1) The design of piping and pumping systems for chemical, pharmaceutical and food processing industries requires knowledge of the pressure drop due to flow in straight pipe segments and through valves and fittings. Friction losses caused by the presence of valves and fittings usually results from disturbances of the flow, which is forced to change direction abruptly to overcome path obstructions and to adapt itself to sudden or gradual changes in the cross section or shape of the duct.
Evaluation of the friction loss in valves and fittings involves determination of the appropriate loss or resistance coefficient, k, which is calculated from experimental measurement of the pressure drop in the fitting.Engineers and technicians involved in the project of piping systems often find it difficult to obtain the necessary resistance coefficient values, since the amount of available data in the literature is quite limited.
2) the purpose of this work was to obtain loss coefficients in the laminar and turbulent flows of power-law fluids through stainless steel, sanitary valves and fittings.