the pressure drop Δp on this element will be calculated using the Weisbach equation Δp=ζρw2/2, where ρ and w are the density and velocity of the fluid, respectively;

• quantity - this parameter is usually not used for resistances with known characteristics. It is used for other pipeline elements (for example, for valves) when modeling several identical elements. In this case, you can enter the number of these elements in this field and at the calculation the hydraulic resistance on this element will be multiplied by the specified value. For a component with known loss coefficient specifying "N resistances with coefficient M" does not make sense, since you can simply specify the total resistance coefficient N*M for it.

Please note that from a hydraulic point of view, component with known loss coefficient is considered as "point" (or "concentrated") resistances, which have no length/width/height. Therefore, if it is necessary to take into account the dimensions of such element in the calculation to calculate and account for the friction losses, heat losses and hydrostatic pressure drop that occur on it, they can be modeled separately as a piece of pipe with the corresponding length and orientation in space. However, this only makes sense in cases where:

• the modeled element has really large size that cannot be neglected;

• the modeled element is located in a vertical or inclined plane relative to the vertical - in this case, it is important to take into account the hydrostatic pressure drop that occurs on it;

• the modeled element is located in a closed loop (so that the piping model looks correctly, without gaps).

In other cases, the dimensions of component with known loss coefficient are usually neglected.