How Do You Calculate Pipe Pressure Flow Rate?
Water and other fluids move through pipes due to pressure gradients. In an ideal, level pipe without external pressure sources, the pressure will consistently decrease in one direction as the velocity increases, or vice versa. This is one way of stating the Bernoulli principle. The principle states that the total energy of a particle within a stream remains constant. You can use this principle to calculate the velocity of the fluid at a certain point downstream if you know the pressure drop and initial velocity. From this, you can calculate flow rate. Pick two points within the fluid stream to analyze. You will need to either know or have a way to measure the fluid velocity at point one. Therefore, it is often easiest to choose a stagnant locus for point one, such as in a reservoir connected to the pipe, if it exists. Measure the pressure difference between point one and two. You can either do this with a venturi meter or pitot tube, which are both types of gauges for measuring fluid p
