Maximum flow based on city pressure

[ndlaham]

Hello,

I am new to piping and flow calculations. I am somewhat confused on this so bear with my limited knowledge.

How would I know what the maximum possible flow rate is based on a pressurized line entering a building, say a high rise hotel? Would I have to know the pressure and pipe diameter entering the site? I am trying to determine if adding components into to a pressurized system will require a booster pump due to the added head loss from the new components.

Going off of this, if the main line entering the site splits off into multiple lines and has to run up the side of a large building, I'm assuming more pressure will be lost the higher up one goes due to the head loss from the piping as well as the elevation. How does the pressure loss from the elevation affect the flow rate? The flow rate on the top floor will be less than the bottom floor, correct? Or is this just the pressure that is affected? I'm not understanding the relationship between pressure and flow rate very well.

Thanks,
Nick

[admin]

Here is basic equation for your problem - Bernoulli equation.
There you have relation between height change and pressure change. If you increase pipe height, with the same constant pressure on the building entrance, flow will be lower.

Also you can find more formulas here: general equation.